Site velocities before and after the Loma Prieta and Gulf of Alaska earthquakes determined from VLBI

Abstract

We use geodetic data from VLBI to determine the pre‐ and postseismic velocities of two sites. We then place limits on variations in interseismic strain buildup. The 1987 and 1988 Gulf of Alaska earthquakes (each Ms=7.6) broke the Pacific plate interior. During the earthquakes the Cape Yakataga site moved 78 mm toward southwest. During the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake (Ms=7.1) the Fort Ord site moved 48 mm toward north. Baselines (a) from Fairbanks to Cape Yakataga and (b) from Mojave to Fort Ord change at nearly the same rate before and after the earthquakes. Postseismic transients, which we determine from differences between post‐ and preseismic rates, are minor: at Cape Yakataga the transient is 3±4 mm in a postseismic interval of 23 months, and at Fort Ord the transient is 6±5 mm in 21 months. The slip beneath the Loma Prieta rupture needed to generate the Fort Ord transient is 0.22±0.19 m, one‐tenth the coseismic slip (2 m). We analyze elastic lithosphere‐viscous asthenosphere models to determine that the characteristic time describing exponential decay in deep fault slip is longer than 6 years. The VLBI measurements are consistent with uniform interseismic strain buildup. They disagree with fast postseismic rates caused by an asthenosphere with very low viscosity.