Chapter 6 - Seismic Behavior on Oceanic Transform Faults at the East Pacific Rise

Abstract

Transform faults are one of the three major types of plate boundaries and can be divided into two groups: continental and oceanic transform faults. Compared with continental transform faults, oceanic transform faults, especially the short fast-spreading ones at the East Pacific Rise, have several advantages when studying earthquake physics and the earthquake cycle: simple thermal and kinematic structures, short earthquake cycles, high levels of foreshock activity, and the most systematic and predictable seismic behavior in seismology. This review focuses on recent progress in earthquake physics achieved from studies of oceanic transform faults at the East Pacific Rise. An important conclusion is that many characteristics of these earthquakes are related to the abundance of water in the environment. Looking to the future, many outstanding questions remain unanswered, and solving these problems require a multidisciplinary approach with efforts in all related directions, including field observations, theoretical analyses, and lab/numerical experiments. Among these efforts, seafloor geodesy is a promising technology that may revolutionize research on seismic behavior of oceanic transform faults.