Earth structure and instrumental seismicity of Madagascar: Implications on the seismotectonics

•Earth structure models show that the lithosphere in Madagascar is thin.•We relocate earthquake which indicates that upper and lower crusts are active in Madagascar.•Focal mechanism solutions suggest that Madagascar exhibits E-W extension.•The present seismicity in Madagascar is localised along pre-existing structures.

The aim of this study is to improve the knowledge of the seismotectonics of Madagascar. We first investigate the structure of the Earth beneath Madagascar through the joint inversion of receiver functions and Rayleigh wave group velocities. Then we use the obtained velocity models to relocate local earthquakes in order to analyse the distribution of seismicity. Finally, we use structural models and earthquake coordinates to compute focal mechanisms.Our retrieved Earth structure models confirm a thin lithosphere beneath Madagascar when compared to the nearby East African Rift. The High Plateau in the Central region coincides with the thinnest lithosphere over the slowest asthenosphere. Our results are in good agreement with the gravity anomalies and likely confirm a localised asthenospheric upwelling beneath the central part of Madagascar. The surface expression of the asthenospheric upwelling consists in a horst-graben structure. The moderate seismicity is localised along pre-existing structures reflecting an E-W extension that is mostly accommodated in the lower crust.