Item

Abstract

The oblique convergence between the Caribbean and North American plates produces a tectonic collage in Hispaniola Island, where Muertos Trough marks the trace of a low-angle thrust fault bounding an accretionary wedge. In this work, we analyzed the seismic data corresponding to Profiles C and D of the CARIBE NORTE project (2009) in the frame of the current KUK ÀHPÁN and MICROSIS-I projects. A seismic array of vertical and three-component land stations registered these profiles along N-S and W-E seismic transects of 350 and 450 km, respectively. The seismic sources in these lines corresponded to land borehole explosions 1 Ton (S1, S2, and S3), three marine shooting lines (LM3N, LM3S for Profile C and LM4, for Profile D), and one earthquake that occurred during the registering period. We constrained the seismic structure of the Dominican Republic by the inversion of wide-angle seismic travel-time data for the previous 2D P-wave velocity model of both profiles. In the eastern zone, the Moho discontinuity rises to 24 km deep. In comparison, it increases towards the island's interior with a maximum depth value of approximately 30 km deep in the west and central part of the transect. The analysis of Profile C shows the deformation produced by Muertos Trough and Muertos Thrust Belt over San Pedro Basin and eastern Hispaniola Island.