SEQUENCE OF EARTHQUAKE GENERATION IN THE LITHOSPHERE OF THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE KURILE ISLAND ARC

Abstract

We investigated the structure and sequence of earthquake generation in a seismic zone in the southern half of the Kurile island arc. The zone is about 150 km wide and about 1000 km long. The investigation was based on an analysis of the lateral and temporal distributions of earthquakes, foreshocks and aftershocks, as well as focal mechanisms, over long time periods. The results illustrate the lengths of seismic cycles and the complex, nonuniform time behavior of seismicity, even in a steady-state tectonic regime that is constant in all segments of the seismic zone.