Crustal density structure in northwestern South America derived from analysis and 3-D modeling of gravity and seismicity data

• The Caribbean slab extends from northern Colombia to the area of the Bucaramanga nest.
• The average density of the Caribbean crust is lower than a typical oceanic crust.
• Density of the Caribbean crust is mainly dominated by tectonic and thermal age.
• Seismicity supports the thesis of oblique subduction underneath the Maracaibo block.

This paper presents a three-dimensional (3-D) interpretation of new gravity and seismicity datasets for northern South America. A 3-D forward density model was constructed on the basis of deep wide-angle seismic refraction sections, Moho depth from receiver functions, and surface geology. Density values were estimated from published borehole data for sediments by using empirical velocity–density functions and considering mineralogical–chemical composition variations under typical pressure–temperature conditions for upper and lower crustal rocks. The modeled 3-D density structure was kept as simple as possible. The continental and oceanic plates were formed by two sedimentary bodies, one crustal body, and one mantle lithosphere body overlying a sub-lithospheric mantle. The Caribbean plate was modeled with an atypical crustal thickness of ~ 18 km (including sediments). The geometry of the Caribbean plate was modeled using a combination of gravity modeling and analyses of the seismicity and focal-mechanism solutions. Intermediate seismicity and the orientation of the T-axes appeared aligned along the predicted position of the slab. As a result, the estimated slab dip angle under Maracaibo and the Mérida Andes was ~ 15° and increases up to ~ 20° after 100 km depth. The model shows two orientations in the slab strike: ~ N150°E ± 5 in western Colombia and southward underneath the Maracaibo block. The modeling results suggest that the northern South American upper and lower crusts are relatively light and the density of the Caribbean crust is typical for an oceanic crust.