Abstract
The clear evidence of a double seismic zone beneath Japan1,2 has led seismologists to search for other such zones elsewhere. Because they have been found in few other areas3–6, double seismic zones are thought to be rare and to depend strongly on a peculiar combination of external conditions (such as age of the descending slab, and the convergence rate)7 We report here a new double seismic zone which has been found beneath the Tonga arc8, where the stress state in the subducting slab has been described as strongly down-dip compressional7,9,10. This discovery suggests that the double seismic zone is a general feature of subducting slabs and may be found in many other subduction zones.
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Kawakatsu, H. Double seismic zone in Tonga. Nature 316, 53–55 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/316053a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/316053a0
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