Crustal Characteristics in the Subduction Zone of Mexico: Implication of the Tectonostratigraphic Terranes on Slab Tearing

Session: Advances in Seismic Imaging of Earth’s Mantle and Core and Implications for Convective Processes [Poster]
Type: Poster
Date: 4/29/2020
Time: 08:00 AM
Room: Ballroom
Description: 

During the past years, significant work has been done for studying the crustal anisotropy and state of stress of the Mexican subduction zone. At the same time, there is new evidence of the geometry of the subducted slab proposing subduction tearing. Here we present a study of the Earth crust using three different methods: Azimuthal anisotropy based on ambient noise, Shear-wave splitting of Tectonic Tremors and Moment Tensor inversions of the earthquakes of September 7th, 2017 (Mw=8.2) of Tehuantepec, Mexico. This earthquake initiated a seismic sequence that triggered shallow seismicity and aftershocks. The shallow earthquakes fall into a region where there were few published focal mechanism higher than Mw 4.5. Two slab tearings: in the Michoacan-Guerrero border and in central Oaxaca, best represent the slab geometry of the Mexican subduction zone. At the Michoacan-Guerrero the subducted slab is sub-horizontal, while in central Oaxaca the plate is characterized by northeast vergence. We interpret that the mantle´s flow in this part of the subducted slab produces multiple alignments in the crust, and differentiates the tectonostratigraphic terranes of the southern region of Mexico

Presenting Author: Roberto Ortega

Authors