Filling the Gap in Cascadia: The Emergence of Low‐Amplitude Long‐Term Slow Slip

Abstract

AbstractLong‐term slow slip events have been observed at several subduction zones around the globe, where they play an integral part in strain release along megathrust faults. Nevertheless, evidence for long‐term slow slip has remained elusive in the Cascadia subduction zone. Here we conduct a systematic analysis of 13 years of GNSS time series data from 2006 to 2019 and present evidence of at least one low‐amplitude long‐term slow slip event on the Cascadia subduction zone, with the possibility of others that are less resolved. Starting in mid‐2012, a 1.5‐year transient is observed in southern Cascadia, with a group of coastal GNSS stations moving ∼2 mm to the west. The data are modeled as a Mw 6.4 slow slip event occurring at 15–35 km depth on the plate interface, just updip of previously recognized short‐term slow slip and tremor. The event shares many characteristics with similar long‐term transient events on the Nankai subduction zone. However, the total fault slip amplitude is an order‐of‐magnitude smaller in Cascadia when compared to large events elsewhere, making long‐term slow slip detection challenging in Cascadia. While there are other westward long‐duration transients in the refined data set, the surface displacements are below the level of the noise or are limited spatially to a few neighboring stations, making interpretation unclear.