Structural context of the great Sumatra-Andaman Islands earthquake

[1] A new three-dimensional seismic model and relocated regional seismicity are used to illuminate the great Sumatra-Andaman Islands earthquake of December 26, 2004. The earthquake initiated where the incoming Indian Plate lithosphere is warmest and the dip of the Wadati-Benioff zone is least steep along the subduction zone extending from the Andaman Trench to the Java Trench. Anomalously high temperatures are observed in the supra-slab mantle wedge in the Andaman back-arc. The subducting slab is observed along the entire plate boundary to a depth of at least 200 km. These factors contribute to the location of the initiation of rupture, the strength of seismic coupling, the differential rupture properties between the northern and southern segments of the earthquake, and the cause of convergence in the Andaman segment.