San Andreas Fault Research Articles

Synthesis of Current Seismicity and Tectonics Along the 1857 Mw7.9 Fort Tejon Earthquake Rupture and the Southernmost San Andreas Fault, California, USA

AbstractWe evaluate seismicity and tectonics along the San Andreas Fault (SAF) in southern California to elucidate ongoing near‐field crustal deformation processes. The principal slip surfaces (PSSs) or the fault core that accommodate major earthquakes, form the boundary between the tectonic plates. We analyze seismicity catalogs extending back to 1857, 1932, and 1981 with progressively improved magnitude of completeness and spatial resolution. The 1857 to present statewide catalog that is complete at M5.5+ documents minimal aftershock activity for the Mw7.9 1857 and 1906 Mw7.8 San Francisco earthquakes. The higher quality 1932 and 1981 catalogs show that the PSSs (the rupture zone) of the 1857 Mw7.9 Fort Tejon earthquake exhibits remarkable seismic quiescence both in the core and in the adjacent extended‐damage zone. Further south, the fault core is still aseismic but the shape of the SAF is more complex, and the rate of adjacent seismicity is much higher. This fault complexity and the seismicity rate are larger the more the strike of the SAF deviates from the Pacific plate velocity‐vector direction. The focal mechanisms of the SAF adjacent earthquakes are also heterogeneous and rarely have strikes and dips that are consistent with slip on the nearby PSSs. We infer that the southern SAF is locked, and a lack of seismicity at the core of the fault may be a standard feature of faults that almost exclusively accommodate high‐slip rates by producing major earthquakes. Correspondingly future aftershock sequences of major earthquakes on the southern SAF will likely have below average aftershock productivity.

Seismic attenuation and stress on the San Andreas Fault at Parkfield: are we critical yet?

The Parkfield transitional segment of the San Andreas Fault (SAF) is characterized by the production of frequent quasi-periodical M6 events that break the very same asperity. The last Parkfield mainshock occurred on 28 September 2004, 38 years after the 1966 earthquake, and after the segment showed a ∼22 years average recurrence time. The main reason for the much longer interevent period between the last two earthquakes is thought to be the reduction of the Coulomb stress from the M6.5 Coalinga earthquake of 2 May 1983, and the M6 Nuñez events of June 11th and 22 July 1983. Plausibly, the transitional segment of the SAF at Parkfield is now in the late part of its seismic cycle and current observations may all be relative to a state of stress close to criticality. However, the behavior of the attenuation parameter in the last few years seems substantially different from the one that characterized the years prior to the 2004 mainshock. A few questions arise: (i) Does a detectable preparation phase for the Parkfield mainshocks exist, and is it the same for all events? (ii) How dynamically/kinematically similar are the quasi-periodic occurrences of the Parkfield mainshocks? (iii) Are some dynamic/kinematic characteristics of the next mainshock predictable from the analysis of current data? (e.g., do we expect the epicenter of the next failure to be co-located to that of 2004?) (iv) Should we expect the duration of the current interseismic period to be close to the 22-year “undisturbed” average value? We respond to the questions listed above by analyzing the non-geometric attenuation of direct S-waves along the transitional segment of the SAF at Parkfield, in the close vicinity of the fault plane, between January 2001 and November 2023. Of particular interest is the preparatory behavior of the attenuation parameter as the 2004 mainshock approached, on both sides of the SAF. We also show that the non-volcanic tremor activity modulates the seismic attenuation in the area, and possibly the seismicity along the Parkfield fault segment, including the occurrence of the mainshocks.

Deformed Latest Pleistocene Fluvial Terraces Reveal Complex Active Faulting within Tectonic Transition Zone, Mendocino Triple Junction, Northern California

Abstract The transition between the San Andreas fault (SAF) system and the southern Cascadia subduction zone (CSZ) at the Mendocino Triple Junction (MTJ) encompasses a broad zone of complex deformation, the Mendocino deformation zone. Here, there are discrepancies between types of geological structures (transform or thrust faults) and recorded geodetic velocity vectors of plate motion. Though SAF-type stress is recorded north of the MTJ, there has been little geological evidence for resultant strain at these latitudes on the coast. We focus on the Van Duzen fault (VDF)—a possible subsidiary fault of the Little Salmon fault system, one of the southernmost active thrust faults within the onshore fold and thrust belt associated with CSZ. The VDF deforms young river terraces of varying age, which we use to develop a relative-age framework to contextualize activity along the VDF. Geomorphic analysis and a paleoseismic excavation across the VDF display deformation attributed to compressional stresses, which postdates young (3–11 ka) terrace deposition, at roughly 0.06–0.38 mm/yr. We hypothesize that the transition between CSZ and SAF tectonic regimes is geologically manifest through the orientation of compressional structures (i.e., VDF), which may illuminate dynamics associated with the migrating triple junction, past and present.

Revisiting the San Andreas Heat Flow Paradox From the Perspective of Seismic Efficiency and Elastic Power in Southern California

AbstractWe investigate the relation between frictional heating on a fault and the resulting conductive surface heat flow anomaly using the fault's long‐term energy budget. Analysis of the surface heat flow surrounding the fault trace leads to a constraint on the frictional power generated on the fault—the mechanism behind the San Andreas fault (SAF) heat flow paradox. We revisit this paradox from a new perspective using an estimate of the long‐term accumulating elastic power in the region surrounding the fault, and analyze the paradox using two parameters: the seismic efficiency and the elastic power. The results show that the constraint on frictional power from the classic interpretation is incompatible with the accumulating elastic power and the radiated power from earthquake catalogs. We then explore four mechanisms that can resolve this extended paradox. First, stochastic fluctuations of surface heat flow could mask the fault‐generated anomaly (we estimate 21% probability). Second, the elastic power accumulating in the region could be overestimated (≥550 MW required). Third, the seismic efficiency—ratio of radiated energy to elastic work—of the SAF could be higher than that of the remaining faults in the region (≥5.8% required). Fourth, the scaled energy—ratio of radiated energy to seismic moment—on the SAF could be lower than on the remaining faults in the region (a factor 5 difference required). In the last three hypotheses, we analyze the interplay of the energy budget on a single fault with the total energy budget of the region.

Detecting Repeating Earthquakes on the San Andreas Fault with Unsupervised Machine Learning of Spectrograms

Abstract Repeating earthquakes—sequences of colocated, quasi-periodic earthquakes of similar size—are widespread along California’s San Andreas fault (SAF) system. Catalogs of repeating earthquakes are vital for studying earthquake source processes, fault properties, and improving seismic hazard models. Here, we introduce an unsupervised machine learning-based method for detecting repeating earthquake sequences (RES) to expand existing RES catalogs or to perform initial, exploratory searches. We implement the “SpecUFEx” algorithm (Holtzman et al., 2018) to reduce earthquake spectrograms into low-dimensional, characteristic fingerprints, and apply hierarchical clustering to group similar fingerprints together independent of location, allowing for a global search for potential RES throughout the data set. We then relocate the potential RES and subject them to the same detection criteria as Waldhauser and Schaff (2021). We apply our method to ∼4000 small (ML 0–3.5) earthquakes located on a 10 km long segment of the creeping SAF and double the number of detected RES, allowing for greater spatial coverage of slip-rate estimations at seismogenic depths. Our method is novel in its ability to detect RES independent of initial locations and is complimentary to existing cross-correlation-based methods, leading to more complete RES catalogs and a better understanding of slip rates at depth.

The Development of Fault Networks at the Termination of Continental Transform Faults When Their Connecting Plate Boundary Is “Misaligned”

AbstractWe report the results of a series of scaled laboratory experiments that investigate the development of fault systems in plate boundary transition zones, where deformation is distributed between a continental transform fault (e.g., Alpine Fault, New Zealand; North Anatolian Fault (NAF), Turkey; San Andreas Fault (SAF), USA) and its connecting plate boundary. In these transition zones, continental transform faults are observed to branch into multiple subsidiary faults. Here we show that large‐scale transition zone fault networks comprise crustal‐scale Riedel shears that develop sequentially outwards and away from the parent transform fault. Such fault networks form within brittle upper crust that overlies a ductile lower crust that deforms by large‐scale distributed simple shear. We argue that large‐scale distributed deformation of the lower crust occurs when continental transform faults are “misaligned” relative to their connecting plate boundaries. This misalignment may occur: (a) where a transform fault does not directly connect with a convergent or divergent plate boundary, as in the northern termination of the Alpine Fault and the western termination of the NAF; and (b) where a significant bend in the transform fault occurs in the plate boundary transition zone, as in the southern termination of the SAF. The development of such plate boundary misalignments appears to occur when a plate boundary transition zone develops as a continental transform fault propagates toward a different type of “connecting” plate boundary.

Channel Incision Ages to the Rescue: An Improved Age for the Penultimate Earthquake That Ruptured the Carrizo Section of the South-Central San Andreas Fault

ABSTRACT A primary step toward assessing the time and size of future earthquakes is identifying earthquake recurrence patterns in the seismic record. The San Andreas fault (SAF) is one of the most studied active faults in the world. However, there is no unequivocal interpretation of paleoseismic data to determine the timing and rupture extent of the earthquakes that occurred prior to the historical 1857 and 1906 ruptures. The penultimate earthquake is the least well-dated earthquake along the Cholame, Carrizo, and Big Bend sections of the SAF. The main reason for this poor determination is because the past few hundred years have seen large natural fluctuations in atmospheric C14 concentration. These fluctuations mean that a single radiocarbon date may yield a calibrated age consisting of several possible age ranges. At sites along frequently rupturing faults with historical ruptures, such as the SAF and the North Anatolian fault in Turkey, determining the incision age of channels displaced only by the most recent earthquake can place a tighter minimum limit on the possible age range of the penultimate earthquake. In our study, we dated five sandy fill units with the post-infrared infrared-stimulated luminescence method on single feldspar grains of channel Sieh 31 in the Carrizo Plain. The data indicate the channel Sieh 31, offset ∼6 m during the 1857 earthquake, incised before ∼1740 ± 30 C.E. (1σ). This new result trims the age constraint of the penultimate earthquake that ruptured the Carrizo section of the SAF determined at the nearby Bidart Fan site from 1640–1857 to 1631–1745 C.E., tightening the age constraint by nearly 80 yr. The revised mean recurrence interval for surface rupturing earthquakes along the Carrizo section of the south-central SAF is 117 yr (95% confidence interval 62–255 yr). This approach can improve paleoearthquake age and slip-per-earthquake constraints.

Spatiotemporal Variations of Surface Deformation, Shallow Creep Rate, and Slip Partitioning Between the San Andreas and Southern Calaveras Fault

AbstractThe Calaveras Fault (CF) branches from the San Andreas Fault (SAF) near San Benito, extending sub‐parallel to the SAF for about 50 km with only 2–6 km separation and diverging northeastward. Both the SAF and CF are partially coupled, exhibit spatially variable aseismic creep and have hosted moderate to large earthquakes in recent decades. Understanding how slip partitions among the main fault strands of the SAF system and establishing their degree of coupling is crucial for seismic hazard evaluation. We perform a timeseries analysis using more than 5 years of Sentinel‐1 data covering the Bay Area (May 2015–October 2020), specifically targeting the spatiotemporal variations of creep rates around the SAF‐CF junction. We derive the surface creep rates from cross‐fault InSAR timeseries differences along the SAF and CF including adjacent Sargent and Quien Sabe Faults. We show that the variable creep rates (0–20 mm/yr) at the SAF‐CF junction are to first order controlled by the angle between the fault strike and the background stress orientation. We further examine the spatiotemporal variation of creep rates along the SAF and CF and find a multi‐annual coupling increase during 2016–2018 the subparallel sections of both faults, with the CF coupling change lagging behind the SAF by 3–6 months. Similar temporal variations are also observed in both b‐values inferred from declustered seismicity and aseismic slip rates inferred from characteristic repeating earthquakes.

A High-Resolution Earthquake Catalog for the 2004 Mw 6 Parkfield Earthquake Sequence Using a Matched Filter Technique

Abstract We present the high-resolution Parkfield matched filter relocated earthquake (PKD-MR) catalog for the 2004 Mw 6 Parkfield earthquake sequence in central California. We use high-quality seismic data recorded by the borehole High Resolution Seismic Network combined with matched filter detection and relocations from cross-correlation derived differential travel times. We determine the magnitudes of newly detected events by computing the amplitude ratio between the detections and templates using a principal component fit. The relocated catalog spans from 6 November 2003 to 28 March 2005 and contains 13,914 earthquakes, which is about three times the number of events listed in the Northern California Seismic Network catalog. Our results on the seismicity rate changes before the 2004 mainshock do not show clear precursory signals, although we find an increase in the seismic activity in the creeping section of the San Andreas fault (SAF) (about ∼30 km northwest of the mainshock epicenter) in the weeks prior to the mainshock. We also observe a decrease in the b-value parameter in the Gutenberg–Richter relationship in the creeping section in the weeks prior to the mainshock. Our results suggest stress is increasingly released seismically in the creeping section, accompanied by a decreasing aseismic creeping rate before the mainshock occurrence. However, b-value and seismicity rates remain stable in the Parkfield section where the 2004 mainshock ruptured. This updated catalog can be used to study the evolution of aftershocks and their relations to afterslip following the 2004 Parkfield mainshock, seismicity before the mainshock, and how external stresses interact with the Parkfield section of the SAF and the 2004 sequence.

Steady Long‐Term Slip Rate on the Blue Cut Fault: Implications for Strain Transfer Between the San Andreas Fault and Eastern California Shear Zone

AbstractThe Eastern Transverse Ranges (ETR) province of California contains a system of E‐W‐trending left‐lateral faults accommodating clockwise block rotation between the San Andreas Fault (SAF) system in the Coachella Valley and the Eastern California Shear Zone (ECSZ) in the Mojave Desert. Building upon established geometric relationships, we estimate that this rotation across the ETR may transfer right‐lateral strain from the SAF to the ECSZ at a time‐averaged rate of ∼4.3–7.7 mm/yr. Through geomorphic mapping and the analysis of 38 10Be surface exposure samples, we derive a long‐term slip rate of 1.26 ± 0.50 (2σ) mm/yr over the late Pleistocene, yet analysis of the displacement record indicates a rate decrease ∼71 kya. While a rate change on this fault could have implications for possible plate boundary reorganization in this area, we argue that this slip rate variability more likely reflects routine fluctuation about a steady lifetime slip rate.

New Insights on Subsurface Geology and the San Andreas Fault at Loma Prieta, Central California

ABSTRACT The 1989 Mw 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake is the first major event to occur along the San Andreas fault (SAF) zone in central California since the 1906 M 7.9 San Francisco earthquake. Given the complexity of this event, uncertainty has persisted as to whether this earthquake ruptured the SAF itself or a secondary fault. Recent work on the SAF in the Coachella Valley in southern California has revealed similar complexity, arising from a nonplanar, nonvertical fault geometry, and has led us to reexamine the Loma Prieta event. We have compiled data sets and data analyses in the vicinity of the Loma Prieta earthquake, including the 3D seismic velocity model and aftershock relocations of Lin and Thurber (2012), potential field data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey following the earthquake, and seismic refraction and reflection data from the 1991 profile of Catchings et al. (2004). The velocity model and aftershock relocations of Lin and Thurber (2012) reveal a geometry for the SAF that appears similar to that in the Coachella Valley (although rotated 180°): at Loma Prieta the fault dips steeply near the surface and curves with depth to join the moderately southwest-dipping main rupture below 6 km depth, itself also nonplanar. The SAF is a clear velocity boundary, with higher velocities on the northeast, attributable to Mesozoic accretionary and other rocks, and lower velocities on the southwest, attributable to Cenozoic sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the La Honda block. Rocks of the La Honda block have been offset right-laterally hundreds of kilometers from similar rocks in the southern San Joaquin Valley and vicinity, providing evidence that the curved northeast fault boundary of this block is the plate boundary. Thus, we interpret that the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred on the SAF and not on a secondary fault.

Brittle Faulting at Elevated Temperature and Vanishing Effective Stress

AbstractIf brittle fault strength depends only on friction, slip instability is discouraged at low effective normal stress, σ. Stress drop and the critical stiffness necessary for unstable sliding both vanish with σ; small earthquakes cannot occur. Very low σ is inferred in the source region of low‐frequency earthquakes (LFEs) on the San Andreas fault (SAF). Moreover, if pore pressure, p, is undrained at low σ, then instabilities are prevented at all scales. This is due to dilatant strengthening which arises due to a dependence of porosity on strain rate. Dilatant strengthening is σ‐independent and dominates at low σ. Undrained p is inferred over time scales of less than a few days for the SAF LFEs. Based on experiments that measure rapid contact overgrowth between 350 and 530°C at very low σ, fault failure controlled by time‐dependent cementation is invoked as an explanation for the SAF LFEs. Because this “cohesion” is σ‐independent, stress drops can occur at σ = 0. If in addition cohesion exceeds any dilatant strengthening during slip, cohesion dominates strength at low σ. Dilatancy measured in prior faulting and shear experiments indicate that at all stress levels steady‐state porosity depends on σ in addition to strain rate. Moreover, porosity at low σ depends elastically on the confining and differential stresses. A model with these additional pore pressure effects, friction, and time‐dependent cohesion, applied to the SAF LFEs produces stress drops, slip speeds, and durations that are consistent with the observations, when the shear‐induced dilatancy is not extreme.

Tectonic evolution of the Indio Hills segment of the San Andreas fault in southern California, southwestern USA

Abstract. Transpressional uplift domains of inverted Pliocene–Pleistocene basin fill along the San Andreas fault zone in Coachella Valley, southern California (USA), are characterized by fault linkage and segmentation and deformation partitioning. The Indio Hills wedge-shaped uplift block is located in between two boundary fault strands, the Indio Hills fault to the northeast and the main San Andreas fault to the southwest, which merge to the southeast. Uplift commenced about or later than 0.76 million years ago and involved progressive fold and faulting stages caused by a change from distributed strain to partly partitioned right-slip and reverse/thrust displacement on the bounding faults when approaching the fault junction. Major fold structures in the study area include oblique, right-stepping, partly overturned en echelon macro-folds that tighten and bend into parallelism with the Indio Hills fault to the east and become more open towards the main San Andreas fault to the west, indicating an early and close relationship of the macro-folds with the Indio Hills fault and a late initiation of the main San Andreas fault. Sets of strike-slip to reverse step-over and right- and left-lateral cross faults and conjugate kink bands affect the entire uplifted area, and locally offset the en echelon macro-folds. Comparison with the Mecca Hills and Durmid Hills uplifts farther southeast along strike in Coachella Valley reveals notable similarities, but also differences in fault architectures, spatial and temporal evolution, and deformation mechanisms. The present work contributes to better understand the structure and tectonic history of a major fault system along a transform plate boundary.

Searching for Transient Slow Slips Along the San Andreas Fault Near Parkfield Using Independent Component Analysis

AbstractThe Parkfield segment of the San Andreas Fault (SAF) sits at the transition between the locked Cholame segment to the South and the SAF creeping segment to the North. The Parkfield segment hosts regular 6 earthquakes followed by postseismic deformation. Recent studies based on geodetic data have highlighted spatial and temporal variations of aseismic slip rate in addition to postseismic slip along this section of the fault. We combine Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and seismicity data over the 2006–2018 period to detail a comprehensive picture of transient slip events. We produce a catalog of relocated seismicity and repeating earthquakes. We use a variational Bayesian independent component analysis decomposition on GNSS data to separate geodetic deformation due to non‐tectonic sources from signals of potential tectonic origin. We then reconstruct the temporal evolution of fault slip and detect potential slip transients. Those events, determined as mostly aseismic with the exception of one related to a 4.8 earthquake, occur more frequently during the 2004 6 post‐seismic period than during the subsequent inter‐seismic phase. Our study illustrates the rich dynamics of seismic and aseismic slip during both post‐ and inter‐seismic periods along active faults.

A unified perspective of seismicity and fault coupling along the San Andreas Fault.

The San Andreas Fault (SAF) showcases the breadth of possible earthquake sizes and occurrence behavior; in particular, the central SAF is a microcosm of such diversity. This section also exhibits the spectrum of fault coupling from locked to creeping. Here, we show that the observations of aseismic slip, temporal clustering of seismicity, and spatial variations in earthquake size distributions are tightly connected. Specifically, the creep rate along the central SAF is shown to be directly proportional to the fraction of nonclustered earthquakes for the period 1984–2020. This relationship provides a unified perspective of earthquake phenomenology along the SAF, where lower coupling manifests in weaker temporal clustering, with repeating earthquakes as an end-member. This new paradigm provides additional justification for characterizing the northwest ∼75 kilometers of the creeping segment as a transition zone, with potential implications for seismic hazard.

Evolution of co-seismic off-fault damage towards pulverisation

Pulverisation of rocks occurs through dynamic processes associated with earthquake ruptures. At the well-known pulverised rock outcrops along the San Andreas Fault (SAF), the intensity of pulverisation was shown to be highly heterogeneous on the outcrop (m–10s of m) scale, although detailed documentation of this heterogeneity is still lacking. Here we derive a standardized classification method for pulverisation intensity applicable to field observations of rocks that have been pulverised or dynamically shattered. We apply this classification to outcrops along the mature SAF and along a smaller displacement fault, the Borrego Fault (BF). Centimetre-scale mapping revealed damage heterogeneity at both locations, but while pulverisation intensity is heterogeneous at the SAF, it is mostly the meso-fracture damage that causes heterogeneity at the BF, although sporadic pulverisation is observed adjacent to the fault core. We postulate that the pattern of heterogeneity in pulverisation intensity along the SAF evolved from an originally patchy distribution of meso-fractures as observed on the BF. We develop a damage-evolution model, in which heterogeneous meso-fracture damage originating from damage focussed at subsidiary faults yields a heterogeneous distribution of elastic properties and therefore a heterogeneous strain-rate field of a future passing rupture. As pulverisation depends on strain rate, the heterogeneous strain-rate field is then responsible for the heterogeneous pulverisation intensity on the matured fault. This damage-evolution model integrates field observations on damage intensity and heterogeneity, results from laboratory experiments on pulverisation strain-rate thresholds, and theoretical considerations on the dynamic origin of pulverised fault zone rocks.

Adjoint‐State Traveltime Tomography for Azimuthally Anisotropic Media and Insight Into the Crustal Structure of Central California Near Parkfield

AbstractSeismic anisotropy provides crucial information on the stress state and geodynamic processes inside the Earth. We develop a novel adjoint‐state traveltime tomography method using P‐wave traveltime data to simultaneously determine velocity heterogeneity and azimuthal anisotropy of the subsurface. First, an anisotropic eikonal equation is derived to model first‐arrival traveltimes in azimuthally anisotropic media. Traveltime tomography is then formulated as an optimization problem constrained by the anisotropic eikonal equation, which is subsequently solved by the adjoint‐state method. Ray tracing is not required. Its high accuracy is achieved by solving the anisotropic eikonal equation and the associated adjoint equation with efficient numerical solvers. In addition, an eikonal equation‐based earthquake location method for azimuthally anisotropic media is developed to solve the coupled hypocenter‐velocity problem. The tomography and earthquake location methods are applied to central California near Parkfield to test their performance in practice. A total of 1,068,850 first P‐wave traveltimes clearly maps the velocity heterogeneity and azimuthal anisotropy in the upper and middle crust. The average P‐wave velocity model shows a striking velocity contrast across the San Andreas Fault (SAF). In the upper crust, we find structural anisotropy in the SAF zone and stress‐induced anisotropy off the SAF zone. In the middle crust, the fast P‐wave velocity directions are generally fault‐parallel due to the decreased effect of the maximum horizontal compressive stress. In all, the real‐data application suggests that the new adjoint‐state traveltime tomography method can be reliably used to investigate anisotropic seismic structures.

Spatial-temporal characterization of the San Andreas Fault by fault-zone trapped waves at seismic experiment site, Parkfield, California

In this article, we review our previous research for spatial and temporal characterizations of the San Andreas Fault (SAF) at Parkfield, using the fault-zone trapped wave (FZTW) since the middle 1980s. Parkfield, California has been taken as a scientific seismic experimental site in the USA since the 1970s, and the SAF is the target fault to investigate earthquake physics and forecasting. More than ten types of field experiments (including seismic, geophysical, geochemical, geodetic and so on) have been carried out at this experimental site since then. In the fall of 2003, a pair of scientific wells were drilled at the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD) site; the main-hole (MH) passed a ~200-m-wide low-velocity zone (LVZ) with highly fractured rocks of the SAF at a depth of ~3.2 km below the wellhead on the ground level (Hickman et al., 2005; Zoback, 2007; Lockner et al., 2011). Borehole seismographs were installed in the SAFOD MH in 2004, which were located within the LVZ of the fault at ~3-km depth to probe the internal structure and physical properties of the SAF. On September 28 2004, a M6 earthquake occurred ~15 km southeast of the town of Parkfield. The data recorded in the field experiments before and after the 2004 M6 earthquake provided a unique opportunity to monitor the co-mainshock damage and post-seismic heal of the SAF associated with this strong earthquake. This retrospective review of the results from a sequence of our previous experiments at the Parkfield SAF, California, will be valuable for other researchers who are carrying out seismic experiments at the active faults to develop the community seismic wave velocity models, the fault models and the earthquake forecasting models in global seismogenic regions.

Seismic Attenuation Monitoring of a Critically Stressed San Andreas Fault

AbstractWe show that seismic attenuation ( ) along the San Andreas fault (SAF) at Parkfield correlates with the occurrence of moderate‐to‐large earthquakes at local and regional distances. Earthquake‐related anomalies are likely caused by changes in permeability from dilatant static stress changes, damage by strong shaking from local sources, and pore unclogging/clogging from mobilization of colloids by dynamic strains. We find that, prior to the 2004 M6 Parkfield earthquake, prefailure conditions for some local events of moderate magnitude correspond to positive anomalies of on the Pacific side, with local and regional earthquakes producing sharp attenuation reversals. After the 2004 Parkfield earthquake, we see higher anomalies along the SAF, but low sensitivity to local and regional earthquakes, probably because the mainshock significantly altered the permeability state of the rocks adjacent to the SAF, and its sensitivity to earthquake‐induced stress perturbations.

Passive Seismic Imaging of Near Vertical Structures Around the SAFOD Site, California, Jointly Using Scattered P and SH Waves

AbstractTo better illuminate structural discontinuities around the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD) site, following the previous study of Zhang et al. (2009), we have extended the Generalized Radon Transform (GRT) method to jointly use scattered P and SH waves from abundant local earthquakes recorded by a local dense seismic network. A hybrid imaging condition is applied to extract consistent structures from scattered P and SH images. In this way, more robust structure information can be determined from separate images with potential artifacts. For the transverse component waveforms, coherent S‐S scattered waves after the direct SH waves can be clearly identified, and they are less interfered with by other scattered and converted waves compared to scattered P‐P waves on the vertical component. Similar to Zhang, Wang, et al. (2009), near‐vertical reflectors are imaged on both sides of the San Andreas Fault (SAF) with scattered SH waves, which is generally consistent with the imaging results using scattered P‐P waves from local earthquakes and a wide‐angle active seismic reflection profile. Compared to the P‐P scattering imaging result, the imaging result using scattered SH waves has higher resolution due to shorter S wavelength and cleaner S‐S scattered waveforms, and the SAF, as well as other reflectors around it, is better resolved. Although the resolution of the joint image obtained by combining separate imaging results from different scattered waves may be degraded, it is able to more robustly characterize strong structure discontinuities using passive seismic sources.