Upper-plate structure and tsunamigenic faults near the Kodiak Islands, Alaska, USA

Geosphere
By: , and 

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Abstract

The Kodiak Islands lie near the southern terminus of the 1964 Great Alaska earthquake rupture area and within the Kodiak subduction zone segment. Both local and trans-Pacific tsunamis were generated during this devastating megathrust event, but the local tsunami source region and the causative faults are poorly understood. We provide an updated view of the tsunami and earthquake hazard for the Kodiak Islands region through tsunami modeling and geophysical data analysis. Using seismic and bathymetric data, we characterize a regionally extensive seafloor lineament related to the Kodiak shelf fault zone, with focused uplift along a 50-km-long portion of the newly named Ugak fault as the most likely source of the local Kodiak Islands tsunami in 1964. We present evidence of Holocene motion along the Albatross Banks fault zone, but we suggest that this fault did not produce a tsunami in 1964. We relate major structural boundaries to active forearc splay faults, where tectonic uplift is collocated with gravity lineations. Differences in interseismic locking, seismicity rates, and potential field signatures argue for different stress conditions at depth near presumed segment boundaries. We find that the Kodiak segment boundaries have a clear geophysical expression and are linked to upper-plate structure and splay faulting. The tsunamigenic fault hazard is higher for the Kodiak shelf fault zone when compared to the nearby Albatross Banks fault zone, suggesting short wave travel paths and little tsunami warning time for nearby communities.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Upper-plate structure and tsunamigenic faults near the Kodiak Islands, Alaska, USA
Series title Geosphere
DOI 10.1130/GES02486.1
Volume 18
Issue 5
Year Published 2022
Language English
Publisher Geological Society of America
Contributing office(s) Alaska Science Center Geology Minerals
Description 18 p.
First page 1474
Last page 1491
Country United States
State Alaska
Other Geospatial Kodiak Islands
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