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Rupture across arc segment and plate boundaries in the 1 April 2007 Solomons earthquake

Nature Geoscience volume 1, pages 253–257 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

The largest earthquakes are generated in subduction zones, and the earthquake rupture typically extends for hundreds of kilometres along a single subducting plate. These ruptures often begin or end at structural boundaries on the overriding plate that are associated with the subduction of prominent bathymetric features of the downgoing plate1,2. Here, we determine uplift and subsidence along shorelines for the 1 April 2007 moment magnitude MW 8.1 earthquake in the western Solomon Islands, using coral microatolls which provide precise measurements of vertical motions in locations where instrumental data are unavailable. We demonstrate that the 2007 earthquake ruptured across the subducting Simbo ridge transform and thus broke through a triple junction where the Australian and Woodlark plates subduct beneath the overriding Pacific plate. Previously, no known major megathrust rupture has involved two subducting plates. We conclude that this event illustrates the uncertainties of predicting the segmentation of subduction zone rupture on the basis of structural discontinuities.

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Figure 1: Plate tectonic setting and bathymetry23,24 of the western Solomon Islands.
Figure 2: Geologic evidence of co-seismic vertical motions.
Figure 3: Vertical motions produced by the 1 April 2007 earthquake.

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Acknowledgements

Field expenses for this project were supported by a Rapid Response grant from the Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin and by a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to the Tectonics Observatory at the California Institute of Technology. This is UTIG Contribution 1939 and Caltech Tectonics Observatory Contribution 79.

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Author notes

  1. Richard W. Briggs

    Present address: Present address: US Geological Survey, MS 966, Box 25046, Denver, Colorado 80225, USA,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Geophysics, John A. and Katherine G. Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Texas 78758-4445, USA

    Frederick W. Taylor, Cliff Frohlich & Matt Hornbach

  2. Tectonics Observatory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA

    Richard W. Briggs & Aron J. Meltzner

  3. School of Earth Sciences, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA

    Abel Brown

  4. Dept. of Mines, Energy, and Water Resources, Honiara, PO Box G37, Solomon Islands

    Alison K. Papabatu & Douglas Billy

Authors
  1. Frederick W. Taylor
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  2. Richard W. Briggs
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  3. Cliff Frohlich
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  4. Abel Brown
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  5. Matt Hornbach
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  6. Alison K. Papabatu
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  7. Aron J. Meltzner
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  8. Douglas Billy
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Contributions

F.W.T., R.B. and C.F. are responsible for tectonic and seismological interpretations; F.W.T., R.B., A.B., A.K.P. and D.B. carried out the field investigations; M.H. and C.F. developed the tsunami model; A.J.M. provided satellite-derived observations of vertical motions and tide model calculations.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Frederick W. Taylor or Richard W. Briggs.

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Supplementary figures S1-S3 and tables S1-S3 (PDF 2228 kb)

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Taylor, F., Briggs, R., Frohlich, C. et al. Rupture across arc segment and plate boundaries in the 1 April 2007 Solomons earthquake. Nature Geosci 1, 253–257 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo159

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