Seismicity and state of stress within the overriding plate of the Tonga-Kermadec subduction zone

To reassess the main tectonic units and to quantify the slip partitioning within the overriding plate of the Tonga-Kermadec subduction zone, a seismotectonic study was performed using global seismicity and focal mechanisms catalogs. (1) New tectonic features were identified within the Lau Basin and the volcanic arc by remarkable shallow hypocenters alignments. (2) The Centroid Moment Tensor solutions catalog was processed in order to map the stress tensor variation in the upper plate. We found the tectonic features characterized by a diffuse seismicity are subjected to a composite stress regime and they are interpreted as diffuse immature plate boundaries controlled by the high thermal anomaly lying beneath the Lau Basin. (3) We quantified the margin-parallel rates of motion using the azimuth of the maximum compressive stress component computed within the interplate zone. The results highlight a major tectono-kinematic segmentation related to the subduction of the Louisville Seamount Chain.