Collaborative Research: The Peru Subduction Experiment (PeruSE), a Seismic Investigation of the Role of Water in the Lithospheric Dynamics of Subduction Zones

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As the recent history of earthquakes in Indonesia, China, Haiti and Chile has demonstrated, subduction zones generate the largest earthquakes. Earthquakes occur where the rock is brittle and stresses are high enough to overcome friction. The friction depends on the properties of the rock and water content, and whether the water is free to exert pore pressure, or is crystallographically bound in metamorphic rocks. Released water causes explosive volcanism. Understanding the forces and earthquake mechanisms is important for estimating hazard. In particular, we seek to use seismic and interdisciplinary data to understand how dehydration takes place in the Peru subduction zone, its effect on friction, rheology and volcanism. The work is important both to estimate the earthquake and volcanic hazard of major cities in the region as well as understanding past tectonics, and the processes that led to the tectonic structure and the mineralization of continents.Peru is an excellent place to study the relationship between the pathways of water, earthquakes, seismic coupling and volcanism. In particular, in southern Peru the slab has a steep dip and volcanoes occur above it where the slab reaches depths of about 100 km. In contrast, further north the slab dip is shallow and there are no volcanoes, but deep earthquakes occur at depths of ~600 km, some of the deepest in the world. Seismic array deep-sounding is the premier method to infer properties deep in the Earth. The goals are to investigate the contrasts in the properties of the crust and mantle, and contrasts in earthquake activity across the transition from non-volcanic flat-slab to volcanic steep-slab subduction and to infer the water pathways. Water has a major effect on friction, seismic velocities, Q, metamorphic changes, melting, and the generation of earthquakes. Seismic tomography and seismicity will be used to map these effects in 3D. Our seismic array experiment involves a broadband network in Peru comprised of 4 linear networks. Line 1 consists if 50 stations that run from the coast near Arequipa to Lake Titicaca across the steep slab. Line 3 is parallel but runs further north through Cusco above the flat-slab region. Lines 2 and 4 are connecting lines along the Andes and the coast respectively. The four lines form a box-shaped network of 125 stations spanning the transition. Each line is comprised of twenty five to fifty broadband seismic stations at 6-12 km spacing and will record for one to two years to give an unprecedented coverage of the structures and seismicity of the region. We would like to answer fundamental questions on the mechanics and mineralization of subduction.Our experiment involves many Peruvians both professionally in universities and institutes and the general population who host our stations. Peru is threatened by large earthquakes, such as the recent Pisco 2007 devastating earthquake and the 2001 event demonstrated. Tsunamis are also a threat. The more educated are the local population the better prepared. We will make the data available to the community through IRIS.This project is funded by the Geophysics Program and the Americas Program of the Office of International Science and Engineering.