PUBLICATIONS Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth RESEARCH ARTICLE The 3 May 2006 (Mw 8.0) and 19 March 2009 (Mw 7.6) 10.1002/2015JB012242 Tonga earthquakes: Intraslab compressional Key Points: faulting below the megathrust • The Mw 8.0 2006 and Mw 7.6 2009 Tonga compressional earthquakes Qingjun Meng1, David S. Heeszel2, Lingling Ye1, Thorne Lay1, Douglas A. Wiens3, Minghai Jia4, were intraslab ruptures 5 • Both events activated aftershocks on and Phil R. Cummins the megathrust and near the trench 1 2 fi • Regional interplate coupling in Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, USA, Of ce of New Reactors, 3 southern Tonga appears to be low, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, Dist. of Columbia, USA, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, with few large thrust earthquakes Washington University, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA, 4Community Safety and Earth Monitoring Division, Geoscience Australia, Symonston, ACT, Australia, 5Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, Australia Supporting Information: • Figures S1–S7 Abstract The Tonga subduction zone is among the most seismically active regions and has the highest Correspondence to: plate convergence rate in the world. However, recorded thrust events confidently located on the plate T. Lay, boundary have not exceeded Mw 8.0, and the historic record suggests low seismic coupling along the arc.
[email protected] We analyze two major thrust fault earthquakes that occurred in central Tonga in 2006 and 2009. The 3 May 2006 Mw 8.0 event has a focal mechanism consistent with interplate thrusting, was located west of the trench, Citation: and caused a moderate regional tsunami.