Earthquake crisis unveils the growth of an incipient continental fault system

Eulàlia Gràcia (), Ingo Grevemeyer, Rafael Bartolomé, Hector Perea, Sara Martínez-Loriente, Laura Gómez de la Peña, Antonio Villaseñor, Yann Klinger, Claudio Lo Iacono, Susana Diez, Alcinoe Calahorrano, Miquel Camafort, Sergio Costa, Elia d’Acremont, Alain Rabaute and César R. Ranero
Additional contact information
Eulàlia Gràcia: Barcelona-CSI, Institut de Ciències del Mar, ICM-CSIC
Ingo Grevemeyer: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research
Rafael Bartolomé: Barcelona-CSI, Institut de Ciències del Mar, ICM-CSIC
Hector Perea: Barcelona-CSI, Institut de Ciències del Mar, ICM-CSIC
Sara Martínez-Loriente: University College of Dublin, School of Earth Sciences
Laura Gómez de la Peña: Barcelona-CSI, Institut de Ciències del Mar, ICM-CSIC
Antonio Villaseñor: Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera, ICTJA-CSIC
Yann Klinger: Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, UMR7154 CNRS
Claudio Lo Iacono: National Oceanography Centre, Waterfront Campus
Susana Diez: Unitat de Tecnologia Marina, UTM-CSIC
Alcinoe Calahorrano: Barcelona-CSI, Institut de Ciències del Mar, ICM-CSIC
Miquel Camafort: Barcelona-CSI, Institut de Ciències del Mar, ICM-CSIC
Sergio Costa: Barcelona-CSI, Institut de Ciències del Mar, ICM-CSIC
Elia d’Acremont: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS - ISTEP
Alain Rabaute: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS - ISTEP
César R. Ranero: Barcelona-CSI, Institut de Ciències del Mar, ICM-CSIC

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Large continental faults extend for thousands of kilometres to form boundaries between rigid tectonic blocks. These faults are associated with prominent topographic features and can produce large earthquakes. Here we show the first evidence of a major tectonic structure in its initial-stage, the Al-Idrissi Fault System (AIFS), in the Alboran Sea. Combining bathymetric and seismic reflection data, together with seismological analyses of the 2016 Mw 6.4 earthquake offshore Morocco – the largest event ever recorded in the area – we unveil a 3D geometry for the AIFS. We report evidence of left-lateral strike-slip displacement, characterise the fault segmentation and demonstrate that AIFS is the source of the 2016 events. The occurrence of the Mw 6.4 earthquake together with historical and instrumental events supports that the AIFS is currently growing through propagation and linkage of its segments. Thus, the AIFS provides a unique model of the inception and growth of a young plate boundary fault system.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-11064-5

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