On the Rheology of Slow Slip Events Around Continental Moho

Abstract:

Slow slip events (SSEs) occur in various tectonic settings but are the most abundant around the depth of upper-plate Moho in warm-slab subduction zones such as Cascadia and Nankai, accompanied with non-valcanic tremor. The paucity or absence of these near-Moho SSEs in many other subduction zones and the relationship of these SSEs with the megathrust seismogenic zone are intriguing questions of fundamental importance. We address these questions by examining Frictional-Viscous Transitions (FVTs) along subduction faults. Our key hypothesis is that there is a sharp decrease in the frictional stength of subduction faults across its intersection with the continental Moho for two reasons: (1) Enrichment of weak hydrous minerals such as talc due to the hydration of the base of the mantle wedge, and (2) elevated pore fluid pressure in the fault zone because of serpentine (antigorite) saturation of the mantle wedge corner which retards further fluid consumption and decreases permeability. Through thermal modelling using heat flow data as constraints, we found that for Cascadia, Nankai, and Hikurangi, there are two FVTs, with the first one being shallower than the Moho. At the Moho, the fault returns to the friction mode, but with slip behaviour affected by the presence of hydrous minerals and high fluid pressure. We propose this is where near-Moho SSEs occur. Farther downdip, the second FVT occurs and serves to limit the depth extent of the SSEs. Coseismic slip is limited to be shallower than the first FVT, such that frictional slip around the Moho occurs interseismically as SSEs. This mechanism also explains the occurrence of tremor, believed to represent very small SSEs, along the San Andreas fault around the Moho depth. In a way, this mechanism is akin to the “jelly-sandwich” rheology model of the continental lithosphere, but the onset of the lower slice of bread is due to a decrease in frictional strength as opposed to an increase in viscous strength. For the other subduction zones that we modeled, the shallower FVT is absent, such that frictional behaviour extends to deeper than the Moho. In these places, the motion of what would be the SSEs zone at Cascadia and Nakai is more readily accommodated by seismic slip in earthquakes or aseismic slip before and after large earthquakes.