3D Local Earthquake Tomography of the Ecuadorian Margin in the Source Area of the 2016 Mw 7.8 Pedernales Earthquake

Abstract

Based on manually analyzed waveforms recorded by the permanent Ecuadorian network and our large aftershock deployment installed after the Pedernales earthquake, we derive three-dimensional Vp and Vp/Vs structures and earthquake locations for central coastal Ecuador using local earthquake tomography. Images highlight the features in the subducting and overriding plates down to 35 km depth. Vp anomalies (∼4.5–7.5 km/s) show the roughness of the incoming oceanic crust (OC). Vp/Vs varies from ∼1.75 to ∼1.94, averaging a value of 1.82 consistent with terranes of oceanic nature. We identify a low Vp (∼5.5 km/s) region extending along strike, in the marine forearc. To the North, we relate this low Vp and Vp/Vs (<1.80) region to a subducted seamount that might be part of the Carnegie Ridge (CR). To the South, the low Vp region is associated with high Vp/Vs (>1.85) which we interpret as deeply fractured, probably hydrated OC caused by the CR being subducted. These features play an important role in controlling the seismic behavior of the margin. While subducted seamounts might contribute to the nucleation of intermediate megathrust earthquakes in the northern segment, the CR seems to be the main feature controlling the seismicity in the region by promoting creeping and slow slip events offshore that can be linked to the updip limit of large megathrust earthquakes in the northern segment and the absence of them in the southern region over the instrumental period. © 2021. The Authors.