Seismic Deformation Derived from Moment Tensor Summation: Application Along the Hellenic Trench

Abstract

How continental areas deform has been a subject of intense research, especially in the prism of plate tectonics. The distribution of seismicity in continental areas is not confined to a single fault, but earthquakes are distributed over wide zones, hundreds or even thousands wide, which contain many faults. Within these deforming zones, as for example the Alpine-Himalayan Belt, there are blocks, which are relative aseismic, as the region of central Turkey, and are commonly referred to as microplates.