In-situ evidence for dextral active motion at the Arabia-India plate boundary

International audienceThe Arabia-India plate boundary--also called theOwen fracture zone--is perhaps the least-known boundary among large tectonic plates1-6. Although it was identified early on as an example of a transform fault converting the divergent motion along the Carlsberg Ridge to convergent motion in the Himalayas7, its structure and rate of motion remains poorly constrained. Here we present the first direct evidence for active dextral strike-slip motion along this fault, based on seafloor multibeam mapping of the Arabia-India-Somalia triple junction in the northwest Indian Ocean. There is evidence for 12km of apparent strike-slip motion along the mapped segment of the Owen fracture zone, which is terminated to the south by a 50-km-wide pull-apart basin bounded by active faults. By evaluating these new constraints within the context of geodetic models of global plate motions, we determine a robust angular velocity for the Arabian plate relative to the Indian plate that predicts 2-4mmyr−1 dextral motion along the Owen fracture zone. This transformfault was probably initiated around 8 million years ago in response to a regional reorganization of plate velocities and directions8-11, which induced a change in configuration of the triple junction. Infrequent earthquakes of magnitude 7 and greater may occur along the Arabia-India plate boundary, unless deformation is in the formof aseismic creep

Probabilistic seismic hazard assessment of Eastern Marmara Region

The objective of this study is to evaluate the seismic hazard in Eastern Marmara Region using an improved probabilistic seismic hazard assessment methodology. Two significant improvements over the previous seismic hazard assessment practices are accomplished in this study: advanced seismic source characterization models in terms of source geometry and recurrence relationships are developed, and improved global ground motion models (NGA-W1 models) are employed to represent the ground motion variability. Planar fault segments are defined and a composite magnitude distribution model is used for all seismic sources in the region to properly represent the characteristic behavior of the North Anatolian Fault without the need for an additional background zone. Multi-segment ruptures are considered using the rupture model proposed by the Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities (2003). Events in the earthquake catalogue are attributed to the fault zones and scenario weights are determined by releasing the accumulated seismic energy. The uniform hazard spectra at 10 % probability of exceedance in 50 years hazard level for different soil conditions (soil and rock) are revealed for specific locations in the region (AdapazarA +/-, Duzce, Gemlik, Izmit, Iznik and Sapanca). Hazard maps of the region for rock site conditions at the selected hazard levels are provided to allow the readers perform site-specific hazard assessment and develop site-specific design spectrum for local site conditions