Subduction thrust valving action revealed from time-lapse imaging of deep Hikurangi slow slip events

Subduction thrust valving action revealed from time-lapse imaging of deep Hikurangi slow slip events | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Subduction thrust valving action revealed from time-lapse imaging of deep Hikurangi slow slip events Pasan Herath, Pascal Audet This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3953181/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Slow slip events (SSEs) at subduction zones relieve tectonic stress over periods ranging from days to years. A pervasive feature in SSE regions worldwide is the presence of high fluid pressures in the subducting slab, which are thought to fluctuate during SSEs through the fault-valving action of an impermeable layer at the plate interface. Yet, geophysical observations of this fault-valving behaviour remain sparse. Here we show, by applying timelapse receiver function analysis at the Manawatu deep slow slip region, that V P /V S in the top ~7.3 km of the subducting Pacific Plate increases up to 2.40 during inter-SSE periods and decreases down to 2.20 during SSE periods, indicating sustained high fluid pressures across slip cycles. In a ~2 km thick layer above, V P /V S fluctuates in the opposite sense, decreasing to ~1.4 during inter-SSE to >2.0 during SSEs. We interpret these results to indicate a reduction in fluid saturation due to decreased crack density and mineral precipitation between SSE cycles, followed by increased crack density and fluid saturation induced by slip on the subduction thrust. Our work shows that this thin layer relieves high fluid pressures in the subducting slab by acting as a valve. Seismology slow slip events fault-valve receiver function time-lapse velocity changes Vp/Vs Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Figures are not available with this version. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3953181","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":272599690,"identity":"4435aff8-1e92-462a-8d2e-ac3e74dd72d5","order_by":0,"name":"Pasan Herath","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA30lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACHjCZwI/CJUKLQYJkA8laDA4Q6yxzBt6Djytq/uQZn197+ANDzT0ZBun2B3i1WDbwJRueOWZQbHbjXZoEw7FiHgaZAwl4tRgc4DGTbGAzSNx244wZA2NDAg+DRAJ+NwK1mP9s+GeQuHnGGeMPEC2JDQRtYWxsM0jcwN9jIAHRkoxXB4NlM4+xZGOfceKMGzxmEgnHEnjYJNLwazFn7zH82PBNLrG/H+iwDzUJ9vwS6Q/wO4wZxpJIAKYBIM2G3w6gFjiL/wAhtaNgFIyCUTBSAQBnrT/GiK00UAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7579-4349","institution":"GNS Science, Lower Hutt, New Zealand","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Pasan","middleName":"","lastName":"Herath","suffix":""},{"id":272599691,"identity":"1866c6d3-44a1-44f6-b515-60ff3af51d73","order_by":1,"name":"Pascal Audet","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Pascal","middleName":"","lastName":"Audet","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-02-13 09:31:59","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3953181/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3953181/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":51149204,"identity":"35846df8-a074-48bf-b456-9ec3289e3b52","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-02-15 02:27:21","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1340418,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"PreprintNZSSEPaper.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3953181/v1_covered_0de47103-d196-41f2-b120-839185c37e7d.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSupplementary Figures are not available with this version.\u003c/p\u003e","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSubduction thrust valving action revealed from time-lapse imaging of deep Hikurangi slow slip events\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"University of Ottawa","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"slow slip events, fault-valve, receiver function, time-lapse velocity changes, Vp/Vs","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3953181/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3953181/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSlow slip events (SSEs) at subduction zones relieve tectonic stress over periods ranging from days to years. 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In a ~2 km thick layer above, \u003c/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eV\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eP\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e/V\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eS\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e fluctuates in the opposite sense, decreasing to ~1.4 during inter-SSE to \u0026gt;2.0 during SSEs. We interpret these results to indicate a reduction in fluid saturation due to decreased crack density and mineral precipitation between SSE cycles, followed by increased crack density and fluid saturation induced by slip on the subduction thrust. 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