Plate coupling and strain in the far western Aleutian arc modeled from GPS data

Abstract The Aleutian and Kuril‐Kamchatka arcs meet at a triple junction of the Pacific (PAC), Bering (BER), and North American (NAM) plates. We invert GPS observations from the westernmost Aleutian (Komandorsky) Islands and Kamchatka for the fault locking depth and block motion in the far western A...

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Main Authors: Mikhail G. Kogan, Dmitry I. Frolov, Nikolay F. Vasilenko, Jeffrey T. Freymueller, Grigory M. Steblov, Göran Ekström, Nikolay N. Titkov, Alexandr S. Prytkov
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2017-04-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL072735
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author Mikhail G. Kogan
Dmitry I. Frolov
Nikolay F. Vasilenko
Jeffrey T. Freymueller
Grigory M. Steblov
Göran Ekström
Nikolay N. Titkov
Alexandr S. Prytkov
author_facet Mikhail G. Kogan
Dmitry I. Frolov
Nikolay F. Vasilenko
Jeffrey T. Freymueller
Grigory M. Steblov
Göran Ekström
Nikolay N. Titkov
Alexandr S. Prytkov
author_sort Mikhail G. Kogan
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The Aleutian and Kuril‐Kamchatka arcs meet at a triple junction of the Pacific (PAC), Bering (BER), and North American (NAM) plates. We invert GPS observations from the westernmost Aleutian (Komandorsky) Islands and Kamchatka for the fault locking depth and block motion in the far western Aleutian transform boundary. Three boundary models were considered: (1) only the Aleutian thrust fault without a trench‐normal component, (2) only a strike‐slip fault in the back arc north of the Komandorsky Islands, and (3) a rigid Komandorsky sliver bounded by the Aleutian and back‐arc faults. Observed velocities prefer Model 3, with a secular westward sliver velocity of 51 mm/a relative to NAM (two thirds of the total PAC‐NAM motion). The observed velocities are ~10% slower because of elastic strain from boundary faults. The best fitting locking depth of faults bounding the sliver is 12 km, which is similar to depths observed in diverse tectonic environments.
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institution Kabale University
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publishDate 2017-04-01
publisher Wiley
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series Geophysical Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-a122d515486f4dea99e34ddcebeda5352025-08-20T03:49:46ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072017-04-014473176318310.1002/2017GL072735Plate coupling and strain in the far western Aleutian arc modeled from GPS dataMikhail G. Kogan0Dmitry I. Frolov1Nikolay F. Vasilenko2Jeffrey T. Freymueller3Grigory M. Steblov4Göran Ekström5Nikolay N. Titkov6Alexandr S. Prytkov7Lamont‐Doherty Earth Observatory Columbia University Palisades New York USAIoffe Institute RAS St. Petersburg RussiaInstitute of Marine Geology and Geophysics FEB RAS Yuzhno‐Sakhalinsk RussiaGeophysical Institute University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks Alaska USASchmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth RAS Moscow RussiaLamont‐Doherty Earth Observatory Columbia University Palisades New York USAKamchatka Division of Geophysical Survey RAS Petropavlovsk‐Kamchatsky RussiaInstitute of Marine Geology and Geophysics FEB RAS Yuzhno‐Sakhalinsk RussiaAbstract The Aleutian and Kuril‐Kamchatka arcs meet at a triple junction of the Pacific (PAC), Bering (BER), and North American (NAM) plates. We invert GPS observations from the westernmost Aleutian (Komandorsky) Islands and Kamchatka for the fault locking depth and block motion in the far western Aleutian transform boundary. Three boundary models were considered: (1) only the Aleutian thrust fault without a trench‐normal component, (2) only a strike‐slip fault in the back arc north of the Komandorsky Islands, and (3) a rigid Komandorsky sliver bounded by the Aleutian and back‐arc faults. Observed velocities prefer Model 3, with a secular westward sliver velocity of 51 mm/a relative to NAM (two thirds of the total PAC‐NAM motion). The observed velocities are ~10% slower because of elastic strain from boundary faults. The best fitting locking depth of faults bounding the sliver is 12 km, which is similar to depths observed in diverse tectonic environments.https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL072735KomandorskyAleutiansubductionobliquesliverGPS
spellingShingle Mikhail G. Kogan
Dmitry I. Frolov
Nikolay F. Vasilenko
Jeffrey T. Freymueller
Grigory M. Steblov
Göran Ekström
Nikolay N. Titkov
Alexandr S. Prytkov
Plate coupling and strain in the far western Aleutian arc modeled from GPS data
Geophysical Research Letters
Komandorsky
Aleutian
subduction
oblique
sliver
GPS
title Plate coupling and strain in the far western Aleutian arc modeled from GPS data
title_full Plate coupling and strain in the far western Aleutian arc modeled from GPS data
title_fullStr Plate coupling and strain in the far western Aleutian arc modeled from GPS data
title_full_unstemmed Plate coupling and strain in the far western Aleutian arc modeled from GPS data
title_short Plate coupling and strain in the far western Aleutian arc modeled from GPS data
title_sort plate coupling and strain in the far western aleutian arc modeled from gps data
topic Komandorsky
Aleutian
subduction
oblique
sliver
GPS
url https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL072735
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