Revised Interseismic Coupling Models for the North Island, New Zealand, Using FEM-Derived Green’s Functions

Abstract:

The Hikurangi subduction margin adjacent to the North Island, New Zealand, displays a variation in interseismic coupling behavior along strike, with shallow coupling in the north and deeper coupling in the south (Wallace et al., 2012). With new information such as an improved interface geometry, a New Zealand-wide seismic velocity model and an increased density and duration of geodetic networks, it is now possible to provide a much more detailed picture of interseismic coupling at the Hikurangi margin than in previous studies. In previous work (Williams and Wallace, 2015), we examined the effects of material property variations on slip estimates for slow slip events (SSEs) along the Hikurangi margin, and found that in cases where the slip is deep or there is good geodetic coverage above the slipping region, heterogeneous models generally predict about 20% less slip than elastic half-space models. Based on those results, we anticipate that interseismic coupling models that account for elastic heterogeneity will also predict similarly lower slip deficit rates in such regions.

To explore these ideas, we are developing a new interseismic coupling model for the North Island. We use a New Zealand-wide seismic velocity model (Eberhart-Phillips et al., 2010) to provide elastic properties and an improved Hikurangi interface geometry (Williams et al., 2013) as the basis for our subduction geometry. In addition to the Hikurangi subduction interface, we generate finite element meshes for 20 additional faults that compose the North Island portion of the elastic block model of Wallace et al. (2012). We generate Green’s functions for all faults using the PyLith finite element code (Aagaard et al., 2013), and then use the Defnode geodetic inversion code (McCaffrey, 1995; 2002) to invert for block rotation poles and interseismic coupling. Our revised coupling model should provide better constraints on interseismic coupling in the North Island, and should thus provide a better foundation to inform seismic hazard estimates.