Inter-seismic deformation and plate coupling along the Andaman micro-plate margin: geodetic constraints using 1996-2004 GPS data.

Abstract:

Oblique convergence of the Andaman microplate with the Sunda margin results in permanent deformation within the overriding plate and had generated giant plate-boundary ruptures like the 2004 Mw 9.3 Sumatra- Andaman earthquake. Inter-seismic upper plate deformation of this part of the subduction zone remains poorly constrained due to lack of availability of spatially well distributed data. Through this study we are reanalyzing the available GPS geodetic data sets collected by various agencies over different times between 1996-2004 to constrain the pre-earthquake convergence values using a consistent reference frame to determine the crustal deformation in the Andaman Nicobar region, to infer strain rates in the overriding plate, how Andaman microplate was moving relative to Indian plate and what was the extent of plate locking. We will also discuss the details on spatial and temporal variations of convergence rates and variations in plate coupling. To quantify the change in coupling, we calculated the interseismic surface deformation using Okada's formulation, in which locked faults are modelled as dislocations in a halfspace. We defined the subduction zone geometry as three elastically deforming blocks (India, Andaman fore-arc, and Sunda) separated by two faults: the West Andaman Fault and the Sumatra-Andaman megathrust. The bennioff-zone dip and orientation is re-defined using the recently relocated epicentral solutions with higher accuracy and from the slip-distribution models constrained from the various co-seismic geodetic offsets reported from the near-field and far-field GPS sites . The rigid-body motion of each block is specified by a pole of rotation. We modelled the variation in coupling by specifying for each node and integrating the slip deficit over the fault surfaces. The West Andaman Fault is modeled as a vertical strike- lip fault, locked to a depth of ~20 km, with a dextral slip.