Name
Investigating the seismicity and structure of the Queen Charlotte plate boundary using 20+ years of seismic data
Date & Time
Tuesday, May 9, 2023, 4:45 PM - 5:00 PM
Description
The Queen Charlotte fault marks a transpressional boundary between the Pacific and North American plates, extending from offshore Haida Gwaii in Canada into southeastern Alaska. The 2012 Mw 7.8 Haida Gwaii earthquake near the southern end of the Queen Charlotte plate boundary was nearly pure thrust, whereas the 2013 Mw 7.5 Craig earthquake to the north was primarily strike-slip, highlighting the transition from oblique convergence to nearly pure transcurrent motion along the margin. Fault complexity arises from the continent-ocean plate juxtaposition and the strain partitioning between the transcurrent and convergent components of plate motion. Using continuous seismic waveforms from temporary and permanent seismic networks between 1998-2020, we present a new updated catalog of ~50,000 earthquakes, tripling previously known events from the Canadian National Seismic Network (CNSN). We used an automated processing technique of auto-regressive phase detection and onset estimation to obtain the initial seismic catalog, inverted for 3D velocity structure using data from the most well-constrained period, and relocated the entire catalog using the new 3D velocity model. South of ~52.8�N, seismicity is partitioned between the crustal transform, the inferred underthrusting Pacific Plate, and events seaward of the Queen Charlotte Terrace (QCT), with most of the activity being largely confined to the year following the 2012 Mw 7.8 earthquake. North of 52.8�N, seismicity is temporally continuous and confined to the crustal transform. We interpret along-strike and across-strike variations in seismicity and velocity structure and discuss the implications for strain accommodation across this complex boundary, and local hazards.
Location Name
Aspen
Full Address
Banff Park Lodge Resort Hotel & Conference Centre
201 Lynx St
Banff AB T1L 1K5
Canada
Abstract
The Queen Charlotte fault marks a transpressional boundary between the Pacific and North American plates, extending from offshore Haida Gwaii in Canada into southeastern Alaska. The 2012 Mw 7.8 Haida Gwaii earthquake near the southern end of the Queen Charlotte plate boundary was nearly pure thrust, whereas the 2013 Mw 7.5 Craig earthquake to the north was primarily strike-slip, highlighting the transition from oblique convergence to nearly pure transcurrent motion along the margin. Fault complexity arises from the continent-ocean plate juxtaposition and the strain partitioning between the transcurrent and convergent components of plate motion. Using continuous seismic waveforms from temporary and permanent seismic networks between 1998-2020, we present a new updated catalog of ~50,000 earthquakes, tripling previously known events from the Canadian National Seismic Network (CNSN). We used an automated processing technique of auto-regressive phase detection and onset estimation to obtain the initial seismic catalog, inverted for 3D velocity structure using data from the most well-constrained period, and relocated the entire catalog using the new 3D velocity model. South of ~52.8�N, seismicity is partitioned between the crustal transform, the inferred underthrusting Pacific Plate, and events seaward of the Queen Charlotte Terrace (QCT), with most of the activity being largely confined to the year following the 2012 Mw 7.8 earthquake. North of 52.8�N, seismicity is temporally continuous and confined to the crustal transform. We interpret along-strike and across-strike variations in seismicity and velocity structure and discuss the implications for strain accommodation across this complex boundary, and local hazards.
Session Type
Breakout Session