Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Multiscale Postseismic Behavior On A Megathrust: The 2012 Nicoya Earthquake, Costa Rica, Rocco Malservisi, Susan Y. Schwartz, Nicholas Voss, Marino Protti, Victor Gonzalez, Timothy H. Dixon, Yan Jiang, Andrew V. Newman, Jacob Richardson, Jacob I. Walter, Denis Voyenko

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

The Nicoya Peninsula in northwest Costa Rica overlies a section of the subduction megathrust along the Middle America Trench. On 5 September 2012, a moment magnitude 7.6 megathrust earthquake occurred beneath a dense network of continuous GPS and seismic stations. Many of the GPS stations recorded the event at high rate, 1 Hz or better. We analyze the temporal and spatial evolution of surface deformation after the earthquake. Our results show that the main rupture was followed by significant afterslip within the first 3 h following the main event. The behavior of the surface displacement can be represented by relaxation …