Journal of Geological Society of India (Online archive from Vol 1 to Vol 78)

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Seismic Clusters and their Characteristics at the Arabian Sea Triple Junction: Supportive Evidences for Plate Margin Deformations


Affiliations
1 Geological Survey of India, Central Headquarters, 27, J.L. Nehru Road, Kolkata - 700 016, India
2 Department of Geology and Geophysics, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
3 Geological Survey of India, Central Headquarters, Kolkata, India
     

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The plate margin features defining the Arabian Sea Triple Junction (ASTJ) are: the Aden Ridge (AR), Sheba Ridge (SR) with their intervening Alula-Fartak Transform (AFT), Carlsberg Ridge (CR) and Owen Fracture Zone (OFZ). Exact nature of ASTJ is presently debated: whether it is RRF (ridge-ridge-fault) or RRR (ridge-ridge-ridge) type. A revised seismicity map for ASTJ is given here using data for a period little more than a century. "Point density spatial statistical criterion" is applied to short-listed 742 earthquakes (mb≥4.3), 10 numbers of spatio-temporal seismic clusters are identified for ASTJ and its arms. Relocated hypocentres help better constraining the cluster identification wherever such data exist. Seismic clusters actually diagnose the most intense zones of strain accumulation due to far field as well as the local stress operating at ASTJ. An earthquake swarm emanating from a prominent seismic cluster below SR provides an opportunity to investigate the pore pressure diffusion process (due to the active source) by means of "r-t plot". Stress and faulting pattern in the active zones are deduced from 43 CMT solutions. While normal or lateral faulting is characteristic for these arms, an anomalous thrust earthquake occurs in the triangular 'Wheatley Deep' deformation zone proximal to ASTJ. The latter appears to have formed due to a shift of the deformational front from OFZ towards a transform that offsets SR. Though ASTJ is still in the process of evolution, available data favour that this RRF triple junction may eventually be converted to a more stable RRR type.

Keywords

Revised Seismicity Map, Foreshock-Mainshock-Aftershock Sequence, Aspect Ratio and B-Values, Seismic Clusters, CMT Solutions, R-T Plot, RRR Plate Margin Kinematics.
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  • Seismic Clusters and their Characteristics at the Arabian Sea Triple Junction: Supportive Evidences for Plate Margin Deformations

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Authors

Basab Mukhopadhyay
Geological Survey of India, Central Headquarters, 27, J.L. Nehru Road, Kolkata - 700 016, India
Manoj Mukhopadhyay
Department of Geology and Geophysics, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Sujit Dasgupta
Geological Survey of India, Central Headquarters, Kolkata, India

Abstract


The plate margin features defining the Arabian Sea Triple Junction (ASTJ) are: the Aden Ridge (AR), Sheba Ridge (SR) with their intervening Alula-Fartak Transform (AFT), Carlsberg Ridge (CR) and Owen Fracture Zone (OFZ). Exact nature of ASTJ is presently debated: whether it is RRF (ridge-ridge-fault) or RRR (ridge-ridge-ridge) type. A revised seismicity map for ASTJ is given here using data for a period little more than a century. "Point density spatial statistical criterion" is applied to short-listed 742 earthquakes (mb≥4.3), 10 numbers of spatio-temporal seismic clusters are identified for ASTJ and its arms. Relocated hypocentres help better constraining the cluster identification wherever such data exist. Seismic clusters actually diagnose the most intense zones of strain accumulation due to far field as well as the local stress operating at ASTJ. An earthquake swarm emanating from a prominent seismic cluster below SR provides an opportunity to investigate the pore pressure diffusion process (due to the active source) by means of "r-t plot". Stress and faulting pattern in the active zones are deduced from 43 CMT solutions. While normal or lateral faulting is characteristic for these arms, an anomalous thrust earthquake occurs in the triangular 'Wheatley Deep' deformation zone proximal to ASTJ. The latter appears to have formed due to a shift of the deformational front from OFZ towards a transform that offsets SR. Though ASTJ is still in the process of evolution, available data favour that this RRF triple junction may eventually be converted to a more stable RRR type.

Keywords


Revised Seismicity Map, Foreshock-Mainshock-Aftershock Sequence, Aspect Ratio and B-Values, Seismic Clusters, CMT Solutions, R-T Plot, RRR Plate Margin Kinematics.

References