Type:		Journal, Article
Title:		Large Trench-Parallel Gravity Variations Predict Seismogenic Behavior in Subduction Zones
Author(s):		Simons, M.; Song, T. A.
Date:		2003/08/01
Abstract:		We demonstrate that great earthquakes occur predominantly in regions with a strongly negative trench-parallel gravity anomaly (TPGA), whereas regions with strongly positive TPGA are relatively aseismic. These observations suggest that, over time scales up to at least 1 million years, spatial variations of seismogenic behavior within a given subduction zone are stationary and linked to the geological structure of the fore-arc. The correlations we observe are consistent with a model in which spatial variations in frictional properties on the plate interface control trench-parellel variations in fore-arc topography, gravity, and seismogenic behavior.
Publisher:		American Association for the Advancement of Science
Journal (full):		Science
Volume:		301
Issue:		5633
Start Page:		630
End Page:		633
Link:		http://www.sciencemag.org/content/301/5633/630.abstract
Link (PDF):		http://www.sciencemag.org/content/301/5633/630.full.pdf
Link (full):		http://www.sciencemag.org/content/301/5633/630.full