Isacks & Molnar 1971 - Distribution of Stresses in The Descending Litosphere 1971

REvli•ws OF GEOPHYSICS
ANDSPACEPHYSICS,VOL. 9, NO. 1, FESltUAIt¾1971
Distribution of Stressesin the Descending Lithosphere

from a Global Survey of Focal-MechanismSolutions
of Mantle Earthquakes
BRYAN ISACKS
Earth Sciences Laboratories
National Oceanographic
and AtmosphericAdministration
Lamont-DohertyGeological
Observatoryo[ ColumbiaUniversity
Palisa'des,New York 10964
P•,T•,I• MOLNAI•
La•nont-DohertyGeo•og•ca•ObservatoryoJColumbiaUniversity
Palisades,New York 1096•
A region-by-region analysis of 204 reliable focal-mechanismsolutions for deep and

intermediate-depth earthquakes strongly supports the idea that portions of the litho-
spherethat descendinto the mantle are slablike stressguidesthat align the earthquake-
generating stressesparallel to the inclined seismiczones. At intermediate depths exten-
sional stressesparallel to the dip of the zone are predominant in zones characterized
either by gapsin the seismicityas a function of depth or by an absenceof deep earth-
quakes.Compressionalstressesparallel to the dip of the zone are prevalent everywhere
the zone exists below about 300 kin. These results indicate that the lithosphere sinks
into the asthenosphere
under its own weight but encountersresistanceto its downward
motionbelow about 300 km. Additionalresults'indicatecontortionsand disruptions
of the descending slabs; however,stressesattributable to simplebendingof the plates
do not seem to be important in the generationof subcrustalearthquakes.This sum-
mary, intendedto be comprehensive, includesnearly all solutionsobtainablefrom the
World-Wide StandardizedSeismographNetwork (WWSSN) for the period 1962through
part of 1968plusa selectionof reliablesolutionsof pre-1962events,and it includesdata
from nearly every region in the world where earthquakesoccurin the mantle. The
double-couple or sheardislocationmodel of the sourcemechanismis adequatefor all
the data.
INTRODUCTION
The idea that deep and intermediate-depthearthquakesmark the location

of a descendingtongue of lithosphereprovidesa simple explanationfor the
peculiarorientationof subcrustalearthquakemechanisms; the eventsare not
part of a deepmegathrust fault but insteadoccurinsidethe descending litho-
spherein response to compressional or extensional
stresses
alignedparallel to
the slablikegeometryof the lithosphere.This explanation[Oliver a•d Isacks,
1967; Elsasset,1967; Isacks et al., 1968, 1969] suggests
that focal-mechanism
data may thereforeyield informationaboutthe forcesappliedto the lithosphere
103
104 ISACKS AND MOLNAR
and about the contortionsand disruptions of its descendingparts. In our pre-

vious paper [Isacks and Molnar, 1969] we used focal-mechanismdata to support
the ideasthat at intermediatedepthsthe lithospheresinks into the asthenosphere
underits (•wnweightand at gi:eatdepthsencounters
strongeror densermaterial.
Our evidencecame from regionswhere the planar two-dimensionalstructure of
the arc is clear and well defined.In this paper we compile and summarizereliable
focal-mechanismsolutionsfor deep and intermediate-depth earthquakes (Figure
1) in nearly every region in the world where subcrustalearthquakesare known
to occur. We present further evidence for the gravitational sinking of the litho-
sphereand, in addition, showthat even in regionswhere the distribution of hypo-
centersand inferred stressesis complex,the idea of a stressedslab of lithosphere
still providesthe simplestinterpretationof the results.
The standard classificationsof shallow,intermediate,and deep loci [•uten-
berg a•d Richter, 1954] also correspondto the main types of focal-mechanism
solutionsin island arcs and thus appear lo be of major tectonic significance.
The boundary of 60-70 km between shallow and intermediate depths approxi-
mately dividesthe earthquakesthat occurin the shallowzone of thrust faulting
between the convergingplates of lithosphere from the earthquakesthat occur
inside the underthrust and descendingplates. An overlapping of both types,
although limited to few events, shows that the boundary is somewhat diffuse
and perhaps slightly variable in depth from region to region. The boundary of
approximately 300 km between intermediate and deep loci marks the most
outstanding feature of the distribution of the stress orientations inside the
descendinglithosphere; the stress parallel •o the dip of the zone tends to be
compressionalbelow 300 km and extensional or variable above 300 km.
Our purposeis to place emphasison individual solutionsthat are reliable
and well determined rather than to extract average features from a larger num-
ber of poorly determinedsolutions.We thereforeincludeonly solutionswhose
quality we are able to determineclearly (Figure 1, Table 1, and appendix).
One hundred seventy-nineare basedon data from the World-Wide Standardized
Seismograph Network (WWSSN) and includenearly all the deepor intermediate-
depth earthquakesthat occurredfrom 1962 throughpart of 19•8 and that were
large enoughthat a reliable solutioncould be obtained.The additional solutions
t•oreventsthat occurredprior to 1962 are relatively few in number (25) because
of the scarcity of reliable data for that period [Ritsema, 1964; Stevens and
Itodgson, 1968] and becausein certain casesthe data from which an assessment
of quality couldbe madewasnot availableto us.
Ninety-five of the solutionsare new and have not beenpublishedpreviously.
The solutionsfor the New Guinea-New Britain-Solomons,New Hebrides, and
South Sandwichregionsare the first to be reportedthat rely upon WWSS•N data.
We also report numerousnew data for the Peru-Chile and the Kurile-Japan
regions.
We summarizeand'discussthe main resultso• this study on • global basis
in the first two sections,
and in'..'
the final sectionpresentthe data and its analysis
in detail for eachregion.The region-by-region analyses,besidesprovidingthe
basis for our generalizationsand inferences,yield information about the extent
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and configuration
of the parts of lithosphericplatesthat have descended
into
the mantle during the past 10 m.y. or more.
DOUBLE-COUPLE MODEL OF THE SOURCE MECI•ANISM
The double-couple
model [Honda, 1962] is adequatefor all the solutionswe
obtainedor examined.Alternate models,suchas a suddenvolumechange,if
present
in combination
with a double-couple
component,
wouldcausethe nodal
planesto be nonorthogonaland would affectthe directionsof first motionsof
shear waves. We find no evidencefor such effects [see also Ritsema, 1964],
althoughwe cannot,in general,excludeminor contributions from such com-
ponents [Randall, 1968].
We adhereto the followingstandardterminologyfor the parametersof the
double-couple
solutions:The two orthogonalaxesthat bisectthe quadrantsof
dilatationalandcompressional
firstmotions
are the compressional•
or P, axis
and the tensional,or T, axis,respectively.
A third axis,perpendicular
to boththe
P and T axesand coincidentwith the intersectionof the nodal planes,is the B, or
null, axis.In the dislocationmodelequivalentto the doublecouple,one of the
nodalplanesis the fault plane,andthe poleof the othernodalplaneis parallelto
the slip vector.
The correspondence of the P, B, and T axesand the principal axesof maxi-
mum, intermediate,and minimum compresslye stressis an assumption,justified
basically by the results-(describedin the next section),that for deep and inter-
mediate-depthearthquakesthe P, B, and T axesare the mostcloselygroupedof
the double-coupleparametersand are most nearly parallel to the planar geome-
try of the seismiczones[Isackset al., 1968, 1969;McKenzie, 1969a;Isacks and
Molnar, 1969]. Hence, the physicalmechanismsof mantle earthquakesmay be
suchthat the shearing
or faultingformsa• an angleof about45ø to the axisof
maximum compressirestress.If the angle betweenthe P axis and the axis of
maximumcompressirestresswere as much as 15ø, however,detectionof suchan
effect [Isacks et al., 1969']would be difficultwith the presentresolutionof our
data. Thus, in terms of a Coulomb-Mohr-typeprocess,we can only suggestthat
the effectivecoefficientof internalfrictionis probablylessthan 1 and may be 0.
STRESS WITHIN DESCENDING LITHOSPHERIC PLATES
Parallelism between Stress Axes and Inclined Seismic Zones
The parallelismbetweenthe axesof compression or tensionof the double-

couplesolutionsand the seismiczonesis the primary evidencethat the earth-
quakes in the mantle occur inside descendinglithosphericplates in responseto
stresses within the plates.The nonparallelism betweenthe nodalplanes(oneof
whichis the fault plane) and the seismiczonesshowsthat the solutionscannotbe
interpretedas simpleshearingparallel to the zones.We demonstrated theserela-
tionshipsin our previouspaper (Figure 1 of Isacks and Molnar [1969]) by
plottingthe axesandpolesof the solutionson a commonprojectionorientedrela-
tive to the local strike and dip of the well-definedinclinedseismiczones.We do
STRESSES IN THE DESCENDING LITHOSPHERE 115
not usethis methodof presentationfurther in this paperbecause(1) the precision

with which the orientation of a zone can be determinedvaries greatly from region
to region,and (2) a major causeof variationsamongsolutionsfor a regionmay
be variations in the structure of the zone rather than some inherent feature of the
mechanism.Thus, furtherquantitativestudyof the closeness of groupingof the
axesrequiresdetailedresolution
of the distributionof hypocenters
nearthe events
with we!l-determinedsolutions.In this paper we seek instead a broad global
surveyof the outstanding
featuresthat canbe discerned
with presentlyavailable
information.
The parallelismbetweenthe stressaxesandthe seismiczonesis demonstrated
individuallyfor eachregionin Figures7 through29. In most caseseither the P
or the T axis is parallel to the zone.Often either the P or the T axis may group
stronglyabouta commondirection,whilethe othertwo axesinterchange posi:
tions or form a girdle about the stably oriented axis. This feature suggeststhat
the intermediateprincipal stressis nearly equal in magnitudeto one of the other
principal stresses[Balakina, 1962] In some.regionsall three stressaxes inter-
changepositions.Althoughthe causeof sucha marked spatial variability in the
distribution of stressesmay be obscure,the idea of a stressedplate doesoffer a
generalexplanationfor this otherwisepuzzlingresult.
Hypothesesfor deep earthquakesof the type proposedby Sugimura and
Uyeda [1967] and Savage[1969] do not accountfor the resultsof the preceding
paragraph.In thesehypotheses the shearingand faulting is constrainedto be
parallelto planesof pre-existing weakness in the material;thusthe polesof the
nodalplanes,or a• least oneset of poles,rather than the P or T axes,shouldbe
the mostcloselygroupedparameterof the solutionsand have the most consistent
relationshipto the orientationof the seismiczone.Savagerecognizes this problem
and proposes that the interchanging of stressaxesis characteristic
only of more
contorted
partsof slabs.In ourstudy,however,
we canfindlittle evidence
to
supportthis; the interchangingof axesoccursin zonessuchas thosein partsof
the Izu-Bonin,Tonga,and New Hebridesregionsthat are relativelyun½ontorted.
Ritsema [1964, 1966, 1970] reportsthat the polesof the nodal planesfor
earthquakesin the mantle tend to be horizontalor vertical and that the sense
of shearingacrossthe morehorizontalnodal plane reversesfrom intermediateto
greatdepths.To explaintheseresultsRitsemaproposes
a predominantly
hori-
zontal motion of material through the gap of seismicitybetweendeep and inter-
mediate-depthearthquakes(see also Harrington [1963]). This reversal in
orientationis in agreemen•with our findingsexceptthat we interpret this as a
changefrom extension to compressioninsidean inclinedslabof lithosphere.The
main differenceis that we find that the nodal planesor their polesdo not tend to
be horizontalor vertical. A histogramof the plungesof the poleslisted in Table 1
showsa nearly uniformdistributionof anglesbetween0ø (horizontal)and 90ø
(vertical).Thedifference
seems
to bea resultof Ritsema's
[1970,p. 504]rejec-
tion of solutionsin whichthe pattern of firs• motionsis dominatedby onepolarity.
His selectionwould thus be biased against solutionsthat dø not have a nearly
verticalnodalplane.
Thelackof a strong
tendency
forthenodalplanes
to beverticaland:
hori_
zontal also arguesagainstthe hypothesis(e.g.,Lliboutry [1969]) that the lith-

ospherebreaksup and sinksvertically alongen echelonvertical faults.
A few solutionsfor intermediate-depthearthquakescan be interpretedas a
downwardcontinuationof the thrust faulting characteristicof shallowportions
of inclinedseismiczones.The depthsof theseeventsare lessthan about 100 km.
Althoughin somecaseseither or both the hypocentraldepth and the dip of the
seismiczoneare uncertain,further resultsof this type may give someindication
of the thicknessof the overthrustplate of lithosphere.
Predominance
and Variationso• Down,-DipStressOrientations
For brevity we refer to orientations of the stress axes in which the P or T
axis is parallel to the local dip of the seismiczone as 'down-dip compression'or
'down-dip extension,'respectively.The prevalenceof these orientationsis dem-
onstrated by the fact that two-thirds of the 204 solutionslisted in Table I are of
one type or the other. Included are solutionsfrom nearly every region where
mantle earthquakesoccur,so that the generalizationis globalin scope.In regions
where the structureof the zoneis known best,the axestend to scatterwithin 25.0
or less of the direction of dip; it is not certain how much of the scatter is due to
complexitiesin the structureof the zonesor small systematicdifferencesbetween
the P, T, and B axes and the principal axes of stress in the material. In other
regions,where the orientationsof the zonesare not so well known, the available
evidence is still sufficient in many casesto concludethat the parameter most
nearly parallel to the dip of the zoneis either the P or the T axis. The remaining
third of the solutionsare for eventsin markedly contortedparts of zonesor in
zonesof undeterminedstructure, or are more or lesswell-establishedexceptions.
Figure 2 is a summaryof the variationsof down-dipstresstype as a function
of regionand depth.Also shownare the approximateconfigurations
of the deep
seismiczones,the maximum depths,and the locationsof marked gapsin seismic
activity as a function of depth. The data and interpretations upon which this
figure is basedare describedin detail in the regionalsectionsand are summarized
in the next-to-last column of Table 1. Not included in the figure are certain
complexregionsnear prominentjunctionsor endsof zones (discussedin the next
section) and a few regionswherethe structureis very poorly known. The figure
illustrates the following major resultsof this study:
1. There are remarkablesystematicdifferences

betweenintermediate-depth
and deepsolutions:
(a) The deepsolutions
are very stronglydominatedby down-dipcom-
pression.
(b) The intermediate-depth solutionsare more variable and include
down-dip compression and extension,as well as many solutions
that are clearly neither (X's in Figure 2).
2. There is a correlationbetweenthe down-dipstresstype at intermediate

depthsand the grossnature of the distributionof seismicityas a functionof
depth:
Fig. 2. Global summary of

the distribution of down-dip
stresses in inclined seismic
zones. The stress axis that
is approximately parallel to
the dip of the zone is rep-
resented by an untilled
(open) circle for the com-
pressional or P axis and a 5OOf
• NORTH
CENTRAL
SOUTH
filled (solid) circle for the 7001
-"•'"
tensional or T axis; an X
indicates that neither the P
nor the T axis is approxi-
mately parallel to the dip.
The data plotted a•re tabu-
lated in the second-to-last 700
F.... NCHILE NE•'HEBRIDES
--
column of Table 1. For each
region the line represents
the seismic zone in a verti-
cal section aligned perpen-
3OO
. ? ......
dicular to the strike of the
zone. The lines show ap-
500[•
7oo[-¾
.....
/ ' / (• •E.5•
NEw
......
- --NEW
.....
-- _ _ ._.••US.._ _ S__?._W
E..__ ._U__.M•_
RMANi •
- _ --E _ A-4
ISUNDAMINDANAO
ZEALAND
BRITAIN
SOLOMONS
ALEUTIANS
SUMATRAAEGEANHINDUKUSH
/
proximately the dips and
lengthsof the zoneand gaps
in the seismicactivity as a
functionof depth.
Down-dip extensionis predominantin regionswhere either marked

gapsin seismicityare presentbetweendeep and intermediate-depth
eventsor where no deepearthquakesare present.
(b) Down-dip compressionis predominant where the zone is continu-
ous, but this correlation is tenuous.
3. 'There is no obvious correlation between the bends in the vertical sections
shown in Figure 2 and the down-dip stresstype. Down-dip compressionis
dominantbelow 300 km regardlessof the configurationof the zone,whereasat
intermediatedepthsthe variations in down-dip stresstype are not related in any
obviousway to the structure of the zone.
Sinking o[ the Lithosphere

Sinkingat intermediatedepths. We claimedin ourpreviouspaperthat gen-
eralizations i and especially 2 listed above constitute evidence for the models
shownin Figure 3 in whichlithosphericplates,moredensethan the surrounding
mantle,sinkintothe asthenosphere undertheir ownweigh[andaretherebyplaced
underextension.Thusthe sections shownin the middleand lowerpartsof Figure
2 correspondto modelsa, b, or possiblyd in Figure3, whereasthosein the upper
par[ correspondto c (or possiblyb in the Kurile-Kermadecsections).The idea
that the suboceaniclithosphereis gravitationally unstable and can sink into
the asthenosphere
is physicallyplausibleand supportedby seismological
and
gravitydata (e.g.,Elsa,sser
[1967],Oliverand Isacks[1967,1968],McKenzie
a b c d
LOW
INCREASING
STRENGTH
HIGH
•) •o 0STRENGTH
Fig, 3. A model showingplausibledistributionsof stresseswithin slabs

wheregravitationalforcesact on excess masswithin the slabs.A filledcircle
representsdown-dipextension, an untilledcirclerepresentsdown-dipcom-
pression,and the size of the circle qualitatively indicatesthe relative
amount of seismicactivity. In (a) the slab sinks into the asthenosphere,
and the load of excessmassis mainly supportedby forcesapplied to the
slababovethe sinkingportion;in (b) the slabpenetrates strongermaterial,
and part of the load is supportedfrom below,part from above; the stress
changes
fromextension
to compression
asa function
of depth.In' (c) the
entire load is supportedfrom below, and the slab is under compression
throughout.In (d) a piecehasbrokenoff. A gap in seismicityas a func-
tion of depthwouldbe expectedfor (b) and (d), whereasno deepearth-
quakesoccurbeneaSh(a). The horizontaldashedlinesin the figuresin-
dicatepossiblephasechanges in the uppermantlenear 350-400km and
650-700km [Anderson,1967]. (Figure after Isacksand Molnar, 1969.)
[1969b],Press[1969],Hath•rton[1969,1970],Jacoby[1970],and Griggs
[19711).
Mos• of •he seismiczonesshownin Figure 2 appear •o be in descending
pieces of suboceanic
lithosphere.
Beneathseveralcontinental
regions
in theAlpide
bel•, suchas Burma,•he Hindu Kush,and Rumania,however,•he subcrustal
zonescanno•be •raced•o any nearbypieceof oceaniccrusLAlthough•hereis no
problemin havingoceaniclithosphere
sink in•o •he mantle,continental
litho-
sphereis probablybuoyan•andwould•end•o remainon•he surface.Geological
evidenceindicatesthat much of the Alpide bel• may be beneath or near the
suture where an ocean has closedand where collision of continental pla•es has
taken place [Holmes,1965]. Thus •he prevalenceof nearly verticalextensional
stresses
in the mantle beneaththeseregionssuggests•ha• piecesof oceaniclitho-
sphere,remnantsof a consumed
suboceanic
pla•e,are nowpullingaway and
downwardfrom the continentalpiece•o whichi• is a•ached.
The imperfection of the correlationbetweendown-dips•resstype at in•er-
mediatedepthsandthe distribution of seismicityasa functionof depth--notably,
the variability of s•resses within•he Kurile arc and the southernNew Hebrides,
•he down-dipcompressions in the Sou•hSandwichand Ryukyu arcs,and the
complexorientations tha• are foundin severalotherregio. ns--sugges• tha• a•
intermediatedepthsstresses other•han the simpletwo-dimensional •ype implied
in Figure3 are presen•in certainregions. This is no• surprising,
sinceeventsa•
intermediatedepthsare neares••he regionwherethe pla•,ebendsdownward
into the mantle; thus in certain regionsgeometricadjustmentsto this major

deformationmay locally controlthe orientationof stressinsidethe plate. Other
complicationsmay include effects of seamountsand other topographic features
on the forcesappliedto the descending slab in the underthrustingzone; effectsof
fault zones and other mechanicalheterogeneitiesinherited from the formation
and deformation of the slab on the surface prior to its descent;variations in
the gravitational force due to a heterogeneous distribution of excessmassin the
slab; and localizedeffectsof chemicalor phasetransitionsthat are not distributed
uniformly through the descendingslab. Someof these effectscould also expla.in
the nestsof intenseactivity or remarkablegapsin activity that characterizethe
distribution of earthquakesalongthe strike of many zones.
Down-dip compressionbetween300 and 700 km. The most consistentresult
of this investigation is the predominanceof down-dip compressioneverywhere
below about 300 km. One interpretation of this result is that the forces on the
lower portions of the slab that resist its motion become relatively important
below 300 km. The compressional stressinsidethe slab would be the result of.the
downward-directed forces applied to the upper portions of the slab and the
upward-directedresistingforcesappliedto the lower parts of the slab. The cause
of this resistancemight be either an increasein strengthin the surroundingmantle
or a buoyant effect if the density of the slab were lower than that in the sur-
rounding mantle.
The interval of depth in which down-dip compressionis prevalent is bounded
approximately by the depthsof 350-400 and 650-700 km at which major phase
changesare thought to occur in the normal mantle [Anderson,1967]. If the
shallower transition (near 350-400 km) occurs at shallower depths in the slab
than in the adjacentmantle [Griggs,1971], •he additionalload of densematerial
would further drive the lower portions of the slab downward and therefore
accentuatethe compressionalstressinside the slab below 300 km. This effect is
supportedby both the focal-mechanismdata and the estimatedparametersof the
phasechange[Anderson,1967; Akimoto and Fujisawa, 1968].
On the other hand, the parametersgivenby Andersonsuggestthat the deeper
phase change (near 650-700 km) would occur at greater depth in the slab than
in the surroundingmantle. This would provide an upward buoyant force that
resiststhe sinking of the lithosphere.The critical parametersin this caseare the
slope of the pressure-temperaturecurve at the phase boundary and a possible
increasein the iron-magnesiumratio with depth. Unfortunately, however,to our
knowledgethese parameters are not well determined.If the parameters of the
phase changeare suchthat buoyant resistancedoesnot occur,the prevalenceof
down-dip compressionprovidesstrongevidencefor an increasein strength in the
mantle. Alternatively, if the strength does not increase enough to support the
heavy slabs,then the focal-mechanismdat• supportthe idea that the buoyant
resistingforce is important.
In Figure 3 we suggesta zone of increasingstrength below depths of about
350 km to account for the compressionalstressesin sqismic zones that reach
depthsof only 500 km. This is reasonablein view of the indicationsof • minimum
of creep strength as a function of depth in the upper 300-400 km of the mantle
120 ISACKS AND MOLNAiR
[Gordon,1965; Anderson,1966; McConnell, 1968; Weertman,1970]. However,

the strength of the material through which the slab penetratesmust remain
significantlysmaller than the strengthof the slab if the plate is to maintain its
identity as suchto the depthsof the deepestearthquakes.'Strength'as usedhere
is creepstrengthasdefinedby Weertman[1970].
Gaps in the lithosphere. Figure 3 showstwo possibleexplanationsfor the
gaps in seismicactivity as a function of depth; in Figure 3b t.he lithosphere
is continuous,but the deviatoricstressgoesto zero in changingfrom compression
to extension.In Figure 3d the lithosphereis discontinuous, and the gap in seis-
micity corresponds to a gap in the lithosphere.In this model a piece of litho-
spherehas becomedetachedand is sinking independently.
There is evidencethat a[ least in someregionsa pieceof lithospheremay be
detached as shown in Figure 3d. The remarkable configurations of the zones
beneath Peru and western Brazil and the New Hebrides (Figures 10 and 14)
sugges[this. The deep earthquakesbeneath the North Island of New Zealand
[Adams, 1963] represen[a significantdiscrepancyin the otherwiseregular rela-
tionship between the lengLhof the seismiczone and the rate of convergencealong
the Tonga-I(ermadec-New Zealand island arc [Isacks et al., 1968; McKenzie,
1969b] and therefore may be located in a detachedpiece of lithosphere.The
solutionfor the Spanishdeep ear[hquake,in comparisonwith result•sfor nearly
every other region of deep-focusactivity in the world, is not explicable as
down-dip compressionin a lithosphericslab that is traceable t•o a presently
active island arc on the surface; this earthquakemay thus also be locatedin a
pieceof lithospherethat is detachedfrom a surfaceplate.
Observationsof the frequenciesand amplitudesof seismicshear waves from
deep earthquakesrecordeda[ suitable locationsmight indicate the presenceor
absenceof a gap in the lithosphere.In New Zealand [Mooney, 1970], the New
Hebrides (Barazangi, personalcommunica.tion, 1970), New Brit•ain,the Solomons,
and Chile [Molnar and Oliver, 1969; Sacks,1969], regionswherenotable gapsin
seismicity are present, high-frequencyshear waves pass through the gap. In the
caseof the Peru-westernBrazil region [Molnar and Oliver, 1969;Sacks,1969], the
results are as yet ambiguous.The clearly recordedhigh-frequencyphasesmean
either that the lithosphere is continuousthrough these gaps or that the zone of
large attentuation in the adacen[ normal mantle is confined primarily to the
region above the gaps,i.e., above about 300 km. Sincethe last alternative cannot
be excluded,the questionremains open.
Contortionsand Disruptionsof the.DescendingLithosphere
The two major world-encircling belts of island-arc or island-arc-like struc-
tures, the circum-Pacific and Alpide belts, are divided into more or less well-
defiheddiscretesegments.The junctionsbetweenthesesegmentsare characterized
by abrup[ changesor offsetsin trend, marked changesin the dip of the seismic
zones,gaps in the seismicactivity, shallowingof the oceanictrench, and inter-
section of major transverse features. The curvature of the island arc on the sur-
face,thoughgenerallyconvextowardthe oceanicside,variesconsiderablyamong
the segmentsof island arcs. In somecasesthe arc endsabruptly and the inclined
seismic zone has a well-defined lateral edge. These features imply that the
descendingedgesof lithosphericplates are contortedand segmented.Thus, it
would be surprisingif the distribution of stressesinside the descendingportions
couldbe completelyunderstoodin terms of the two-dimensionalmodelsof Figure
3. In particular, the solutionsexcludedfrom Figure 2 are for eventslocatednear
major junctions and contortededgesof seismiczones,and are discussedbelow.
Moreover, someof the solutionsshownin Figure 2 by an X (i.e., solutionsinter-
pretable as neither down-dipcompression nor extension),as well as someof the
anomalousdown-diptypes, can be attributed to deformationsof the slabsthat
result from three-dimensionalgeometricaleffectsrather than the two-dimensional
effectsof Figure 3.
Bendingof lateral edgesof inclinedseismiczones. The distributionof hypo-
centersat the northern end of the Tonga island arc (Figure 11) and beneaththe
Banda Sea at the easternend of the Sundaisland arc (Figure 26) showthat the
lateral edgesof the seismiczonesin thesetwo regionsare bent upward. A simpli-
fied picture of such a deformation is shown in Figure 4. Limited evidencesug-
geststhat bent edgesare also located at the northeasternend of the seismiczone
beneath Colombia, South America (near the Bucaramanga 'nest'), the northern
ends of the West Indies a.ndthe South Sandwicharcs, the southernend of the
New Hebrides arc, and the northern end of the Izu-Bonin arc.
Direct effectsof the bending,i.e., a compressionor an extensionperpendicular
to the axis of bending,are indicatedclearly by only two solutionsfor deepevents
beneaththe Banda .Seaand by solutionsfor intermediate-deptheventsin Colom-
bia. In the latter regionthe interpretationis very uncertain.In contrast,the solu-
tions for eventsnear the northern end of the Tonga arc appear to be merely
rotated versionsof the solutionsin the unbent part, whereinthe axis of rotation
corresponds to the axis of bending.This relationshipimplies that the bending
Fig. 4. Diagram showing a bent edge of a

descendinglithospheric plate. The surficial
portion of the plate is to the left; on the
right side the plate bends down and de-
scends into the mantle. The lower corner
of the descendingpart of the slab curls up-
ward, as shown in the lower right-hand side
of the model. Such a structure is postulated,
for example, for the eastern, northern, and
southern endsof the Sunda, Tonga, and New
liebrides arcs, respectively. (Figure after
Fitch and Molnar [1969].)
doesnot producethe stressreleasedby the earthquakesbut merely changesthe

orientationof the stressguide.
Oblique-angledjunctions. Three notable oblique-anglejunctions, all con-
cave toward the oceanicside, are located respectivelya• the junctions of the
Kurile, North I-Ionshu,and Izu-Bonin arcs and betweenthe island-arc-like struc-
tures of Peru and Chile in westernSouthAmerica.Only near the junctionbetween
the North I-Ionshuand Izu-Bonin segmentsdo we find goodevidencefor localized
effects on the focal-mechanismsolutions.The data suggesttha• the lithosphere
may be tearing beneath central I-Ionshuand descendingbeneaththe Sea of Japan
and southof I-Ionshuas separateslabs (Fig. 5b).
Wyss [1970] suggeststha• the low apparent stresscalculatedfor intermedi-
ate-depth events near the Peru-Chile corner may be due to a tear in the slab.
However, the solutionsfor intermediate-depthevents exhibit no obviouseffects
of the corner,bu• seemto be related to stressesinsideone of the segmentsrather
than to stressesattributable to the presumedtearing.
•C•'HINGE
FAULTING
Fig. 5. Contortion (a) or disruption(b) betweentwo segmentsof a slab with differentdips.

In (a) the portion between the two segmentsis bent and stretched.In (b) the two segments
tear apart along a vertical hinge fault. In this type of faulting the motion would be nearly
vertical and such that the more steeply dipping side moves down relative to the more gently
dippingside. An example
maybe locatedbeneathsouth-central
Honshu(Figures
21 and22).
This may also be the casefor the junction betweenthe Kurile and North
Itonshusegments, where•he solutionsseemmorerela•ed•o pa•ternson either side
than •o effectsof •he corneritself. However,•he interpretationfor •his regionis
more complexbecauseof •he variability of s•ressorientationswithin •he KUrile
zone.
Junctionsbetweenthe Tonga and Kermadec island arcs and the North Island
of New Zealand,and betweenthe Izu-Bonin and Marianas, are characterizedby
low seismicactivity; and few solutionsnear •hesejunctionswere obtained.The
distributionof hypocenterssuggests •ha• the Tonga-Kermadeczone is disrupted
in•o two segmentscorresponding to a Tonga slab and a Kermadec slab.
Convexcurvature. Frank [1968] pointsout that unlessa simplegeometrical
relationship holds between •he dip 'and the curvature of •he surface trace of the
seismiczone,surfacearea is no• conserved, and •he descendingpla•e will be either
laterally compressed or s•re•ched.$tauder [1968b] suggeststha• such an effe½•
could account for extension parallel to •he strike of •he seismic zone •ha• he
inferredfrom •he solutionof an intermediate-deptheven• in the Aleu•ans (Fig-
ure 19). AlthoughStauder'sargumen•is basedon a fia•-earthmodel (as depicted
in Figure 6), extensionis s•ill to be expectedthere becauseof •he s•eepdip of
the seismiczone [Davies and McKenzie, 1969;Murdock, 1969]. A similar effect
may accountfor solutionsof severaleventsin •he Sunda,Mindanao, and New
Hebrides arcs.
Fig. 6. Illustration of how lateral extensioncan be producedin the descendingportion of a

plate near a corner (or bend) that is concavetoward the direction of dip of the slab. The
dotted line representsthe axis of the trench and the axis of bending.In 6A a horizontal,
undeformed
slabis shown.Bendingof the underthrust
edgeof the slabalongthe trenchaxis
produceslateral extension or separation near the corner; in 6B a separation is shown for
clarity. An example of possible lateral extension is shown in Figure 19 for the Aleutian arc
[Stauder, 1968b]. •
124 ISACKS AND MOLNA:R
On the other hand, if the dip of the seismiczoneis lessthan twice the radius
of curvature (in degrees)of the surfacetrace of the arc, then lateral compression
shouldresult. One solutionin agreementwith this is found at intermediatedepths
in the nearly straight Izu-Bonin arc.
By the samereasoning,lateral compression shouldbe presentnear the con-
cave cornersdiscussedin the last section.In those cases,however,the zoneson
either sidediffer appreciablyin dip sothat a contortionor disruptionof the types
depictedin Figure 5 may apply instead.
Bending as the source o• earthquake-producing stresses. The evidence
reviewed above, plus •he lack of effect on the mechanismsolutionsof the bends
in the seismiczonesdepictedin Figure 1, suggeststha• s•ressesdue •o bendingof
•he lithosphericplates do no• play an important role in the generationof earth-
quakesin the mantle. This conclusionis no• surprisingin view of the lack of any
appreciable seismic activity that can be associatedwi•h •he very pronounced
bending of the lithosphereas it turns downward beneath the island arc. The only
earthquakes•ha• appear •o be clearly associatedwith •his bend are shallowear,h-
quakeslocatedbeneathor slightly seawardof the axis of the •rench and charac-
terized by horizontal extension perpendicular •o the trench. These are mos•
prominentin the Aleutian arc [Stauder, 1968b], althougha few examplesare
reportedfor o•her arcs [Molnar and Sykes, 1969; Katsumata a•d Sykes, 1969;
Fitch, 1970a; Isacks, 1970]. An even• a• 80 km beneaththe axis of the Kurile
trench may also be associatedwith compressionals•ress at the bottom of •he
bendinglithosphere,althoughin this case•he interpretation is uncertain (Figure
20). The par• of •he under•hrus•lithospherebetweenthe trench axis and •he
volcanoes,wherethe bendingis presumablymost severe,appearsto be relatively
aseismic.The relief of extensionalstressnear the upper par• of the ben• sub-
oceaniclithosphereby earthquakesmus• thereforebe suppressed whenthe upper
surfaceof the plate movesbeneaththe arc.
The implication of these observationsis that the generationof intermediate-
depth and deep earthquakesis governednot only by the distribution of stress
within the lithospherebut also by unusualphysical propertiesor conditionswithin
the downgoingpart of the plate. This is further suggested by the fact that earth-
quakesinsidethe lithosphereare apparently rare exceptin the downgoingpart.
Of three generaltypesof hypotheses that have beenproposedto explainthe proc-
essof shearfracturingin a deepearthquake--(1) an embrittlementor weakening
[Raleigh and Paterson, 1965] or some other effect (e.g., Griggs and Handin
[1960] and Savage[196.9]) associated with a fluid phase; (2) a high-temperature
instability in the creeprate (e.g.,Orowan [1965], Griggsand Baker [1969]);
and (3) a high-pressure, low-temperaturemechanicalinstability [Byeflee and
Brace, 1969]--the first might be expectedto apply more to the sidesthan to the
centerof the descending
slab.The lack of eff•btsattributableto simplebending
of the slabssuggeststhat the earthquakesare locatednearer the centerthan the
sides, and further suggeststhat the earthquakesoccur in the coldest material.
Theseinferencesconcurwith (3), althoughboththe theoreticaland the experi-
mentalbasesfor that hypothesis
with respectto deepearthquakesare uncertain.
Implications for Plate Tectonicsand Mantle Convection

In adding œur•hersuppor••o •he concep•oœsubcrustalearthquakezonesas
par•s oœcoheren•and s•rongpla•es of lithosphere,our resultscontribute•o •wo
major conditions•ha• a convection•heory shouldsafisœy. The firs• is •ha• litho-
sphericmaterial can descend•o depthsoœ.a•leas• 650-700 km. Furthermore,•he
predominanceoœcompressive s•ressesa• grea• depthsand •he correspondence oœ
•he depth of •he sharp cutoff in world seismicityas a œuncfion
oœdepth wi•h a
major discontinuityor •ransi•ionregionin •he man•le [Engdahland Flinn, 1969]
sugges• bu• do no• prove •ha• •he lithospheric material does no• penetrate
deeper•han 700 km. The secondconditionis •ha•, because•he descendingslabs
would be impenetrable, the configurationoœ•he inclined seismic zones places
s•rong constraints on •he movemen• oœmaterial in •he as•henosphere;any flow
of material mus• •urn down near •he zonesand canno•pass•hrough•hem. By
•he same reasoning,•he contortionsoœ•he slabs contain inœorma•ionabou• •he
integrated history of •he relative motions between•he lithosphere,•he as•heno-
sphere,and, possibly,•he mesosphere in •he casesoœ•he deepes•zones.Although
•he contortionsare no• oœsufficien•magnitude•o obscure•he basic inclined-plane
asymme•ryoœmos• zones,•hey do a•es• •o relative mo•ionsbetween•he upper
and lowerpar•s oœslabs,includingbo•h •ranslafionsand ro•a•ions.
The forcesinvolvedin •he gravitational sinkinga• intermediatedepths,if
•ransmi•ed pas• •he bendingand under,brushing par• oœ•he lithospherenear •he
•rench and island arc, couldbe an impor•an• contribution•o •he driving mecha-
nism of sea-floorspreadingand continentaldriœ•.Moreover,•he increasedresis-
tance •o •he downwardmo•ion oœ•he lithospherea• depthsgrea•er •han 300 km
migh• causealterationsin •he pa•ern oœmovementsoœsurficial pla•es oœlitho-
sphere.Our results for •he Tonga region may have a direc• bearing on •hese
questions.The Tonga arc includes•he cleares• example oœa continuouszone
under compression •hrough a range oœdepthsbetweenabou• 80 km and grea•er
•han 600 km; in •his case•he resisting•orcesapplied•o •he lowerpar• oœ•he slab
apparenfiy suppor• nearly •he entire load oœexcessmass within •he slab. Thus
(1) •he excessmassabove80 km is sutTicien• •o drive •he slab downward; (2) the
slab is being pusheddownwardby forcesapplied mainly to the surfaceportions;
or (3) •he downwardmo•ionsare essentiallys•opping.The high level oœshallow
seismicity[Brine, 1968; Davies and Brune, 1971], •he lack oœsedimentsin •he
Tonga •rench,•he depthoœ•he •rench,and o•her geophysicaland geologicalobser-
vations argue agains• bu• do no• disprove (3). The firs• is no• likely because•he
lithospherei•selœmay be nearly 80 km. Thus the results for •his region (and
probably for North I-Ionshualso) sugges••ha• •he gravitational sinking force
and resis[antea[ grea[ depth, allhoughprobably impor[an[ in [he dynamicsof
[he descendingpor[ionsof [he pla[es, eanno[be [he only importan[ forcesdriving
[he horizontal moJiohsof [he li[hosphere.
REGION-BY-REGION PRESENTATION OF DATA
A de[ailed region-by-regionanalysis of •he rela[ionshipsbe[ween [he siress

axes inferred from the focal-mechanism solu[ions and [he local s[rue[ures of [he
seismiczones is presen[edin •his see[ion.The eri[ieal information is •he dis[ri-
butionof hYpocenters nearthe earthquakes for whichœocal-mechanism solutions

are available.Three basicsourcesof data usedœorall the regionsare Gutenberg
and Richter [1954],the locationsoœ•he Coastand Geode•icSurvey(ESSA)as
compiledby Barazangiand Dorman [1969], and Duda [1964]. In particular,
enlargedversionsof BarazangiandDorman'smapsof epicenters within intervals
of 100-km depth were very helpful. These data are supplemented by more
detailed s•udiesof particular regionsif available.
In eachregion•he solutionsare dividedinto groupsaccording•o their simi-
larity and the locationsof •he earthquakesinvolved.If the structureof the
seismiczoneis reasonablywell determined,the orientationof •he stressaxescan
then be comparedwith that of a planethat bestrepresents the localstructureof
the zone.This provides•he basictest of the hypothesis that deepand intermedi-
ate-depthearthquakesindicatestresses within thin lithosphericplatesas well as
of additionalhypotheses discussed in the previoussection.On the otherhand,if
•he structureof the seismiczoneis poorlyknown,the procedurecanbe reversed;
the stressaxesof •he solutionsdetermineplaneswhoseorientationscan then be
comparedwith the availableinformationon the distributionof hypocenters and
wi•h other regional•rends.This comparison yieldsadditionalweak testsfor the
hypothesisof stressedplates as well as informationon •he detailedregional
tectonics.
In addition, the featuresusedin •he constructionof Figure 2 are described
for each region; these include the maximum depth of hypocentersand the pres-
enceand range of depthsof a gap in the distributionof hypocentersas a function
of depth. The determinationof gaps is subject to someuncertainties;it is not
possible
to discriminate
between• truly aseismic
gapand a gap•hat is actually
a minimum in a continuousbu• insufficientlysampleddistribution.
The presentations•ar•s with the New Guinea regionand proceedscounter-
clockwisearoundthe Pacific and •hencethroughIndonesiaand the Himalayan-
Alpide belt •o the MediterraneanSea.The numbersusedin Table I and the fig-
ures refer •o either the. earthquake or its mechanismsolution.
New Guinea-New Britain-SolomonIslands (Figures7 and 8)

Deep sea •renches,belts of volcanoes,and inclinedzonesof shallow- and
deep-focushypocentersform island-arc structuresparallel to •he New Britain
and SolomonIslands. These •wo structuresmeet and form a sharp cornereast
of the southeastern•ip of New Ireland. Like the New Hebrides arc farther east
and unlike all other circum-Pacificarcs, the New Britain and Solomonarcs are
convexto the south and face away from the Pacific basin. Apparently, litho-
spherebeneaththe Coral and SolomonSeasis being consumedin these arcs.
Southwestand west of New Britain subcrustalearthquakesoccur beneath New
Guinea,but •he distributionof hypocentersis not well defined.Severaladditional
zonesof shallow earthquakesare present in the region. The most striking is a'
well-definedlinear alignment of shallow epicenterstha• crossesthe Bismarck Sea
north of New Britain. Another follows the Bismarck archipelago,while a third
appears•o crossthe SolomonSea from the southeastern
end of New Guineato
the SolomonIslands.Thesezonessuggest•ha• in this region•he boundarybetween
I
5-7
8-10
ß x•
oo
•00•
o
NEWBRiTAiN
NEW GUINEA
! i
140 E 150 160
Fig. 7. The Solomonsand the New Britain island arcs and the region of New Guinea. The
following symbolsapply to Figures 7-29- The large circlesare equal-area projections of the
lower hemisphereof a focal sphere and are oriented accordingto the directions of the map
projection; in all casesthe top and right-hand side correspondto north and east, respectively.
A filled circle representsthe axis of tension, T; an untilled circle representsthe axis of com-
pression,P; and an X representsthe null axis, B. A solid line in the projection is the trace
of the plane that best fits the orientation of the seismic zone; a dashed line is the trace of a
plane parallel to two of the stress axes (or the average positions of groups of axes) and
perpendicular to the third axis. If earthquakes occur in thin, slablike stress guides, this plane
should give the orientation of the slab. The numbers near the projections refer to the solu-
tions plotted in the projection and listed in Table 1. On the map the contoursof hypocentral
depth (in kilometers) are shown by solid lines. The epicenters of the events are shown by
filled, upward-pointing triangles for hypocentral depths of 70-229 kin; untilled, upward-
pointing triangles for depths of 300-499 kin; and filled, downward-pointing triangles for
depths of 500-700 kin. The landward side of coastlinesare shown by dots. In this figure only,
the dashedlines on the map representzonesof shallow earthquakes.
the large Australian and Pacific plates is complexand probably includesthree

o.r more additional small plates. An additional referenceused for this region is
Denham [1969].
Solomonarc. A zoneof intermediate-depth earthquakeswith depthsmainly
lessthan 150 km parallelsthe southeastern par• of the Solomons.Deeper earth-
quakesappear•o be confinedto the westernmos• parb (wesbof abou• 155øE,)and
definea very steeplydippingzone•ha5reachesdepthsof 500-600km (Figure8).
NW -.-* N E ---.•
v ¾
o oo b ' c '
_
2OO _ Cib 0
KM
400
- 4;;) Fig. 8. Vertical sectionsthrough the New
Britain are (A) and the northwestern end
600 of the Solomons are (B). Sections in-
I I I
clude the most accuratelylocated events
based on data reported in the Earth-
quake Data Reports for 1961-1965.Events
within 100 km of the sections A and B
are plotted.
! i
145
E 1•5
The deepestshocksare displacednortheastof the nearly vertical distributionof

hypocentersaboveabout 400 km. Denham'ssectionsand Figure 8 suggestthat a
gap or a minimumin seismicitymay be presentbetweendepthsof about200 and
350 km. Becauseearthquakesare few in number at all depthsbelow 150 km,
however,discriminationbetweenthe two possibilitiesis quite uncertain.
Earthquake I is locatedin the easternpart of the arc (Figure 7) wherethe
inclinedzoneappearsto dip steeplynorth.The T axisof I is nearlyverticaland
thus couldindicateextensionparallel to the dip of a nearly vertical zone.The B
axis is approximatelyparallel to the trend of the arc. Althoughthe depthgivenin
the PreliminaryDeterminationof Epicentersof the Coastand GeodeticSurvey
(ESSA) is 95 km, this depth is revised to 52 km in the Coast and GeodeticSur-
vey's Seismological Bulletin. The shallowerdepth is in better accordwith the
characterof the seismograms for this event.Moreover,the solutionfor I is consis-
tent with solutionsfor othershallowearthquakesin the region(Molnar, unpub-
lished data, 1969). Thus, the alternate and preferableinterpretationis that 1
indicatesunderthrustingof the Coral Sea beneaththe Solomons;i.e., slippage
between two lithospheric plates.
Solutions2-4 for earthquakesin the westernmostpart of the zone exhibit a
marked variation with depth. The solutions3 and 4 for the events below 300-km
depth have nearly vertical P axes,whereasthe solution for the event at 118 km
has a nearly vertical T axis. The zone above400 km, includingearthquakes2
and 3, is nearly vertical and strikes approximatelynorthwest;thus solutions2
and 3 indicate,respectively,compression and extensionparallelto the dip of the
zoneat depthsof 118 and 392 km, respectively.
A plane parallel to the T and P axesand perpendicularto the B axis of 4
dips steeplybut has a morenortherly strike than that of the zoneat intermediate
depths.The distributionoœhypocenters near4, althoughnot well defined,suggests
such• changein s•rike. The da• m•y •hus be ½onsis•en•

wi•h •n inœerence
of
down-dip compression
near •he bottom oœ•he zone.
New Britain arc. Figure 8 and the sectionsgiven by Denham show an
inclinedseismiczone •h•t dips north-northwesterlybeneath•he New Britain
islands.Thesed• plus recentlo½•fionsnot plo•ed in •he figureshowthat this
zonere•½hesdepthsgre•er •h•n 500km, •l•houghhypocen•ers deeper•h•n •bou•
200 km occurvery inœrequen•ly. Toward the wes• •he line oœ•½tive volcanoes
•nd •he bel• oœshallow •nd intermediate-depthe•rthqu•kes bend •round •o •
more westerlytrend •nd in•erse½••he northern½o•stoœNew Guinea. In •his
regionthe zone appearsto steepenin dip.
Earthquakes 5-7 are located beneath eastern New Britain, where the
seismiczonedipsnorth-northeas•at about45ø. The T axesof 5 and 6 are parallel
to the dip of the zone,and the B axesare parallel to the strike oœthe zone.These
resultsthus indicate down-dip extensionalstress.
The T axis of 7, however,is nearly vertical, whereasone of the nodal planes
is most nearly parallel to the seismic zone. This relationship is mos• simply
accountedfor as lithospherebeneath •he SolomonSea being thrust under New
Britain. The. depth oœthis earthquake (103 km) appearsto be reliable. The solu-
tion for 7 may thus represen• a downward continuation of the thrust œaulting
•ypical of shallow events in the region (Molnar, unpublisheddata, 1969).
The solutionsfor 8-10 for events located in the western par• oœthe arc are
similar to one another. A plane through the B and T axes strikes approximately
parallel to the local alignmentoœearthquakesand volcanoesand dipsvery steeply
north. This plane is also a reasonablerepresentationof the distributionof hypo-
centersshownby Denham. These solutions,like those for 5 and 6, are thus con-
sistentwith down-dipextensionalstressa• intermediatedepths.
New Guinea. The seismicity of New Guinea is very complex. A zone oœ
subcrustal earthquakes with depths less than 200 km trends west-northwest
beneaththe northern and westernparts of New Guinea and appearsto dip sou•h
or southwest.This zone also appearsto be nearly continuouswith the steeply
dipping zone of the New Britain arc. Near the intersectionoœ•hese•wo zones,
where the dip apparently reverses,the pattern is complicatedby a •hird, very
poorly definedzonethat •rendseast-southeast. If •he solutionfor 11 is indicative
oœdown-dipextension,then this zonewould have a westwarddip. However, the
solutionsfor three, closelygrouped,intermediate-depthshocks(12-14) are qui•e
differen• from one another, althoughone of these (12) is similar •o 11. The data
plotted in the appendixshowthat thesedifferencesare real. The variability in
orientationsexhibitedby 11-14 and the unresolvedcomplexitiesin the configura-
tion of the seismiczonemake œur•herinterpretation pointless.
New Hebrides (Figures9 and 10)

Near the Santa Cruz Islandsthe seismicbel• of •he Solomonsbendsabruptly
and continuesas the linear south-southeasterlytrending seismiczone of the New
Hebrides island are. The inclined seismic zone is very active a• intermediate
depths.
Figure10shows
tha•it hasa slablike
structure
witha dipoœ
a'bout
65-70ø.
The zoneis remarkably linear in strike •nd is parallel to •he line of active volca-
130 ISACKS AND MOLNAR •
I I i i
_ '"'•....Lx._ , -
Fig. 9. The New Hebrides

island arc. In this figure and
in others, except where
15 noted, the heavy dashedline
' NEW600-650
KM - on the map represents the
axis of the oceanic trench
/" • • \_%• HEBRIDES FIJI
•
associated with the arc. The
light dashed line encloses
the epicentersof deep earth-
20
quakes with depths between
about 600 and 650 km.
/ X \ -• [ '-o./_' ,
J 4- F, I- '----:{ _x''-----t-....
\ ,, '•-• / \,'
25
, I
160 E 165 170 1'75
WSW Trench •Volconic

I
line
(N20øW,
i
thru
155øS,
I
168
OE)I I I
ENE
o ob e'
o• o•O o ;
I00 ' o• ¸
KM
2O0 ' 15 -
:50O
20
4OO -
500- INEWCALED*ONIA
l•o5E i""' "" 175_
ITO f
o
60( -
o o o-
o Ooø 8 o o
->_00 ,, I .... 0I,
-I00 I
+100 KM I,
200 •)0 400 I I
500 I
600 ,
Fig. 10. Verticalsectionthroughthe New Hebridesarc,includingthe most
accuratelylocated eventsthat occurredbetween1963 and 1967,selected
from the samesourcesusedin Figure 8 plus •ykes [1964]. The sectionin-
cludesevents within the rectangulararea shownon the map inset.
noeson the surface.Near its southernend the zoneappearsto bend slightly east
and then terminatesabruptly; many featuresof the seismicityand bathyme•ry
[Sykeset al., 1969] suggest
thai the are is •ermina•edby a transformfaull Irend-
ing east-northeast.
The evidencefor a gapin activity betweendepthsof about300 to 500km is
good.At greaterdepths•he distributionof hypocen•ers is qui•eremarkable(Fig-
ure 10). Figure 10 showsthai hypocenterswith depthspredominanfiybetween
about600 and 650 km occurin a nearly horizontalplanar zonetha• in map view
(Figure 9) is elliptical and has i•s longestdimension•rending west-northwest.
Only one deep earthquake (32) is known to have occurredsouth of •his zone.
Intermediate-depthearthquakes.Solutions15-23 for earthquakesin •he
northern half of the linear belt of intermediate-depthearthquakesall have very
steeplydippingT axes•hat are morenearly parallel •o the dip of •he zone•han
are the polesof •he nodalplanes.Thesesolutions are thereforein agreementwi•h
an inferenceof extensionalstressparallel to •he dip of •he s•eeplydippingslab.
Although four of these solutionshave B and P axes approximatelyparallel,
respectively,to •he s•rikeandnormaldirectionsof the inclinedzone,the B andP
axesof 17 and three othersare disfin½fiynonparallel•o thosedirections.
The solutions24-29 for earthquakesin •he southernpar• of •he zone differ
appreciablyfrom thosein •he northern part. Solution24 is nearly identical •o 25
and 26, even though earthquake24 is locatedclosest•o earthquakesof the north-
ern group and separated by more •han 300 km from earthquakes 25 and 26.
Solutions24-26 are similar •o 15-25 in •hat •he T and B axes are parallel •o •he
inclined zone,but differ in that •he T and B axesare distinctly not parallel •o the
dip and strike directions.
Earthquakes 28 and 29 are locatednearestthe southernend of •he intermedi-
ate-depth zone,wherethe arc curveseastward.Althoughthe B and P axesinter-
changepositionsfrom one solutionto •he o•her, both indicate extensionals•ress
parallel •o •he s•rike of the zone,and may •hus indicale the type of deformation
shownin Figure 6.
Solution 27 is different from •he o•hers in •ha• •he T axis is perpendicular
rather than parallel to the inclined zone. The solution indicatesthat the zone is
under compression parallel •o i•s s•rike. The depth of •he shock,249 km, is about
100 km greater than the depthsof the o•hersin the intermediate-depthgroups
except17. Bo•h 27 and 17 are near the lower par• of •he intermediate-depthzone,
i.e., near •he gap in seismicactivity.
Although •he solutionsfor 24-29 differ remarkably, •he s•ressaxes remain
closely grouped and oriented parallel or perpendicula.rto •he over-all planar
geometryof the inclined zone. This result offers strong support•o the idea that
the earthquakesresull from stressesin a thin plate. The causesof •he spatial
variations of the stressorientations,however, are not known.
Deep earthquakes. Solutions 30-31 for •wo earthquakes located in the
nearly horizontal zone of deep 'earthquakesalso exhibit a remarkable variation
in orientation. Although all of •he s•ress axes interchange positions from one
solution•o •he other, the axesremain approximatelyparallel or perpendicularto
the planar geometryof the zone.A plane throughthe more nearly horizontal axes
(the dashedline in the projectionin Figure 9) actually dips abou• 10ø wes• •nd
is consis•en•wi•h the distribution oœhypocen•ersshown in Figure 10. These
resultssuppor•the concep•oœa s•ressedplate and sugges•a nearly horizontal,
possiblyisolated, piece oœlithosphere.The causesoœ•he spatial variations in
stress are no• known.
The solution œorthe singledeep even• (32) in the southernpar• of •he region
is shownin Figure 9 togetherwi•h •he solutionœor33, the westernmos•deepeven•
of •he Tonga zone.Earthquake 33 appearsto be locatedin a bel• oœdeepear•h-
quakes(34-38) •ha• trendswestward•rom •he northernend oœ•he Tonga deep
zone,and its solutionis similar •o those (34-38) in •ha• zone (seeFigure 11). The
orientationoœsolution32 wi•h respec•to the southernend oœthe •NewHebrides
arc is similar to tha• oœ33 (and 34-38) wi•h respec•to •he northern end oœthe
Tonga arc. These relationshipsmay thus indicate a bend in •he lower southern
edge oœa •New Hebrides deep zone similar to •ha• a• •he northern end oœ•he
Tonga zone.
In summary, the da•a œorthe northern par• oœ•he •New Hebrides arc clearly
indicate down-dip extensiona• intermediate depths. In the southernend oœthe
zone and a• grea• depthsbelow a marked gap in seismicactivity, the orientation
oœs•ress,althoughhighly variable, is still parallel or perpendicularto •he planar
geometryoœthe zone,aswouldbe expectedœors•resses in a •hin plate.
Tonga-Kermadec-New Zealand Region

The nearly linear island-•rc system •ha• ex•ends•rom Samoa •hrough •he
North Island oœNew Zealand can be divided in•o •hree distinc• segmentson the
basisof seismicityand o•her •ec•onicœea•ures: •he Tonga arc, the Kermadec arc,
•nd •he •Nor•hIsland oœNew Zealand [Sykes, 1966; Hamilton and Gale, 1968].
Tonga a'rc (Figure 11). Figure 11 summarizesthe results of Isaclcs et al.
[1969] plus eigh• new solutionsno• reported in •ha• paper. The con•oursin the
figure summarize•he loc•tions oœSykes [1966] and Sykeset al. [1969] and show
tha• the zone can be representedby an inclined plane tha• has contor4ionsalong
its lower and lateral edges.Betweendepthsof 450 and 650 km the northernpart
of the zone bends sharply toward the northwest.At depths lessthan 450 km the
northwesterlybending is probably present but considerablyattenuated. The dis-
tribution of seismicity is continuousat depths lessthan about 680 kin. Partly as
a resul• of the contortionsalong the lower edge of the zone, hypocentraldepths
decreasesouthward to less than 600 km and then abruptly increaseto greater
•han 600 km near 26øS.
The main consistencyamong•he solutionsof bo•h deep and intermediate-
depth shocksis •he parallelism between•he P axes and •he local dip of •he
seismiczone. This is shown clearly by solutions40-48 and 51-55 for the ear•h-
quakes located away from •he northern and southernlateral boundariesof •he
zone.
The solutionsfor earthquakes near •he lateral boundariesare morecomplex.

The orientationsof solutions33-39 can be explained,however,by a simple
geometriceffect.The s•ruc•ureof •he zonenear earthquakes33-39, •houghcom-
pleg in detail, can be representedapproximatelyas a bend of •he lower northern
i i
i i i I i I i
15 5(
%
i
5 FIJI I
!
I
I
,-•, ... ..: •,• I
,1:3:3
"'•
...' , I
i
I
40 TONGA
I TRENCH
Fig. 11. Tongaisland
are. 2o • I
I
i
.Jr_
•
•49
•49
?
I I '
180 175 W
cornerof the inclinedzone (as in Figure 4). The plane shownby the dashed
line in the equal-area,
projectionof 33-39 (Figure11) is approximately parallel
to the groupings of P andB axesand perpendicular to the groupingof T axes.
This planeis a reasonable representationof the part of the inclinedzonebent
aroundto the west.Thus, the main differences betweenthe solutionsfor 33-39
and thosefor 40-48 in the unbentpart can be accountedfor by a rotation about
the axis of bendingand not by stressescausedby the bending.
Solution37, in the denseclusterof hypoeentersthat includes36 and 38, is
differentin respectto an interchangeof the B and T axes.This relative instability
of the orientation of the B and T axes is also characteristic of the shocks in the
main part of the are. However,39, locatednearestthe bendand deeperthan the
others,differsfrom the solutionsfor nearbyeventsin that the B and P axeshave
interchanged. This onesolutionmay be relatedto the deformationnear the end.
The solution for 33 is similar to others in the group 34-38, although the
location of 33 is more than 400 km to the west.of 34-38. Several deep earth-
quakesreliably locatedbetween33 and 34-39 indicate that the zone is con-
tinuousto 33; this is shownby the 600-km contourin Figure 11. If this bend
were straightenedout, the deep zone would extend considerablynorth of the
edgeof the zoneas definedby the distributionof hypocentersabove450 km. It
is interestingthat if the whole inclined zone were unbent and moved to the
surface,the part of the zone corresponding to the 600-km contourwould then
extend considerablynorth of the presentlyactive transform fault located along
the 15øSlatitude line. That part corresponding to the zone at depths lessthan
450 km would,however,nearly coincidewith the transformfault. Theserelation-

ships,as well as •he discrepancy between•he locationof the presentlyae•ive
transform fault and the expectedlocationfor this feature farther north along
the borderof the Fiji plateau,can be explainedby a changein •he directionof
relative motionbetweenthe Pacific and Australianplatesfrom a west-north-
westerly directionperpendicularto the Tonga trench •o a westerly direction
parallel[o •he seismiczonealong15øS.The slipvectorsinferredfrommechanism
solutionsof shallowearthquakes [Isackset al., 1969]do not clearlydiscriminate
betweenthesetwo directions.The appropriatelengt. h alongthe northernedge
of the Tongaslabis about750km, which,if dividedby LePichon's[1968] rate
for the northernend of the are, yieldsa time of approximately 8 m.y. ago for
the changein direction.Insteadof a changein direction,C. Chasesuggested to
the authorsthat the hinge-transform fault systemthat terminatesthe northern
endoftheTonga
lares'migrated
southward
andthereby
shortened
thelateral
dimensionof the deseelndingslab.
Earthquake50 is locatedat in[e}mediatedepth near the northernedgeof
the zone,wherethe westwardcurvatureis presentbut not pronounced. Although
the stressaxesof this solutiondo not appearto be closelyparallelor perpendic-
ular to the seismiczone,their orientationswith respectto the northernend of
the Tongaare are similarto thoseof 28 (Figure9) with respectto the southern
end of the New Hebrides are.
Solution49 is anomalous in that the T axis,ratherthan the P axis,appears
to be parallelto the seismiczone(but not to its dip). This solutionmay indicate
a localizedreorientationof stressnear the loweredgeof the zone.
Solutions56-58 for intermediate-depthevents located nearestthe junction
betweenthe Kermadee and Tonga ares resembleothersin the region and indicate
no profound effect of the junction, although the northerly deflectionof the P
axesof 56 and 58 from the dip of the zone may indicate a minor effect.
In summary,the contortionsof the seismiczonedo not seemto have large
effectson the focal-mechanismsolutions;instead, the stressaxes tend to follow
the local structureas if embeddedin the zoneand suggesta compressional stress
transmittedthroughnearly all parts of the slab.This is contraryto what would be
expectedif the mechanismswere related primarily to a localizedstressnear a
contortion of the slab.
Kermadec
arc (Figure12). The inclinedzonein thisregiondipsmoresteeply
than that of the Tonga are and doesnot appearto extendto depthsgreaterthan
500-550 km [Sykes, 1966]. A plane striking N 20øE and dipping 60ø west is a
goodrepresentationof this zone.
Solutions60-61 for earthquakesat depths near 230 km both have T axes
parallel to the dip of the seismiczone,whereas59, for an earthquakelocated
north and 120 km deeperthan 60-61, showsdown-dip compression. Although
the data are limited,theseresultssuggesta changefrom down-dipextensionto
down-dip compressionsomewherebetween230 and 350 km.
An unusualfeatureis that the other stressaxes,althoughcloselygrouped,
are not parallel to the strike and normal directionsof the seismiczone.
North Island,New Zealand(Figure 12). Hamiltonand Gale [1968,1969]
STRESSES
IN THE DESCENDINGLITHOSPHERE 135
ix ,rl! /
;5s/ I
. // TRENCH
Fig. 12. Kermadec island arc and New
Zealand.
NEW /
I i
i?o E 180
showedthat the seismicactivity at intermediatedepthsbeneaththe North

Islandof New Zealandhasa slablikestructure. Belowdepthsof about350km
onlythreeearthquakes are known[Adams,1963].Thesethree,near a depth
of 600kin, are locatedalmostverticallybeneath
the southern
part of the inter-
mediate-depthzone.
Near 62 the zonecan be approximately represented by a planestriking
aboutN 45øEanddipping northwesL Boththe T andtheP axesof 62 appear
to parallelthe zone;the T axisis approximately
parallelto the dip, andthe P
axis is parallel to the strike.
Adams [1963] reported a solution different from 62 for an event located
in the southernpart of the intermediate-depth
zone. Adams found that first
motionsrecordedat)New Zealandstationsfromthe threedeepshocksare gen-
erallythe opposite
in polarityof thosefromthe intermediate-depth
shocks.
This
resultmay indicatea variationin mechanisms
with depthsimilarto that in the
Kermadec region.The predominantly dilatationalreadings
reportedby Adams
for the deepshocks are consistentwith a P axisorientedmorenearlyvertical
thanhorizontal,
i.e.,a P axisparallelto a steeplydippingdeepzone.
South America
The disSribuQonof earthquakesand o•her island-arc-like tectonic features

indicates•hat •he coas•region of western South America north of the Chile rise
is a majorzoneof convergencebetweenan oceanicanda continental lithospheric
pla•e.Mechanisms of shallowearthquakes[Isacks,1970] indicate•hat between
Ecuador and the Chile rise the oceanicNazca plate underthruststhe oontinen•
of South America in an easS-northeasterly direction. North of Ecuador an
island-arc-like structure continuesthrough Colombia, but the plate tectonics

of this region are complexand have yet to be fully worked out [Molnar and
Sykes, 1969]. In the following,South America is consideredin two parts, one
north and one southof Ecuador.Southof the Chile rise the seismicitydecreases
markedly and provides little evidence of the nature of the connectionbetween
the South Sandwich arc and the main seismically active structuresof Chile.
Region of the Peru-Chile trench (Figures 13 and 1•). Additional sources
of informationon the distributionof earthquakesin this regionare Ocala [1966]
and Santo [1969a]. A• intermediatedepthsthe seismiczoneis slablikeand dips
gently beneath the continent. The sectionin Figure 13 showsthis for the inclined
zone beneathPeru; the slablike zone of intermediate-depthhypocen•ers,sepa-
rated from a zone of shallow,probably crustal earthquakesthat lies above i•,
has a dip of only 10ø to 15ø and reachesdepthsof about200 km. Santo [1969a]
showsthat. the zone beneath northern Chile dips more steeply a• abou• 25-30 ø
and reaches depths of abou• 300 to 350 km. Between latitudes of abou• 16øS
and 25øS the zone of earthquakes with depths between abou• 70-150 km is
extremelyactive; •his is illustrated by the large number of earthquakesin this
region for which focal-mechanism solutions were obtained. Near the border
betweenChile and Peru the seismiczone, topographicfeatures,and the line of
active volcanoes all appear to curve around toward the northwest. Just north
of this bend, near 16øS in southernPeru, the seismicactivity at intermediate
depths decreasesmarkedly and the zone of historically active volcanoestermi-
nates.
Beneath depths of about 200 km in Peru and abou• 300 km in Chile the
seismicactivity decreases
remarkably.Santo'splo• of •he frequencyof earth-
Fig. 13. The Peru-Chile

trench and the adjacent re-
gion of western South Amer-
ica. Coastline shown extends
from Ecuador to central
Chile. The northern deep
zone (600-km contour) is
2O
beneath westernBrazil, and
the southerndeep zone (500-
ß õ ß km contour) is beneath west-
o o
! ern Argentina.
3O
CHILE
TRENCH
, :•90 80 W 70 , 60
_AXIS OF PERU TRENCH
At -200 0(B) +200 +400 7600 C

i i i
I I i I I I 0 i
øOoo% o o øø
oo ooo•O
oQ••
•
O0 0
Fig. 14. Vertical section o(P ø
o
through Peru including 200
events within the area shown KM !
in the inset. The events are

those with magnitudes
greater than about 5 reported
in the Preliminary Determi-
nation o• Epicenters [1961-
1967].
I I I I
80 W 75 70
quakesas a functionof depth showsa pronouncedgap betweenabout 350 and

500km. This gapis especially
prominent
because
the seismic-energy
releasea't
great depths in this region is so high; Santo estimatesthat during the past 50
years it is larger in South America than that at great depths in any other
single region. Santo tabulates only six small earthquakeslocated by the Coast
and GeodeticSurvey (ESSA) with depthsbetween300 and 500 km. These loca-
tions, however, are determined by few and poorly distributed data and could
probably be moved either above or below the gap in seismicity.These six are
all in the Chile-Argentina region; none have been reported for the gap in the
P'eru-western Brazil zone.
At depths of 500-650 km, beneath the gap in seismicactivity, the hypo-
centers are confined to •two' remarkably linear belts, one beneath western
Argentina and one benBathwestern Brazil. These belts are parallel and trend
slightly west of nor•l•, but the one beneath western Brazil is offset about 500
km west of that beneath westernArgentina. Between these zonestwo large earth-
quakes occurredin 1958 and, 1963 (no. 91) at nearly the same location beneath
the Peru-Bolivia border.These eventsare closestto the deep •arthquakes beneath
western Brazil and may thus be on a Southeastwardextensionof that zone.
Recent studies of focal-mechanismsolutions reported by Stauder [1969]
and Ritsema [1970] appear to 'be in goodagreementwith our analysis, although
Ritsema placesa different interpretation on the results.
The zone of intense intermediate-depth activity beneath northern Chile
and southern'Peru, including earthquakes70-84, is representedon the equal-area
plot in Figure 13 by two planes. One has the N 7øE strike of the linear coast
of Chile, and the secondhas the northwest strike of southeastPeru;-both have
a dip of 28ø. The orientation of the zone in the bend between Chile and. Peru
probably varies between these two extremes.Although the stressaxes scatter
somewhat,partially as a result of the inclusionof solutionsof varying quality
(seeappendix),the T and P axesof 70-84 showa distinct grouping.The plunges
'of the T axes vary between 7ø and 54ø but have an average of 31ø, which is
very closeto Santo'sestimateof 28ø for the dip of the zone.The trends of the
T and B axes, although somewhatscattered,do not vary systematicallywith
respec••o •he locationof the event and •hus do not follow the major bendof the
coastline and other tectonic features in the region of the Peru-Chile border.
Instead, the axes trend approximatelyparallel or perpendicularto a direction
between the strikes of the coastlines of southern Peru and northern Chile. The
east-northeasterlytrend of the T axesis approximatelyparallel to the direction
of underthrustinginferred from the solutionsof shallow earthquakes [Isacks,
1970] and approximatelyperpendicularto the alignment of active volcanoesin
northern Chile. These results are in good agreement with down-dip extension
in the zone but do not reveal any marked effect of the bend in the coastline
between Chile and Peru.
Although less closelygroupedthan 70-84, the T axes of 64-69 also tend to
parallel the dip of the intermediate-depthzonebeneathPeru. From the epicentral
locationsalone it is not clear whether earthquakes63 and 64 (beneathEcuador)
are at the northern end of the Peruvian zone, at the southernend of the north-
eastward-trending
zonei• Colombia,
or in a bendbetween
twozones.
The simi-
Iarity between 64 and those for other events in Peru suggeststhat this earth-
quake may be in the northernpart of a coherentslab beneathPeru. The solution
for 63 is quite different in orientation.This event could be related to deformation
near a junction between the inclined zonesof Peru and Colombia.
The solutionfor 67 is also different from othersbeneathPeru, althoughthe
earthquake is located in the central part of Peru. Nevertheless,the B and T
axes,althoughnot parallel to the dip and strike directions,remain approximately
parallel •o the inclined seismiczone.
Included in this analysis are mechanismsof several earthquakes (68, 69,
72, 79, 82, 84) whosedepthsvary ñ20 km around the 70-km borderline between
intermediate and shallow depths.In some casesthe depths are controlled •airly
well by pP readings,but in other casesthey are uncertain.In all cases,however,
someevidenceo• • depth greater than normal was •ound. The additional basis
for inclusion in the analysis is the similarity between the solutions •or these
earthquakesand those for the well-located events at greater depths.Becauseof
the gentle dip of the seismiczones,these solutionshave a distinctly different
orientation •rom that characteristico• •he underthrus• •ype o• shallow earth-
quakesin the region.
Solutions 85-90 for the deep earthquakes located beneath western Brazil
are nearly identical to one another.The P axes are all nearly vertical, whereas
the B and P axes are approximatelyparallel and perpendicularto the linear
trend of the deepseismiczone.A plane •hroughthe B and P axesis morenearly
parallel•o the N 10øW•rend of the belt o• deepearthquakesthan •o the north-
west trend of the Peru trench and coastline.This relationshipsuggeststhat the
plane throughthe B and P axesrepresentsthe local structureof •he deepzone
and is thus consistentwith an inferenceof down-dipcompression within a nearly
vertical zone.The locationof the deepeventsnearly vertically beneaththe lower
par• of the intermediate-depth
zonefurther supportsthis interpretation.
• Solutions92-97 •or deep earthquakesbeneathwesternArgentina h•ve B •nd
T axesthat are alsomorenearly parallel to the belt of deephypocenters than

to the Chile trenchand coastline,but the differencein this caseis small. A plane
throughthe B and P axesdips about 70ø east and is approximatelyparallel to
a plane joining the deep and intermediate-depthearthquakesthrough the gap
in seismicity.These resultsare in agreementwith an inferenceof down-dip
compression within a steeplydippingdeepslab.
Solution 91 for the large multiple event beneath the Peru-Bolivia border
[Chandra, 1970b] appearsto indicatedown-dipcompression in a steeplydipping
zone. The B and T axes,however,have significantly different trends than those
in the deep zonesbeneath either western Brazil or western Argentina. The sim-
plest interpretationis that the seismiczone near 91 strikes northwest,and the
T rather than the B axis is parallel to the zone. A straightforward connection
between91 and the zone beneathwesternBrazil would require this strike. The
parallelism of the T axis and the inferred strike of the zone may be related to a
stretchingor someother contortionin this region.
In summary, the most outstandingresult for the Peru-Chile region is the
changefrom down-dip extensionat intermediate depthsto down-dip compres-
sionat great depths.
Colombia: the Bucaramanga nest (Figure 15). The island-arc-like features
of the Peru-Chile region bend around in Ecuador and trend east-northeast in
westernColombia.Earthquakes98-100 are locatedin the zoneof intenseactivity
at depthsnear 150 km beneathBucaramanga.This zonemay be at the northern
end of a continuous inclined zone that trends parallel to the island-arc-like
featuresof Ecuadorand Colombia.Molnar and Sykes [1969], for example,show
15
Fig. 15. Region of north-

western South America
showing the zone of inter-
mediate-depth earthquakes
in Ecuador and Colombia.
Earthquakes 98-100 are lo-
cated in the Bucaramanga
nest. The lines of alternating
long and short dashes rep-
resent major mountain
ranges and structural trends.
a zonedippingeastwardbeneaththe coas•of Colombianear 5øS. Althoughlarge

numbersof earthquakesare very concentratedspatially near earthquakes98-100
[Trygsvasona•d Lawson, 1970], shallowerbut subcrustalearthquakesare reli-
ably located northwestto north-northeast of the Bucaramangaregion, and deeper
earthquakes (depths near 200 km) are located slightly southeastof the region
[Sykesand Ewiag, 19•5]. A vertical sectionalignednorthwest-southeast through
the Bucaramanga 'nest' [Santo, 1969a] also shows a zone dipping southeast.
These locationssugges•tha• near Bucaramanga the zone may bend around to
a more easterly strike than in Ecuador and southern Colombia.
Solutions98 and 100 are nearly the same; the T axes could be parallel to
a zone dipping southeast.The third solution (99), however, is not in agreemen•
with tha• interpretation. Alternatively, a plane perpendicularto the closegroup-
ing of northward-plungingaxes (representedby the dashedline in Figure 15)
is parallel to all the other axes.The orientation of •his plane is consistentwith
the other evidence cited above for a zone near Bucaramanga tha• dips more
•oward the sou•h than toward the eas•. If this is the case,then the data indicate
compressional s•ressorientedmore nearly parallel to the strike •han to the dip
of the zone. Moreover, the approximateinterchangeof •he positionsof •he B
and T axes of 99 wi•h respec•to 98 and 100 suggeststhai; compressional s•ress
is dominant. One interpretation of •hese relationshipsis tha• the lateral com-
pressionresults from a bending of the northern end of the slab.
Atlantic Island Arcs
South Sandwicharc (Figure I6). The seismicityof •his region is poorly

known, partly becauseof •he lack of nearby seismographs•ations. As in other
arcs, most of the shallow earthquakes appear to occur beneath the landward
wall of the trench; and in general,the intermediate-deptheventsare locatedwest
of the main zone of shallow activity. Earthquakes appear to be restricted to
I I .I. I
55-
EORGIA
S
:,
/
":) - Fig.
16.
South
San wich island arc.
60-
",....,•x •1o5
I I I !
50 W 20
depthslessthan about 200 km. At the northernpart of the are, wherethe fea-
tures bend toward the wes[, an intenseconcentrationof hypoeentersis located
at a depth of about 100 km (near earthquakes101-103). A vertical section
through this part of the are, oriented about N 60øE, shows an inclined zone
dipping very steeply southwest[Engdahl et al., 1969, and E. R. Engdahl, per-
sonal communication,1970]. The data are no[ adequate to define the dip of
the zone farther south along the are.
Solution 104 indicatesdown-dip extension.Solutions101-103 for the earth-
quakes located doses[ to the westward bend also indicate extensionalstress
parallel to the zone, but the axes are not parallel to the dip. This could be an
effectof the westwardbend,i.e., an effectof a contortionat the northernend of
the zone.
In contrast, solution 105 for an earthquake located in the middle of the
are exhibits simple down-dip compressionand is nearly the opposite of 104.
Solution 105, plus two others (148-149) for earthquakesin the Ryukyu are, are
the only easesin which down-dip compressionwith the B axis parallel to the
strike of the zone occurs in a seismic zone that does not reach depths greater
than 300 km.
West Indian arc (Figure 17). The distributionof hypoeenters[Sykesand
Ewing, 1965] and the focal mechanismsof shallow earthquakes[Molnar and
Sykes, 1969] demonstratean eastward rigid-body motion of the Caribbean with
respectto North America, SouthAmerica, and the westernAtlantic. In the Lesser
Antilles the Atlantic sea floor underthrusts the Caribbean toward the west.
Near the Puerto Rico trench, the Atlantic sea floor is also underthrustingthe
Caribbean, but the motion is nearly parallel to the strike of the trench. The
seismicity of the Lesser Antilles portion of the are clearly shows a westward-
dippingzoneof aet.ivity,but at the northernend of the are the activity changes
orientation abruptly and trends east-west, parallel to the Puerto Rico trench.
This east-wes[belt has a more complexstructure.No earthquakesin either por-
tion of the are have been locateddeeperthan 250 km.
An intensesourceof intermediate-depthearthquakesis located beneath the
easterntip of Hispaniola.Althoughthe distributionof hypoeenters is not simple,
Sykesand Ewing'ssectionsuggests a nearly vertical distributionof hypoeenters
nearthat source.Molnar and Sykesreportsolutionsfor threeintermediate-depth
I I I I
.i'.'•_
•=½
HISPANIOLA
......................
Fig. 17. West Indies island are.
I \ "-t
ß '"•'..lk•"-'•, '• •'
70 W •0
earthquakesin this region,but only one (106) is well determined.A plane

throughthe B and T axesoœ106hasa strikethat is Slightlynorth o• the westerly
trend o• the Puerto Rico trench but is approximatelyparallel to the belt o•
seismicactivity alongthe northerncoastof Hispaniola.The vertical dip of this
planeis consistent with the distributionof hypocenters.
A nearly vertical slab
underextension approximately parallel•o its dip may thus be locatedbeneath
the easternend of Hispaniola.It is interestingthat both the locationsand the
solutionsof 106 and 101-103 (Figure 16) have approximatelysimilar relation-
shipsto the West Indian and the SouthSandwicharcs,respectively.
Molnar and Sykes'two other solutions,thoughnot well determined,are
different from one another and from that of 106. This variability plus the com-
plexity in the distributionof hypocenters
in the regionmay alsoindicatea con-
tortion or disruptionof the slab.
Sykesand Ewingreportedeventswith reliablydetermineddepthsbetween
70 and 120 km located at the southern end of the Antilles arc near Trinidad.
Molnar and Sykesfoundevidence that someof the eventsin this regionmay be
relatedto hingefaulting,wherebythe portionof the westernAtlantic-South
Americanplate that underthrusts and descends beneaththe Antillesarc tears
awayfromtheportionremaining onthe surface.It is not clear,however,
whether
the intermediate-deptheventsare involvedin this type of faulting.The hinge
faultingat the northernend of the Tonga arc occursat shallowdepths[Isacks
et aI., 1969].
Middle America Arc (Figure 18)

Molnar and Sykes[1969] showthat the oceaniclithosphere
is underthrust-
ing Mexicoand CentralAmericain a northeastdirection.Betweenabout86øW
and 96øW the structure of the arc is particularly simple.The surface features
are nearlystraight,andthe slablikezoneof subcrustal
earthquakes is relatively
planarand free of major contortions.This regionprovidesa particularlygood
, I I I
Fig. 18. Middle America

trench and adjacent region
of Central America.
tessof the idea that, as a result of gravitational body forceson excessmassin

the sinkinglithosphere,extensionalstresspredominates in the slabstha5 are
relativelyuncontorted and that do not reachgreat depths(Figure3a).
The plane that fits the closegroupingsof T and B axes of 107-110 strikes
N 40øW and dips about 60øNE. The 20-25 ø difference between the trends of
the B axesand the strike of the trench and seismiczoneappearsto be significant.
The T axis of 111 has a plungeof about 40ø. The differencebeSweenthe plunges
of 111 and 107-110 is determinedby numerousreadingsin the central parts of
the focal spheresand is probably real. Earthquake 111, at 85-kin depth, is
shallowerthan the other four. Theseresultsare consistentwi•h down-dipexten-
sion in a zone tha5 increasesin dip from about 40ø to 60ø a5 depths greater
•han 85 km. Althoughsucha changecannot be resolvedby the data of Molnar
and Sykes,their resultsdo not excludeit. The data are thus in agreementwith
the model shownin Figure 3a, where the slab is sinking bus has not descended
beneaShthe asthenosphere.
Cascades
In the northwesternUnited Statesan island-arc-likestructuretrendsparallel

to the coastsof Oregonand Washingtonand is definedapproximatelyby the
volcanoesof the Cascaderange.Subcrustalearthquakesmay occurin this region
[Tobin an.dSykes, 1968], but the data are inadequateto define an inclined
seismiczone. Several studiesof the motionsof the lithosphericplates in this
region indicate that liShosphere
has been consumedin the pass and that the
downgoingslab will dip east [Morgan, 1968; McKenzie and Morgan, 1969;
Silver, 1969]. Althoughthe depthof earthquake112 (59 km) [Algerm.issen a•d
Harding, 1965] is shallowerthan other eventsin this study, it is significantly
deeperthan othersin the westernUnited States.•/Ioreover,its solutionhas an
eastward-dippingT axis and thereforecould indicate extensionalstressparallel
to an eastward-dippingzone.
Aleutian Arc (Figure 19)

The underthrustingof the Pacific plate northwestwardbeneaththe Aleutians
andAlaskais described
by McKenzieandParker [1967] andStauder[1968a,b].
Focal depths are generally lessthan 200 kin. A5 the western end of the zone of
active volcanismand subcrustalseismicity(near 178øE) the dip of the zone,
althoughnot too well determined,appearsto be abou560ø [Davies and Mc-
Kenzie, 1969; Murdock, 1969]. A plane throughthe P and T axes of 113 is
approximatelyparallel to the seismiczone,and the solutionindicatescompres-
sionparallel to the dip or extensionparallel to the strike of 5he zone.Sincethis
earthquakeis locatedwherethe curvatureof the arc increases, Stauder [1968b]
suggested that the extensional stressparallel to the strike resultsfrom the type
of deformation of the descending slabshownin Figure6. Solutionsof this type
are found in other regionswhere convexcurvatureis pronounced.
Solution204 is similar to those for shallow events in the region and is
interpretedby Stauder [1968b] as underthrustingon a nearly horizontal fault
plane. A15hough the depShof 60 km for 204 is no5 qui•e intermediate,its loca-
60
55 Fig. 19. Aleutian islandarc.

N
5O
I I I
1'75'E 180 1'75W 1'70 160
tion is well determined;and the eventis probablylocatedin the part of the

seismiczonethat has a dip considerably greaterthan that requiredfor the
underthrusting interpretation.
The solutionis thereforemoreconsistent with an
inferenceof down-dipextension insidea northward-dipping slab.The dip of the
zoneinferredfromthe plungeof the T axisis about40ø. Down-dipextension is
alsoa reasonable interpretationof the solutionof the January1, 1963,earth-
quake [Stauder,1968b]locatedeastof 204. The intermediatedepthof 75 km
for this eventis determined by numerous pP readingsand is preferableto the
depthof 51 km listedby the InternationalSeismological Summary.Thus,down-
dip extension may be prevalentin the part of the descendinglithosphere
eastof
earthquake113 that has a more nearly linear strike.
Northwest Pacific' Kamchatka-Japan-Marianas

A nearly continuouszoneof deepand intermediate-depth earthquakescan
be tracedfrom KamchatkathroughJapanand thenceto the Marianas.This vast
descending edgeof the northwestPacific lithospherecan be divided into four
segments, each characterizedby distincttrendsof the oceanictrench,of the
line of activevolcanoes,and of the inclinedzonesof earthquakes. The Kurile-
Kamchatka,North Ito•shu, and Izu-Boninsegments, trendingnortheastward,
north-northeastward, and north-northwestward, respectively,form two oblique-
angledcornersnear Itokkaido and eastcentralHonshu.The fourth segment, the
Marianasarc, continues the trend of the Izu-Boninarc but is offsetto the east
and is separatedfrom the Izu-Bonin segmentby a gap in seismicityand by a
shoalingof the oceanictrench. The dips of the inclined seismiczonesdiffer
notablyamongthe four segments. The structureof the zonebetweenthe seg-
ments,whether continuous(and bent) or disrupted,cannot be clearly deter-
mined by the available data on locationsalone. Additional sourcesused in
determiningthe contoursshownin Figures20, 21, and 22 includeFedotov [1965,
1968] and Sykes [1966] for the Kurile-Kamchatkaregion; Katsumata [1966,
1967a,b] and Ichikawa [1961] for North Itonshuand the Sea of Japan; and
Katsumataand Sykes [1969] for the Izu-Bonin and Marianas regions.
As a resultof the pioneeringresearchof It. Honda and his colleagues,

reliable
solutions of many earthquakes that occurred during the last 40 years are
available for the Japaneseregion. Although only solutionsbased on the most
numerousand consistentdata are listed in Table 1, other data, summarizedby
Balalcina [1962] for the Kurile-Kamchatka region and by Honda et al. [1956,
1967], Ichilcawa [1966], and Alci [1966] for the Japaneseregion, are in sub-
stantial agreement with the results selectedfor Table 1.
The Kurile-Kamchatka arc (Figure 20). Between Kamchatka and the
Hokkaido-Sakhalin region the inclined seismic zone appears to be relatively
simplein structureand can be representedby a plane with a dip of 45ø and a
strike varying from about N 35øE near Kamchatka to N 60øE near Hokkaido.
Nearly all the large,well-locateddeepeventsnortheastof the Itokkaido-Sakhalin
regionhave depthsbetween400 and 500 km. Examination of reported locations
suggeststhat the maximum depth of this zone is probably lessthan 600 km and
may be near 500 km. A minimum in activity as a function of depth occurs
betweenabout 200 and 400 km, but apparently reliable locationsof eventswith
depthsin this range (e.g., Savarenslcyand Golubeva [1969]) indicate that this
minimum is not an aseismicgap in activity.
In nearly all the solutionsfor this region either the P or the T axes tend to
.o
x
128-154
!
!
5O
N
,/
118
'4-
I
I
I
I --]-- o
I
x o
i
/ 125-127
140 E 150 16 0
Fig. 20. Kurile island arc and the region near Hokkaido, North Honshu, and the Sea of
Japan. The discontinuity in the contours of hypocentral depths representsa possible disrup-
tion between the Kurile and North Honshu seismic zones.
beparallelto thedipof thezone,whiletheB axesareapproximately parallelto

i•s strike.However,
the pa•ternof down-dip
s•ress in the regionis complex and
not jus• a œunctionoœdepth.Solutions123-127œoreventsnear the junction
between •heKurileandNorthHonshuzones all indicatedown-dip extension,
as
do 119-121for threeintermediate-depth
eventslocatedsouthoœKamchatka.In
contrast,solutions117-118œorintermediate-depth eventslocatednorth and
southoœ119-121and•wosolutions (114-115)œor deepeventsall showdown-dip
compression.
Solution116 for a deepearthquakehas • differen•orientationfrom the
othersin the regionanddoesnot appear•o be closelyparallelto the over-all
planargeometry oœthe zone.However,the parameteroœthe solutionthat is
mostnearlyparallelto •he dip oœthe zoneis s•ill •he P axis.
The peculiar location oœ122 a• 80 km beneaththe axis o• the Kurile trench
doesnotappearto bean errorin •helocation.
Shallow
eventscharacterized
by
solutions
oœthenormalœaulfing typearefoundnearthe axisoœtrenches in other
arcs,notablythe Aleutians[Startder,
1968b],and canbe interpretedas exten-
sionneartheupperpar• oœthe oceanic plateasit bendsbeneath
the islandare.
By thesamereasoning, compression
wouldbe expected nearthe lowerpart oœ
theplate.Although the•rendoœthe P axisoœ204is notperpendicular to the
axisof thetrench,theP axisis morenearlyhorizontal
thanthe T axisandcould
indicatecompression oœthe lowerpar• oœ
theplateasit bendsdownward near
the trench.
The Hotet•aidocor•er (Figure20). Solutions123-129for the eventslocated
in •heregion
between
thegentlydipping
NorthHonshu
zoneandthemoresteeply
dippingKurile zoneare oœtwo types.Solutions123-127for eventslocatedon
theKurilesideoœ
thecornerall indicate
down-dip
extension
andarethussimilar
to 119-121 œorevents in the northern Kuriles. Solutions 128 and 129 •or events
located on the North I•Ionshuside oœthe corner are similar to 130-134 and are
thusapparentlyrelatedto the down-dipcompression
in the NorthHonshuzone.
The solutions,
thereœore,appearto berelatedmoreto patternson eithersideof
•he cornerthan to any specialeffectof the corneritself.
Hondaet al. [1956]andlchit•awa[]966] repor•o•hersolutions
(no•included
in Table1) •orearthquakes
near•hecorner,
someoœ
whichcanbeinterpreted
to
suppor•the lateral s•retchingor tearingoœ• slab as shownin Figure5. For
example,•hree oœtheir solutionsœorearthquakes near 123 have T axesthat
plungebetween the dip direction
andthes•rikedirection oœthe zone;thesesolu-
tionscouldbe taken to indicatethe obliques•retchingoœa slab as shownin
Figure5a. Also,oneof •he solutions
hasa verticalnodalplanestrikingnorth-
northwes•that, iœtaken as the œaultplane,indicatestha• the Kurile slabmoves
downwithrespe½•to theNorthHonshu slab.Thisis in agreementwith•hehinge
faultingshownin Figure5b, and,iœcorrect,i• couldindicatea disruption
oœ
the zone.However, examinationoœthe solutionsoœHonda et al. and Ichikawa
in these casessuggeststo us tha• the differencesbetweentheir solutionsand
thoseœor123-127may no• be real.In fact, it seemspossible
to fi• mos•oœthe
datagivenby Hond•e• al. andIchikawa,withminormodifications, to thesolu-
tions œor123-127.
The distribution of earthquakesplus the remarkable difference between

solutions127 and 128 suggestthat the main junction betweenthe North Itonshu
and the Kurile zonesis located beneath western Itokkaido (between 127 and 128)
and beneaththe northern Sea.of Japan east of 129. Whether the zone is con-
tinuousor disruptedin this regionis not dear from the distributionof hypoeen-
ters. The reorientationof stressbetween127 and 128, however,may be easierto
understandif the eventsresult from stresses in separateslabs.
Although 125 and 126 are near the zone of shallow underthrusting,their
depthsnear 80 km are reliably determined,and their solutionsare quite similar
to those for the deeper events. Solutions 125 and 126 thus appear to indicate
stresswithin the descending plate rather than slip betweenplates.Moreover,the
directionsof slip inferred from the solutions,were the earthquakesshallower,
indicatemotionof the Pacificplate relative to the Asianplate that is significantly
more northerly than the northwesterly direction indicated by McKenzie and
Parker [1967]; Isacks et al. [1968]; Le Pichon [1968]; and Stauder [1968b].
Inclusion of such events probably accountsfor the diserepan[ directions near
Hokkaido shownin the worldwideplot of slip directions(Figure 3 of Isacks et al.
[1968]).
North Honshu (Figures 20 and 21). The deep •nd in•ermediMe-depth
earthquakes•ha[ occur beneath [he Sea of Japan are par[ of an inclined zone
rela[ed to •he ac[ive volcanoesand offshoreIrerich thai parallel the nor•heas[
coast;of Honshu.Ichikawa [1961] and Katsumata [1967a] show•hat; •he zone
has a dip of abou[ 30ø. Allhough seismicac[ivi[y betweendep[h• of 200 and 500
128-134
c) /
o
i
40
i
N
l
i
x
Fig. 21. Izu-Bonin island o
are and the region of Honshu
o
and the Sea of Japan. The
area near earthquakes 135-
137 is shown in more detail
in Figure 22. 50
•0
144-
130E 140 150

kmissparse,
thezoneappears
to becontinuous.
It does
notappear
to reachdepths
much greater than about 600 km.
Nearly all of the P axesof 128-134are approximately parallelto the dip
of theNorthItonshuzone.Threesolutions showan interchangeof B andT axes
with respectto the others.The consistency amongthe solutionsis fi•rtherevi-
dencefor the coherency of a singleinclinedzonedippingbeneaththe Seaof
Japan.Othersolutions reportedby Hondaet al. and Ichikawaagreewith the
resultsshown in Figures20-21.In addition, theirresultssuggest
that down-dip
compression
may alsobe presentat depthsof 100-200km beneaththe northern
coastof Itonshu,butthe dataare limited.Thusthe NorthItonshuslabmay be
undercompression
at all depthsbelow100km.
Thejunction
between
theIzu-Bonin
andtheNorthHonshu
segments
(Fig-
ures21 and22). Both the distributionof hypocenters andthe focal-mechanism
solutionssuggestthat the junctionbetweenthe Izu-Bonin and the North Itonshu
zonesis.located
near135-137(Figures
21-22).Thedistribution
of earthquakes
shallowerthan200km,theoceanic trench,andthevolcanic
front[Sugimura,
1965]forma well-defined cornerin the regionof Tokyo and centralItonshu.
Subcrustal
activity is especiallyintenseat depthsof 50-100km near 135 and
at depths
of200-300 kmnear136.Earthquake137,located
at a depthof360km,
appearsto beat thenorthern
endoftheIzu-Bonin
zone;tothenorththeactivity
decreases
andappearsto be part of the gentlydippingNorth ttonshuzone.As
shown
in Figure21 anddescribed
in thenextsection,
solutions
for deepearth-
quakes
in theIzu-Bonin
zonelocated
south
of 136and137arecharacterized
by
down-dipcompression
andaresimilarin thisrespect
to thosein the Northttonshu
arc.Solutions
135-137
for theevents
located
between
thetwozones,
however,
havea distinctlydifferentorientation
and therefore
probablyreflectlocalized
effectsnear the junction.
The solutions
for 135-137are in eachcaserepresentative
of solutions
for
other
shocks
inthevicinity
ofeach
hypocenter.
Honda.
etal.andIchikawa
report
twoothersolutions
thatagree
with137andfivesolutions
thatagree(orforwhich
40
Fig. 22. The corner between the

Izu-Bonin and the North tIonshu
zones. The dotted lines in[ the
55 projectionof solution136represent
N
the nodal planes of the solution.
U (up) and D (down) show the
sense of motion on the more
nearly vertical nodal plane taken
as the fault plane. The solution is
30 consistent
with hingefaulting.
the data are not inconsistent)with 136. Solution 135 is an average of a group of
solutions reported by Ichikawa [1966]. The individual solutions combined in
135 are quite similar to one another and agree with independentresults of Aki
[1966] for small earthquakeslocatedin the region.
Solution 136 is consistentwith the hinge faulting depictedin Figure 5b; in
this casethe steeply dipping Izu-Bonin slab tears away and moves downward
with respectto the moregently dippingNorth Honshuslab.This type of deforma-
tion, however,doesnot accountfor the orientation of 135 or 137. If the tearing
and hinge faulting are located in the zone of intensesubcrustalseismicactivity
near earthquake136, then at greater depthsthe two slabs will be separated.
Hence, earthquake 137 may be in the northern edge of a separate Izu-Bonin
slab. The differencebetween 137 and 138-146 may be attributable to a rotation
of the axes due to a bend at the edge similar to that at the northern end of the
Tonga arc (Figures 4 and 11). Further study of the detailed distribution of
hypocentersin the region beneath central Honshu is required to test this inter-
pretation.
The earthquakescomprising135 may result from stressesin the portion
of the slababovethe tearingand disruptionnear 136.The orientationof 135,
however,is most simply interpretedas a faulting parallel to the inclined seismic
zone, i.e., thrust faulting between the convergingPacific and Asian plates. if
this is correct,then the earthquakescomprising135 would be an anomalously
deep extensionof the shallowthrust zone characteristicof the inner margins of
the trenches.Most of the earthquakescomprising135 have depthsgreaterthan 60
km, and many have depthsbetween80 and 100 km. In most casesthese depths
are accurately determined by numerous arrival times from stations within a
degreeof the epicenter.
Izu-Bonin arc (Figure 2I). Katsumata and Sykes [1969] show that the
inclinedseismiczone south of Honshu,though slablike in structure,varies as a
function of depth and location along the strike. The zone appears to be con-
tinuousto.depthsof about 550 km. In the separateequal-areaplots of Figure 21,
the data are shown relative to the local orientation of the zone. The P axes for
the deep earthquakes138-147 all appear to parallel the local dip of the seismic
zones;i.e., the P axestend to follow the local variations in dip. The T axestend
to be perpendicularto the zone except in two casesin which the B and the T
axes interchange.
The data are sparsefor intermediatedepths.Ichikawa reportstwo solutions
for earthquakesat depthsof 150 and 130 km locatedsouthwestof Tokyo, just
southof the junction describedin the precedingsection;both indicate down-dip
compression. Solution148 for an even[ at 80-km depth, however,indicatescom-
pressionparallelto the strike of the zone.Mechanismsof this type are rare; the
only other clear exampleis solution27 for an intermediate-deptheven[ located
at the southernend of the New Hebrides arc (Figure 9).
Marianas arc (Figure 23). Katsumata and Sykes [1969] show that the
inclined zone beneath the northern par[ of the Marianas arc has a remarkable
structure.From shallowdepthsnear the trench the slablike zone curvesdown-
wardandbelow250km hasa nearlyverticaldip.The zoneis continuous
to a
50
2C
N
Fig. 23. Marianas island arc.
,5•x •/' , IR.....

I0
140E 150
depth of 680 kin. Most of the hypocentersbelow500 km are confinedto.s narrow

range alongstrike betweenabout 19ø and 20øN; few 'deepeventsoccurbetween
this zone and the southern end of the Izu-Bonin zone near 27øN. There is evi-
dence [Gutenbergand Richter, 1954], however,for the location of earthquakes
at depthsof 500-600 km near about 24øN; a short solid segmentof the 500-kin
contour in Figure 23 indicates the location of these events. A continuous and
nearly straight 500-km contour that trends north-northwest and connectsthe
Izu-Bonin and Marianas deep zonespassesthrough the deep hypocentersnear
24øN. The distributionof the deepesteventsdoesnot thereforeappearto reflect
the offsetthat is prominentin the surfacefeaturesof the Marianas arc.
The P axis of 150 plungesvertically and is thus parallel to the local dip
of the Marianas deepzone.The B and T axesare horizontaland trend parallel
and perpendicularto the north-northwesterlytrend inferred above for the
regionaldistributionof deephypocenters. This relationshipis evidencethat the
deep seismic zone is continuousbetween the Izu-Bonin and the Marianas arcs.
Solution149 for an event at intermediatedepth indicatesextensionalstress
approximatelyparallel to the strike of the zone.Note that althoughthe P and
the B axesare not parallelto the zone,neitherare the nodalplanes.The solution
is similar to others for earthquakesin regionswhere the surface features are
curved,and can be explainedby the lateral stretchingeffect shownin Figure 6.
Ryukyu Arc (Figure 24)

Katsumata and Sykes [1969] showthat an inclinedzone dips beneaththe
Ryukyu Islandsat an angleof about45ø and reachesdepthslessthan 300 kin.
Their solutionsfor shallowearthquakesindicateunderthrustingoœthe Philippine
Seaplate beneaththe Ryukyus.In Taiwanthe seismicity changes trendabruptly
and trendssouthalongthe easterncoast.Subcrustalearthquakesare also found
beneathTaiwan andmay be part of an inclinedzonethat dipssteeplyeastw•ard.
Earthquakes151-152are locatedaway from eitherendof the arc. The solu-
tions are similar to one anotherand indicate down-dipcompression. In our
previouspaper [Isacksand Molnar, 1969] we suggested that thesesolutions
are similar to 113 in the Aleutiansin respec••o indicatingextensional stress
Fig. 24. The Ryukyus is-

land arc and the region near
Taiwan.
parallelto •he s•rike.However,asshownin Figure23, •he T axesfor the Ryukyu

solutionsare morenearly perpendicularto.the zoneand the B axesmore nearly
parallel to i•s strike. Thus, we canno5in•erpre55hesesolutionsby 5he lateral
sSretchingeffec• shown in Figure 6.
Earthquakes153-155 are locatednear the intersectionof zonesin Taiwan.
Two of thesehave depthsof 67 and 70 km and so are near the borderlinebetween
shallowand in•ermediaSedepths;the third (153) has a depth of 119 kin. The T
axesof all •hree plungesteeplynorthward,and the B and P axestend to be nearly
horizontal.The B and P axesof 154 and 155 approximatelyinterchangepositions.
The daSafor the three solutionscan thus be 5aken •o sugges5exSensionparallel to
•he dip of a nearly vertical and possiblycontortedslab near the Taiwan comer.
Earthquake 156 is locatedat a depth of 72 km in •he easSward-dipping zone
sou•h of the Taiwan intersection. The s[rucSureof the zone is no5 well enough
known to interpre• this solution.
Philippines-CeIebes-Halmahera
(Figure 25)
The •ectonicsof •his region are especiallycomplexand are no5 well under-
s•ood.Fitch [1970a] summarizesevidencefor a subdivisionof 5he region into
three disfinc5island-arc-like s•ruc•ures: •he Luzon arc, •he Mindanao arc, and
•he Talaud-ttalmahera arc. Although all three have zones of subcrustal eaFch-
quakes, only •he Mindanao arc has a, fairly well-defined inclined zone tha5
reaches grea5 depths. The solutions for subcrustal earthquakes are also moss
simply groupedaccordingto 5hesedivisions.
Luzon arc. A northward-strikingStench[Hayes and Ludwig, 1967; Ludwig
et al., 1967] and the presenceof volcanoesand shallow and in•ermedia.•e-depSh
earthquakesindicaSe5ha5 an island-arc structure exists on •he wesSernside of
152 ISACK$ AND MOLNAR
,x/5B-161
Fig. 25. Region of deep and intermediate-depth earthquakes near the

Philippines,I-Ialmahera,and Celebesislands.Talaud Island is locatedbe-
tween the dashedrectanglesthat encloseearthquakes158-161and 163-166.
Luzon.An inclinedseismiczoneappearsto dip east,but the data are inadequate

to determine
its dip.The onlysolution(157) for thiszonecanbe interpreted
as
extensionparallelto a steeplydippingzoneor thrust faultingalonga zone
dippingabout45ø.Because of thedepthof theevent(166km), theformerinter-
pretationis moreconsistent
with the data for otherregions.
Mindanao arc. The inclined seismic zone associated with the Mindanao
trenchdipswestwardand reachesdepthsgreaterthan 650 km (M. Katsumata,
personalcommunication).
A gapin activityappearsto occurbetweendepthsof
about 300 and 500 km. Shallow earthquakemechanismsin the region indicate
a westwardunderthrusting of the PhilippineSeaplate beneathMindanao [Fitch,
1970a].In the southern part of the structurethe zonesof earthquakes
andactive
volcanoesappearto bendwestwardandparallelthe east-west-trending peninsula
of northernCelebes.Fitch a.n.dMolnar [1970] showthat the zonemay dip north-
ward near Celebes.
Earthquakes158-161are locatedin the westward-dipping
zone,and 167-168
are located where the arc bendsand has a more northerly dip. Earthquake 163,
thoughlocatedcloseto 160 and 161,appearsto be part of the eastward-dipping
zone beneathTalaud and Halmahera; i• is consideredin the next section.The
T axes of 158-161 all dip westwardand are consistentwith down-dip exten-

sionalstress.Note that 161is interpretedby Fitch as indicativeof motionbetween
plates,i.e., underthrustingof the PhilippineSeaplate beneaththe CelebesSea
plate.The depthreportedin thePrelimiaaryDeterminatioa of Epicentersof the
Coastand GeodeticSurvey[1963] is 64 kin, but it is revisedto 83 km in the
Seismological Bulletinof the Coastand GeodeticSurvey[1963] and 122km in
the InternatioaalSeismological Summary[1963]. The data controllingdepthfor
this eventare poor,but examination of the seismograms suggests that the depth
is greaterthan normalbut probablynot as greatasthat listedby the ISS. If the
solutionsfor thrust faults in the shallowportionof the seismiczonehave the
same orientationas onesindicatingextensionalstressparallel to the zone at
intermediate depths,the seismiczonemustdecrease in dip near the thrustzone.
Althoughsucha changein dip is difficultto resolvein the distributionof hypo-
centers,Mitronovaset al. [1969] demonstrateit for the Tonga arc.
The solutionof 162 indicatescompression parallel to the dip and extension
parallelto the strike of the zone.This resultmay thus indicatean effectof the
convexcurvatureof the arc near Celebes (Figure 6). The solutionsfor 167 and
168 for events located where the arc bends westward are consistent with exten-
sionalstressparallel to a zonedippingsteeplynorthwestward.
In summary,solutions158-161 and 167-168 are consistentwith an inference
of down-dipextensionat intermediatedepths,whereas162 can be interpretedas
an effect of the bend near Celebes.The results for great depths are uncertain;
Ritsema's solutions [1964] for two deep events in the Mindanao zone are not
clearly interpretablein terms of stressparallel to the deepzone.
Talaud-Halmahera arc. The distributions of volcanoes and earthquakes
with depthsbetween70 and 200 km suggestan island-arc-likestructurestriking
south-southeastbetweenthe islands of Talaud and Italmahera [Hatherton and
Dickinson,1969;Fitch and Molnar, 1970]. The apparenteastwarddip of the zone
is oppositeto that of the adjacentMindanao zone.
The T axesof 163-166 tend to be more nearly vertical, whereasthe P and B
axes tend to be more nearly horizontal. A nearly vertical plane approximately
parallel to the island-arc-likesurfacefeaturescan be fitted throughthe stress
axesof three of the solutions.This result suggeststhe presenceof down-dipexten-
sionin a steeplydippingslab.
Celebes. Earthquake169,locatedbeneathsouthernCelebes,is isolatedfrom
the seismicallyactive island-arcstructuresor from other zonesof shallowearth-
quakesin the region.The planethroughthe B and T axesdipsnearlyvertically
and strikesslightly west of north. This would be consistentwit.h extensionin a
vertically sinking slab. Alternatively,the solutioncould indicate horizontal
compression within a thick lithospheric
plate on the surface.Examinationof the
seismograms and the locationdata for this eventindicatesthat the depthof 81
km is reliable.
SundaArc (Figure 26)

Sumatra-FloresSea. The Sunda arc is a nearly continuousstructureextend-
ing fromBurmato the BandaSea.The portionshownin Figure26 includes
the
Fig. 26. Sunda island arc.
main belt of deepand in[ermediate-depthearthquakes.The distributionof earth-

quakeswith depth appearsto vary abrup[ly alongthe are; near the SundaStrait
depthsincreasefrom lessthan 200 km beneathSumatra to grea[er than 600 km
beneaththe Java Sea [Fitch and Molnar, 1970]. Be[weenabou[ 105øEand 126øE
[he zone reachesdepths greater [han 650 km and possiblygreater than 700 km
[Gutenbergand Richter, 1954]. Benea[hthe Flores and Java Seasa pronounced
minimumin activity is presentbe[weendepthsof abou[ 300 to 500 km.
The T axes of 170-171 plunge beneath Sumatra and can be in[erpreted as
down-dipex[ension.Moreover,Fitch [1970a] reportsa solution(his number1)
for an event at the northern end of Suma[ra which, thoughnot well determined,
is alsoin agreemen[with extensionparallel •o [he seismiczone;[he solutionis no•
in agreemen[with under[hrust faulting. The in[ermedia[e depth of [hat even[
(70 km) appearsto be reliable.
The T axis of 173 plungesgently north, whereas[he dip of the zone near
173 appears to be steeper. The structure of [he seismiczone, however, is not
suftieientlywell resolved[o excludethe possibilitythat the zonedips more gently
near 173 and steepensin dip at greaterdepth [Fitch and Molnar, 1970;Engdahl
et al., 1960; E. R. Engdahl, personaleommuniea[ion,1970].
The solution of 172 indicates extensionparallel to [he strike of [he zone.
This earthquake is near the changeof s[rike of the are, where the distribution
of hypoeentral depths abruptly changes.Filch and Molnar suggestedthat the
convexcurvature of the are in this regionmay be responsiblefor the anomalous
orientation of 169 and can be explainedby the model of Figure 6.
The solutions174-176 for three deep shocksbeneath[he Java Sea are in good
agreementwith an inferenceof simpledown-dip compression. The ver[ieal orien-
STRESSES IN THE DESCENDING LITHOSPHERE :155
tation of the seismiczoneshownin Figure26 is basedon sections[Engdah•et al.,

1969;F•tch a•d Mo•nar, 1970] that showa well-definednarrow zone•ha• dips
nearly vertically betweendepthsof abou•500 and 650 km.
The three solutions177-179 for deep eventsbeneaththe Flores Sea also
indicatedown-dipcompression parallel to a nearly vertica! zone,but the trends
of the B and T axessuggestthat •he zonemay have a more nearly east-north-
easterlystrike rather than the easterlystrike of •he surfacefeaturesand of the
alignment of deep hypocentersfarther west. This relationshipplus reliable loca-
tions of deep events northeast of 177-179 suggestthat the deep zone bends
around in a fashion similar to the shallower zone beneath the Banda Sea (see
next section).Solutionsfor three deep earthquakesreportedby Ritsema, [1964]
are in approximate agreementwith the solutionsof 174-179.
Banda Sea. Fitch and Molnar [1970] argue that both the spatial distribu-
tion and the focal mechanismsof earthquakeslocated beneath the Banda Sea
can be explained by the upward bending of the western edge of a lithospheric
slab dipping beneaththe Sundaare (Figure 4). The earthquakesare not as deep
beneath the Banda Sea as those farther west; furthermore, as a resul• of the
bending, the activity at intermediate depths and at depths of 300 to 500 km is
especiallyintense.This explanationimplies that the gap in activity west of the
bend correspondsto a minimum in stresswithin a continuousslab rather than an
actual gap in the slab, i.e., implies model b rather than model d in Figure 3.
Solutions 180-187 indicate two predominant stressorientations in the zone'
180-185 indicate down-dip extensionand an interchangeof the positionsof the
B and P axes, whereas 186-187 have compressionalaxes oriented between•he
strike and dip of the zone and an interchangeof the T and B axes.Solutions
186-187,for the two eventslocatedat depthsgreaterthan 300 km, couldindicate
a ½ompressive stressin the upperpart of a bent slab; this might also explainthe
parallelismof the P axesand the strike directionsin the solutionsof someof the
eventsa• intermediatedepths.The predominanceof down-dipextension,however,
suggests tha• a• intermediatedepthsthe stressresultsmainly from a stretching
rather than a bending of the slab.
In summary, the down-dip extensionat intermediate depths and down-dip
compressionat great depthspredominatein the Sunda are. The solutionsfor the
two deepeventsin the bent edgeof the zone beneaththe Banda Sea are among
the few caseswe have found in which the effectsof bendingmay be important.
Alpide Belt: Asia

The mos• active zones of subcrustal seismic activity in the Alpide bel•
betweenSumatra and the Mediterranean region are located beneath Burma and
the Hindu Kush Mountains. Although subcrustal hypocentershave also been
reportedfor the regionof North Sumatraand the AndamanIslands,the Hima-
layan Front betweenBurma and the Hindu Kush, the Zagrosbel• of Iran, and
the regionof the Caspian Sea, focal-mechanismdata for the regionsare lacking.
Burma (Figure œ7). The zoneof intermediate-depth earthquakeslocated
near the arcuaterange of mountainsbetweenAssamand Burma appearsto dip
eastward and s•rikes parallel to the north-northeasterly•rend of •he mountain
Fig. 27. Zone of intermediate-depth earth-

quakes in Burma. The lines of long and
short dashes represent major mountain
ranges.
oo
belt. As Santo [1969b] notes,the level of shallowactivity is low relative to that

at intermediatedepths.Focal depthsprobablydo not exceed200 km.
Fitch [1970b] reports solutionsfor two intermediate-depthevents in this
region.Althoughonly one (188) is fairly well determined,the data for the other
are in agreementwith it. The T axisplungeseastwardand is thus probablyparal-
lel to the dip of the inclined seismiczone. Although limited, the data are thus
consistentwith down-dip extensionalstresswithin the eastward-dippingseismic
zone.Note that the P axis, not the B axis, is more nearly parallel to the strike
of the zone. This orientation, plus the depths of the events, arguesagainst an
interpretation of the data as thrust faulting along the inclined seismiczone.
Hindu Kush (Figure 28). The remarkable concentrationof intermediate-
depthhypocentersbeneaththe Hindu Kush is locatednear a complexjunctionof
tectonic belts, and no simple island-arc-like structuresare apparent. Near. the
Hindu Kush the seismicityis greatestat intermediatedepths,whereasthe most
active nearby zone of shallow earthquakes is associatedwith the east-north-
east-trending block-faulted structures of the Tien Shah located farther north.
Beneaththe Hindu Kush the largestearthquakesappearto be remarkably
concentrated
in space.Gutenbergand Richter'smostaccuratelylocatedevents,
includingmostof the largestshocksthat occurredbetween1907 and 1950,all
have depthsbetween210 and 240 km and occur within a degreeor less of
36•øN and 70%øE. This spatial concentrationof the largest shockshas con-
tinuedduringthe periodfrom 1954to the present.Locationsof earthquakes
of
smaller magnitude show that the zone has a discernibleextent and structure and
is not a pointlikesourceof earthquakes.The AtlasZemletryasenii SSSR[1962]
andNowroozi[1971]showthat earthquake hypocentersare distributed
through-
out the rangeof depthslessthan 300 km. Nowroozi,in particular,clearlyde-
lineatestwo thin, slablikezones;oneis locatedbetweendepthsof about70 and
175 km and trendsnortheast,and the secondis lo.catedat depthsbetweenabout
STRESSESIN THE DESCENDING LITHOSPHERE 157
4O
55
N
Fig. 28. Zone of intermediate-depth earth-
quakes beneath the Hindu Kush. The names
refer to the major mountain belts in the
region.
50-
65 70E 75
175 and 250 km and trends east-west.In Figure 28 thesetwo zonesare indicated
by the 100-kmand200-kmcontours oœhypocentraldepths,respectively.
Focal-mechanism solutions
for the regionare summarized by Ritsema[1966],
Stevens[1966],Shirokova[1967],andSoboleva[1967,1968].Stevensshowsthat
solution189 is representativeoœmost oœthe data, if not all oœthe solutions,
reportedby other workers.Ritsema derivesa commonsolution (192) for earth-
quakesthat occurredduringthe period1949-1965.Both are plotted in Figure 28
togetherwith well-determinedsolutionsfor two other earthquakes(190 and 191).
The resultsoœSobolevaand Shirokovaare in generalagreementwith the pattern
exhibited by thesedata.
Earthquakes 189-191, as well as most oœthe events comprising192, are
probably located in the lower east-west-strikingzone. The T axes dip steeply
north, but the polesoœone set oœnodal planes dip as steeply south.From this rela-
tionshipalonewe couldequallywell inœereither (a) shearingor slip parallel to the
zone or (b) stressinside a thin slab. However, the interchangeoœthe B and P
axes oœ190 relative to the other solutions,although difficult to explain in terms
oœvertical shearingor slip, is consistentwith extensionalstressinside a slab that
dips steeply north. Nowroozi'sdata do not excludea northward dip oœthe zone
as small as, say, 75ø. Thus, althoughfurther investigationis required,down-dip
extensionin this zoneis the preœerredinterpretation oœthe data.
AlpideBelt: MediterraneanRegion(Figure29)
Known subcrustal earthquakes are confined to •our separate areas in the
regionoœthe MediterraneanSea: the VrancearegionoœRumania,the southern
AegeanSea, the Tyrrhenian Sea northwestoœCalabria and Sicily, and southern
193-197 x
201-202
40
N 'xx
[
'
I -I-- ; + X
!
50 o
' 03 0
, 199-2(
I I I I
0 IOE 20 30
Fig. 29. The Alpide belt in and near the MediterraneanSea, includingthe Vrancearegion
of Rumania (193-197),the Hellenic islandarc (198-200),the Calabrianislandare (201-202),
and the Spanishdeep earthquake (203).
Spain.Solutionsbasedon WWSSN data are availableonly for the Aegeanarea.

Becauseof the numerousstationsthat have long beenin operationin Europe,
however,reliablesolutionsare alsoavailablefor previousearthquakes.
¾rancearegionof the easternCarpathians. A concentratedsourceof earth-
quakeswith depthsbetweenabout 100 and 150 km is locatedjust east of the
sharpbendof the CarpathianMountains.Althoughthe detailedstructureof this
zoneis not well determined,Karnik [1969], in a summaryof Rumanianwork,
suggeststhat it reachesdepthsof about 200 km and dips steeply.Radt• [1965]
showsan inclinedzonestrikingnortheastanddippingnorthwest.
The five solutions193-197 plotted in Figure 29 were selectedfrom the litera-
ture as the most reliable that we were able to find. The solutions 193-196 are
nearlyidentical;197 differsin that the P andB axesapproximately interchange
positions
with respectto others.The T axesof all five dip nearlyvertically,and
the nearly horizontalB and P axesare either parallel or perpendicularto the
apparentstrikeof the subcrustal zone.The resultsthussuggest down-dipexten-
sional stress within a nearly vertical slab.. This inference is similar to that
obtainedfor the concentratedsourceregionbeneaththe Hindu Kush.
Hellenicarc. The distributions
of shallowand intermediate-depth earth-
quakesand volcanoes, focal mechanismsof shallowearthquakes[McKenzie,
1970],andthe data from marinegeology[Ryan eta!., 1970]indicatean island-
arc structureboundingthe southernand southwestern AegeanSea.Solutionsfor

shallowearthquakesalongthe arc indicatenortheasterlyunderthrustingof the
Mediterraneansea floor beneaththe Aegean[McKenzie,1970]. Becausethe
seismicityis ratherlow for an islandarc,the distributionof hypocenters
is poorly
known;the availabledata sugges• a zonedippingnorth bo northeastbeneath
the Aegean.Karnik [ 1969] findsbhabhypocenbraldepthsdo not exceed200 km.
Solutions199 and 200 are consistent
wi•h down-dipextensionwibhina zone
dippingabout60 degrees northeast.The T axisof 198 dipsgentlynorthandthus
may indicateextension within a gentlydippingzone,although•he P andB axes
arenot parallelor perpendicular5othe eas•-west
strikeof the westernendof the
arc.
SouthernItaly: Calabrian arc. Gutenberga•d Richter [1954] and Peter-

schmitt[1956] showthat intermediate-and deep-focus earthquakes beneaththe
Tyrrhenian Sea are associatedwith an island-arc-likestructurenear Calabria
and Sicily (seealsoRyan et al., 1970). The inclinedseismiczonedipsnorthwest
and reachesdepthsof 450 km. Peterschmittfinds evidencetha• seismic-wave
velocitiesnear this zoneare anomalously high,a resultnowbhoughtto be charac-
5erisSicof •he island arcs of the Pacific [Oliver and Isacks, 1967; Utsu, 1967;
Davies and McKenzie, 1969; Mitronovas, 1969].
Solution202 is an averagesolutionfor subcrusbal earthquakesderivedby
Ritsema [1969]. Bo•h solutions201 and 202 have P axes•hat plungenortheast
and B axesthat are nearly horizontaland parallel•o the s•rikeof the Calabrian
arc. The data are bhusin good agreementwith down-dip compressionalstress
within •he northwests-dipping
zone.
Southern Spain. A large deep-focus earthquake occurred beneath the
Sierra Nevada of southernSpain in 1954 at a depth of 650 km. No other deep
seismicactivity is known •o be located in this region, and the event doesnot
appear
t• berelated
•oanobvious
island
arcorisland-arc-like
sbructure.
Solution 203 is well determined by numerous firs5 motions reported by
nearby Europeanstabions.In Figure 28 two planesare drawn throughthe stress
axesof this solution.Extrapolationof resultsfrom o•herregionssuggests that •he
plane •hroughthe P and B axes,a plane bha• s•rikesnorth and dips 45ø eas•,
would be •he mos• likely orientation of a seismiczone near 203. In this casean
east-dipping
slabof lithosphere
is undercompression
parallelto its dip. The sur-
face brace of •he inferred slab would be located near or wes• of Portugal and
Gibraltar and would strike north-south. Tectonic trends of southern Spain are
sometimesshownto be curvedaroundthrough Gibraltar •o join the riff s•ructures
of northern Africa; near Gibraltar such a belt would have a north-southstrike
and could thus be related to •he surface trace of bhe postulabedseismiczone.
Alternatively, a vertical plane throughthe P and T axesis parallel to the pre-
dominantlyeas•-wes•alignmen•of the belbof shallowearthquakesin •he western
Mediterraneanand alongthe Azores-Gibraltarridge.McKenzie [1970] claims
•ha• •his bel• marks •he boundarybetween•he convergingAfrican and Eurasian
p!a•es.Thus 203 may be :rela•ed•o lithosphericconsumption alongthat zone,
although•he isolationof the event as well as the orientationof stressare
anomalous.Until the complex•ech)nichistory of the wesSernMediterraneanis
better known,the relationshipof the Spanishdeepearthquaketo the near-surface

structure remains a puzzle.
APPENDIX
Table 1
Table I lists the locations and focal-mechanismsolutions for the earthquakesplotted in

Figures 1, 2, and 7 through 29. The location listed in each case is the most reliable one
reported in the literature. If a relocation is not available from a special investigatio.n of
seismicity,or from the International SeismologicalSummary and the Bulletins o• the Inter-
national SeismologicalCenter, the location is taken from the SeismologicalBulletin of the
Coast and Geodetic Survey (ESSA); if none of these is available (mainly for the more recent
earthquakes), the location is taken from the Preliminary Determination o• Epicenters of the
Coast and Geodetic Survey.
The trends and plunges listed for the focal-mechanism solutions are measured in degrees
clockwisefrom north and downward from the horzontal, respectively. The second to last
column lists the data plotted in Figure 2. 'P' and 'T' indicate down-dip compressionand
tension, respectively; 'X' indicates that neither the P nor the T axis is approximately
parallel to the dip of the zone; and 'n.p.' indicates that the solution is not plo.tted in Figure 3.
The data not plotted are for earthquakes in regions where the structure of the zone is
poorly known or very complex and no clear determination of down-dip stress type can be
made.
In the last column o.n the right, the reference from which the solution is taken is
tabulated as follows:
BJ Berckhemerand Jacob[1968] M D.P. McKenzie, personalcommunication

CE Constantinescuand Enescu [1962]
Ch Chandra [1970b] Md Mendiguren[1969]
CRE Constantinescuet al. [1966] MS Molnar and Sykes[1969]
Fa Fdch [1970a] N New solutionobtainedby us for this paper
Fb Fitch [1970b] Ra Ritsema [1965]
FM Fitch and Molnar [1970] Rb Ritsema [1966]
YI Honda and Masatsuka [1962] Rc Ritsema [1969]
and Honda et al. [1956] S Stevens[1966]
HC Hodgsonand Cock[1956] St Stauder[1958b]
I-Ii Hirasawa [1966] SB Stauder and Bollinger [1965]
I-It{ Hedayati and Hirasawa [1966] TB Teng and Ben-Mer•ahem[1965]
I Ichikawa [1966] VP• Vvedenskayaand R•prechtova[1961]
ISO Isacks et al. [1969]
KS Katsumata and Sykes[1969]
The numbers following these abbreviations in the last column are those emplo,yedby the
authors in each case to identify the particular earthquake.
New Focal-Mechanism Solutions
The new solutions ('N' in Table 1) are illustrated in appendix plates 1-4 on equal-area
projectionsof the lower hemisphereof the focal sphere.In all casesthe upper and right-hand
side of the projections correspo.ndto north and east, respectively. Filled or solid circles and
triangles indicate compressionalfirst motions, and-• untilled or open circles and triangles
indicate diiatational first motions. Triangles are for data on the upper hemisphere (pP or
P at small distances) projected thro.ugh the center onto the lo,wer hemisphere; circles are
for data on the lower hemisphere. X indicates compressional-wavedata judged to be near
a nodal plane. The direction of first motion of S is shown by an arrow. A small circle,
triangle, or x and a dashedarrow indicate uncertain determinations.
Solutionsfor some of the events listed in Table I as new have also been reported by
other investigators[e.g., $tauder and Bollinger, 1964, 1965; Chandra, 1970a; and Mikumo,
o o o
o
oo •
o
x <] •
1969]. In most casesthe agreement of their solutions and ours is excellent and attests to
the reliability of solutionsbased on WWSSN data. The largest discrepanciesare associated
with certain of Stauder and Bollinger's solutions for earthquakesin the Peru-Chile region.
We attribute these discrepanciesto their use of first-motion data for P waves that a•e reported
in bulletins (and are often inconsistent) and their primary, (nearly exclusive in some cases)
reliance upon the polarization of shear waves.
Acknowledgments.Discussionswith E. R. Engdahl, T. Fitch, D. T. Griggs, T. Hanks,

V. Karnik, D. P. McKenzie, J. Oliver, A. R. Ritsema, C. Scho.lz,and L. R. Sykes were
especiallyhelpful. E. R. Engdahl, D. P. McKenzie, and A. Nowroozi kindly supplied data
prior to publication of their work. We thank J. Oliver and L. R. Sykes for critically reading
the manuscript.
This researchwas supportedby NOAA, Department of Commerce, Grants E22-53-69G
and E22-73-70G, and by National ScienceFoundation Grants NSF GA-11152 and NSF
GA-1537. Contribution 1615 from Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory.
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Isacks & Molnar 1971 - Distribution of Stresses in The Descending Litosphere 1971

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REvli•ws OF GEOPHYSICS

ANDSPACEPHYSICS,VOL. 9, NO. 1, FESltUAIt¾1971

Distribution of Stressesin the Descending Lithosphere

A region-by-region analysis of 204 reliable focal-mechanismsolutions for deep and

The idea that deep and intermediate-depthearthquakesmark the location

and about the contortionsand disruptions of its descendingparts. In our pre-

OO 0 ½:D "• ½:D OO ½:D "'*

O O O ff") ,,,-m O ,,-'• N ,,,-m O • ,,• ,,-'• • O O N N O • O • O "'• "-'• O

o ,-• • uq 00 N 0 N u• • • •0 00 w• • •2' •2' ,-' • • • •'• • 0

..o 00 .,o u• .4D N O e,I O 1'- wl• e,I ..0 ..0 o oo

• N 0• O O !'- -,0 I'-- -,0 N N O 0• O I'-- N

N O 0• u• O I'-- -.0 I-- ..o O 00 O 0o ,'• I'.- c•D

O wl• O m ..o 0o N 0o N m 00 0• I-- 00 • o

DOUBLE-COUPLE MODEL OF THE SOURCE MECI•ANISM

STRESS WITHIN DESCENDING LITHOSPHERIC PLATES

Parallelism between Stress Axes and Inclined Seismic Zones

The parallelismbetweenthe axesof compression or tensionof the double-

not usethis methodof presentationfurther in this paperbecause(1) the precision

zontal also arguesagainstthe hypothesis(e.g.,Lliboutry [1969]) that the lith-

1. There are remarkablesystematicdifferences

2. There is a correlationbetweenthe down-dipstresstype at intermediate

Fig. 2. Global summary of

Down-dip extensionis predominantin regionswhere either marked

Sinking o[ the Lithosphere

Fig, 3. A model showingplausibledistributionsof stresseswithin slabs

into the mantle; thus in certain regionsgeometricadjustmentsto this major

[Gordon,1965; Anderson,1966; McConnell, 1968; Weertman,1970]. However,

Fig. 4. Diagram showing a bent edge of a

doesnot producethe stressreleasedby the earthquakesbut merely changesthe

Fig. 5. Contortion (a) or disruption(b) betweentwo segmentsof a slab with differentdips.

Fig. 6. Illustration of how lateral extensioncan be producedin the descendingportion of a

Implications for Plate Tectonicsand Mantle Convection

A de[ailed region-by-regionanalysis of •he rela[ionshipsbe[ween [he siress

butionof hYpocenters nearthe earthquakes for whichœocal-mechanism solutions

New Guinea-New Britain-SolomonIslands (Figures7 and 8)

140 E 150 160

the large Australian and Pacific plates is complexand probably includesthree

The deepestshocksare displacednortheastof the nearly vertical distributionof

such• changein s•rike. The da• m•y •hus be ½onsis•en•

New Hebrides (Figures9 and 10)

Fig. 9. The New Hebrides

WSW Trench •Volconic

Tonga-Kermadec-New Zealand Region

The solutionsfor earthquakes near •he lateral boundariesare morecomplex.

450 km would,however,nearly coincidewith the transformfault. Theserelation-

showedthat the seismicactivity at intermediatedepthsbeneaththe North

The disSribuQonof earthquakesand o•her island-arc-like tectonic features

island-arc-like structure continuesthrough Colombia, but the plate tectonics

Fig. 13. The Peru-Chile

At -200 0(B) +200 +400 7600 C

events within the area shown KM !

in the inset. The events are

quakesas a functionof depth showsa pronouncedgap betweenabout 350 and

T axesthat are alsomorenearly parallel to the belt of deephypocenters than

Fig. 15. Region of north-

a zonedippingeastwardbeneaththe coas•of Colombianear 5øS. Althoughlarge

South Sandwicharc (Figure I6). The seismicityof •his region is poorly

earthquakesin this region,but only one (106) is well determined.A plane

Middle America Arc (Figure 18)

Fig. 18. Middle America

tessof the idea that, as a result of gravitational body forceson excessmassin

In the northwesternUnited Statesan island-arc-likestructuretrendsparallel