Comment on "a new estimate for present-day Cocos-Caribbean plate motion: Implications for slip along the Central American volcanic arc" by Charles DeMets

Abstract

We comment on "A new estimate for present-day Cocos-Caribbean plate motion: Implications for slip along the Central American volcanic arc" by Charles DeMets. We find the following inconsistencies in his model: Components of relative motion along the arc are small and variable, not uniform. There is no single surface faulting and earthquakes occur on faults along and perpendicular to the arc. Earthquakes also stop in the middle of the arc. Geometrically, the model calls for buttressing, but there is no evidence for this.