Abstract
We determine the centroid depths for the MW=6.8, October 9, 1996, Cyprus earthquake and its largest aftershock to 32 and 27 km, respectively, by modeling P and SH waveforms. These depths are consistent with shallow subduction as the African plate, west of Cyprus, penetrates beneath the Anatolian plate. We calculate the pole of rotation between Anatolia and Africa and determine their relative motion. The result indicates that, along the Cyprean Arc, convergence between the African and Anatolian plate, in agreement with the observed seismicity, decreases from west to east. The northeasterly striking nodal plane is suggested as the plane on which the Cyprus earthquake ruptured since its strike agrees well with the derived plate motion vector. The faulting geometry suggests the emergence of a strike-slip tear fault within the African plate separating the continental Eratosthenes seamount south of Cyprus from the oceanic African lithosphere that subducts west of Cyprus.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2241-2244 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Geophysical Research Letters |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| State | Published - Jun 15 1998 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Fingerprint
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)
Cite this
Plate tectonic framework for the October 9, 1996, Cyprus earthquake. / Arvidsson, Ronald; Ben-Avraham, Zvi; Ekström, Göran; Wdowinski, Shimon.
In: Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 25, No. 12, 15.06.1998, p. 2241-2244.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Plate tectonic framework for the October 9, 1996, Cyprus earthquake
AU - Arvidsson, Ronald
AU - Ben-Avraham, Zvi
AU - Ekström, Göran
AU - Wdowinski, Shimon
PY - 1998/6/15
Y1 - 1998/6/15
N2 - We determine the centroid depths for the MW=6.8, October 9, 1996, Cyprus earthquake and its largest aftershock to 32 and 27 km, respectively, by modeling P and SH waveforms. These depths are consistent with shallow subduction as the African plate, west of Cyprus, penetrates beneath the Anatolian plate. We calculate the pole of rotation between Anatolia and Africa and determine their relative motion. The result indicates that, along the Cyprean Arc, convergence between the African and Anatolian plate, in agreement with the observed seismicity, decreases from west to east. The northeasterly striking nodal plane is suggested as the plane on which the Cyprus earthquake ruptured since its strike agrees well with the derived plate motion vector. The faulting geometry suggests the emergence of a strike-slip tear fault within the African plate separating the continental Eratosthenes seamount south of Cyprus from the oceanic African lithosphere that subducts west of Cyprus.
AB - We determine the centroid depths for the MW=6.8, October 9, 1996, Cyprus earthquake and its largest aftershock to 32 and 27 km, respectively, by modeling P and SH waveforms. These depths are consistent with shallow subduction as the African plate, west of Cyprus, penetrates beneath the Anatolian plate. We calculate the pole of rotation between Anatolia and Africa and determine their relative motion. The result indicates that, along the Cyprean Arc, convergence between the African and Anatolian plate, in agreement with the observed seismicity, decreases from west to east. The northeasterly striking nodal plane is suggested as the plane on which the Cyprus earthquake ruptured since its strike agrees well with the derived plate motion vector. The faulting geometry suggests the emergence of a strike-slip tear fault within the African plate separating the continental Eratosthenes seamount south of Cyprus from the oceanic African lithosphere that subducts west of Cyprus.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0032525755&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0032525755&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0032525755
VL - 25
SP - 2241
EP - 2244
JO - Geophysical Research Letters
JF - Geophysical Research Letters
SN - 0094-8276
IS - 12
ER -