Active deformation near the Nicoya Peninsula, northwestern Costa Rica, between 1996 and 2010 : Interseismic megathrust coupling

We use campaign and continuous GPS measurements at 49 sites between 1996 and 2010 to describe the long-term active deformation in and near the Nicoya Peninsula, northwestern Costa Rica. The observed deformation reveals partial partitioning of the Cocos-Caribbean oblique convergence into trench-paral...

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Main Authors: Newman, Andrew V., Dixon, Timothy H., Feng, Lujia, Protti, Marino, González, Víctor, Jiang, Yan
Other Authors: Earth Observatory of Singapore
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2013
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Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/97779
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/18091
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-977792020-09-26T21:33:13Z Active deformation near the Nicoya Peninsula, northwestern Costa Rica, between 1996 and 2010 : Interseismic megathrust coupling Newman, Andrew V. Dixon, Timothy H. Feng, Lujia Protti, Marino González, Víctor Jiang, Yan Earth Observatory of Singapore DRNTU::Social sciences::Geography::Natural disasters We use campaign and continuous GPS measurements at 49 sites between 1996 and 2010 to describe the long-term active deformation in and near the Nicoya Peninsula, northwestern Costa Rica. The observed deformation reveals partial partitioning of the Cocos-Caribbean oblique convergence into trench-parallel forearc sliver motion and less oblique thrusting on the subduction interface. The northern Costa Rican forearc translates northwestward as a whole ridge block at 11 ± 1 mm/yr relative to the stable Caribbean. The transition from the forearc to the stable Caribbean occurs in a narrow deforming zone of ∼16 km wide. Subduction thrust earthquakes take 2/3 of the trench-parallel component of the plate convergence; however, surface deformation caused by interseismic megathrust coupling is primarily trench-normal. Two fully coupled patches, one located offshore Nicoya centered at ∼15 km depth and the other located inland centered at ∼24 km depth, are identified in Nicoya with the potential to generate an Mw 7.8 1950-type earthquake. Another fully coupled patch SE of Nicoya coincides with the rupture region of the 1990 Nicoya Gulf earthquake. Interface microearthquakes, non-volcanic tremor, low-frequency earthquakes, and transient slow-slip events generally occur in the intermediately to weakly coupled regions. Published version 2013-12-05T04:05:06Z 2019-12-06T19:46:32Z 2013-12-05T04:05:06Z 2019-12-06T19:46:32Z 2012 2012 Journal Article Feng, L., Newman, A. V., Protti, M., González, V., Jiang, Y., & Dixon, T. H. (2012). Active deformation near the Nicoya Peninsula, northwestern Costa Rica, between 1996 and 2010 : Interseismic megathrust coupling. Journal of geophysical research, 117(B6), 1-23. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/97779 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/18091 10.1029/2012JB009230 en Journal of geophysical research © 2012 American Geophysical Union. This paper was published in Journal of geophysical research : solid Earth and is made available as an electronic reprint (preprint) with permission of American Geophysical Union. The paper can be found at the following official DOI: [http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2012JB009230]. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic or multiple reproduction, distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper is prohibited and is subject to penalties under law. application/pdf
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
country Singapore
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic DRNTU::Social sciences::Geography::Natural disasters
spellingShingle DRNTU::Social sciences::Geography::Natural disasters
Newman, Andrew V.
Dixon, Timothy H.
Feng, Lujia
Protti, Marino
González, Víctor
Jiang, Yan
Active deformation near the Nicoya Peninsula, northwestern Costa Rica, between 1996 and 2010 : Interseismic megathrust coupling
description We use campaign and continuous GPS measurements at 49 sites between 1996 and 2010 to describe the long-term active deformation in and near the Nicoya Peninsula, northwestern Costa Rica. The observed deformation reveals partial partitioning of the Cocos-Caribbean oblique convergence into trench-parallel forearc sliver motion and less oblique thrusting on the subduction interface. The northern Costa Rican forearc translates northwestward as a whole ridge block at 11 ± 1 mm/yr relative to the stable Caribbean. The transition from the forearc to the stable Caribbean occurs in a narrow deforming zone of ∼16 km wide. Subduction thrust earthquakes take 2/3 of the trench-parallel component of the plate convergence; however, surface deformation caused by interseismic megathrust coupling is primarily trench-normal. Two fully coupled patches, one located offshore Nicoya centered at ∼15 km depth and the other located inland centered at ∼24 km depth, are identified in Nicoya with the potential to generate an Mw 7.8 1950-type earthquake. Another fully coupled patch SE of Nicoya coincides with the rupture region of the 1990 Nicoya Gulf earthquake. Interface microearthquakes, non-volcanic tremor, low-frequency earthquakes, and transient slow-slip events generally occur in the intermediately to weakly coupled regions.
author2 Earth Observatory of Singapore
author_facet Earth Observatory of Singapore
Newman, Andrew V.
Dixon, Timothy H.
Feng, Lujia
Protti, Marino
González, Víctor
Jiang, Yan
format Article
author Newman, Andrew V.
Dixon, Timothy H.
Feng, Lujia
Protti, Marino
González, Víctor
Jiang, Yan
author_sort Newman, Andrew V.
title Active deformation near the Nicoya Peninsula, northwestern Costa Rica, between 1996 and 2010 : Interseismic megathrust coupling
title_short Active deformation near the Nicoya Peninsula, northwestern Costa Rica, between 1996 and 2010 : Interseismic megathrust coupling
title_full Active deformation near the Nicoya Peninsula, northwestern Costa Rica, between 1996 and 2010 : Interseismic megathrust coupling
title_fullStr Active deformation near the Nicoya Peninsula, northwestern Costa Rica, between 1996 and 2010 : Interseismic megathrust coupling
title_full_unstemmed Active deformation near the Nicoya Peninsula, northwestern Costa Rica, between 1996 and 2010 : Interseismic megathrust coupling
title_sort active deformation near the nicoya peninsula, northwestern costa rica, between 1996 and 2010 : interseismic megathrust coupling
publishDate 2013
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/97779
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/18091
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