Seismic moment release during slab rupture beneath the Banda Sea

Abstract

The highest intermediate depth moment release rates in Indonesia occur in the slab beneath the largely submerged segment of the Banda arc in the Banda Sea to the east of Roma, termed the Damar Zone. The most active, western-part of this zone is characterized by downdip extension, with moment release rates (∼1018 Nm yr-1 per 50 km strike length) implying the slab is stretching at ∼10-14 s-1 consistent with near complete slab decoupling across the 100-200 km depth range. Differential vertical stretching along the length of the Damar Zone is consistent with a slab rupture front at ∼100-200 km depth beneath Roma propagating eastwards at ∼100 km Myr-1. Complexities in the slab deformation field a..