Splay Faults and Associated Mass Transport Deposits in the Manila Accretionary Wedge near Taiwan: Implications for Geohazards

Abstract:

Plate interface megathrusts are major seismogenic faults in subduction zone, capable of generating great earthquakes with widespread submarine landslides and damaging tsunami. Upward branching of megathrusts results in splay faults in the accretionary wedge. Reflection seismic data across the accretionary wedge off southern Taiwan, reveal at least two strands of splay faults as well as multiple stacked mass transport deposits (MTDs) nearby the faults. With the help of sediment coring and age datings in the vicinity of the splay fault, implications for temporal evolution of the mass wasting processes and episodic activities of splay faults are discussed in this paper. Seismic data show two branches of arcward and gently-dipping splay faults with two slope basins lying in the footwall and hangingwall of the faults, respectively. The older and buried splay fault is inactive as the fault tip is covered by up to 1000 m thick sediments in the footwall slope basin, indicating that it ceased to be active around 0.5 Ma ago. Repeated slip of this fault prior to ~0.5 Ma ago may also result in 4 stacked and multiple mass transport deposits (MTDs) of up to 700-m thick found in vicinity of this fault. This fossil splay fault is characterized by reflection polarity similar to that of seafloor, indicative of low water saturation along the fault zone and hence not an active fluid conduit. The younger and overlying splay fault cuts through the seafloor and the emergent fault tip lying at the toe of steep slope (~ 15 degree) with significant slope break. There is also a 500-m horizontal offset, between the buried paleo-seafloor in the footwall and the present-day seafloor on the hangingwall. The reflection polarity of this fault zone is reversed to that of seafloor, indicating fluid rich for this fault patch. These lines of evidence suggest that this young splay fault is an active fault with active fluid circulation along the fault. Our results indicate that the old splay fault ceased to be active around 0.5 Ma ago and multiple stacked MTDs found nearby the fault are mostly likely caused by the faulting events of this fault. A new and most likely active splay fault has developed recently and this new fault is a branch of plate-interface megathrust capable of generating great earthquakes and ensuing damaging tsunami.