The M w6.7 12 October 2013 western Hellenic Arc main shock and its aftershock sequence: implications for the slab properties

Abstract

The 12 October 2013 M w6.7 earthquake offshore Crete Island is one of the few strong earthquakes to have occurred in the last few decades in the southwestern part of the Hellenic subduction zone (HSZ), providing the opportunity to evaluate characteristics of the descending slab. The HSZ has experienced several strong (M ≥ 7.0) earthquakes in historical times with the largest one being the 365 AD, M w = 8.4 earthquake, the largest known ever occurred in the Mediterranean region. The 2013 main shock occurred in close proximity with the 365 event, on an interplate thrust fault at a depth of 26 km, onto the coupled part of the overriding and descending plates. GCMT solution shows a slightly oblique (rake = 130°) thrust faulting with downdip compression on a nearly horizontal (dip = 3°) northeast-dipping fault plane with strike (340°) parallel to the subduction front, with the compression axis being oriented in the direction of plate convergence. The subduction interface can be more clearly resolved with the integration of aftershock locations and CMT solution. For this scope, the aftershocks were relocated after obtaining a v p/v s ratio equal to 1.76, a one-dimensional velocity model and time delays that approximate the velocity structure of the study area, and the employment of double-difference technique for both phase pick data and cross-correlation differential times. The first-day relocated seismicity, alike aftershocks in the first 2 months, shows activation of an area at the upper part of the descending slab, with most activity being concentrated between 13 and 27 km, where the main shock is also encompassed. Aftershocks are rare near to the main shock, implying homogeneous slip on a large patch of the rupture plane. Based on the aftershock distribution, the size of the activated area estimated is about 24 km long and 17 km wide. Coulomb stress changes resolved for transpressive motion reveal negligible off-fault aftershock triggering, evidencing a comparatively stable regime in the downdip part of the slab or different fault mechanism.