Exploring GPS observations of postseismic deformation following the 2012 MW7.8 Haida Gwaii and 2013 MW7.5 Craig, Alaska Earthquakes: Implications for viscoelastic Earth structure

The Queen Charlotte-Fairweather Fault (QC-FF) system off the coast of British Columbia and southeast Alaska is a highly active dextral strike-slip plate boundary that accommodates ∼50 mm/yr of relative motion between the Pacific and North America plates. Nine M_W ≥ 6.7 earthquakes have occurred along the QC-FF system since 1910, including a M_S(G-R)8.1 event in 1949. Two recent earthquakes, the October 28, 2012 Haida Gwaii (M_W7.8) and January 5, 2013 Craig, Alaska (M_W7.5) events, produced postseismic transient deformation that was recorded in the motions of 25 nearby continuous Global Positioning System (cGPS) stations. Here, we use 5+ yr of cGPS measurements to characterize the underlying mechanisms of postseismic deformation and to constrain the viscosity structure of the upper mantle surrounding the QC-FF. We construct forward models of viscoelastic deformation driven by coseismic stress changes from these two earthquakes and explore a large set of laterally heterogeneous viscosity structures that incorporate a relatively weak back-arc domain; we then evaluate each model based on its fit to the postseismic signals in our cGPS data. In determining best-fit model structures, we additionally incorporate the effects of afterslip following the 2012 event. Our results indicate the occurrence of a combination of temporally decaying afterslip and vigorous viscoelastic relaxation of the mantle asthenosphere. In addition, our best-fit viscosity structure (transient viscosity of 1.4–2.0 × 10¹⁸ Pa s; steady-state viscosity of 10¹⁹ Pa s) is consistent with the range of upper mantle viscosities determined in previous studies of glacial isostatic rebound and postseismic deformation.