Structural Controls on Postseismic Deformation Following the Mw 7.8
Pedernales, Ecuador Megathrust Earthquake: Insights from Joint
Tomographic Inversion and Aftershock Relocation
Abstract
The north Ecuador subduction zone exhibits segmentation and clustering
of seismicity through megathrust, interseismic, and aftershock
seismicity. In 1906, a Mw 8.8 megathrust event ruptured a 500 km
segment, portions of which were re-ruptured in ’42 (Mw 7.8), ’58 (Mw
7.7), ’79 (Mw 8.2) and 2016 (Mw 7.8 Pedernales event). Segmentation
between the ruptures is caused in part by subducting topography and
upper plate structure. Upper plate structure in north Ecuador includes
major faults, sedimentary basins and accreted terranes. An international
aftershock deployment and the Ecuador permanent network (RENSIG)
recorded aftershocks of the 2016 Pedernales event. We performed finite
difference tomography in a joint inversion for 3D velocity and
earthquake location, using body wave arrivals of aftershocks. The
Manabi, Manta-Jama and Borbon sedimentary basins are observed as high
Vp/Vs features with the Manabi basin seen as a low Vp and Vs feature.
High Vp and Vs are associated with accreted forearc terranes. Relocation
of aftershocks in the 3D velocity results in previously described
“bands” of seismicity collapsing to smaller clusters ranging from
~8-40 km across. South of the rupture area, a cluster
near Manabi collapsed landward, and a cluster appeared west of the
trench. Three clusters between the trench and directly south of the
rupture contain lower plate and plate interface events. The cluster
within the rupture area between the patches of greater slip became more
focused, and a cluster became defined on the north side of the northern
patch of slip. Two clusters outline subducting Atacames seamounts, with
events in the lower plate and interface beneath and in front of the
seamounts. North of the rupture, the clusters offshore and onshore near
Galera contain mostly interface with some upper plate events. The
onshore cluster focused around major faults in a transition from
north/south to northeast/southwest structures along the coastal range.
Events in the cluster near Atacames relocated mainly in the upper plate,
and events in the cluster near Esmeraldas remained in the upper plate.
Interseismic events cluster in the same locations as aftershock events.
Existing features including upper plate structure and subducting
features control and focus both postseismic and interseismic deformation
across megathrust cycles.