Taking the pulse of the San Andreas Fault

Journal Article · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1989 · Earthquakes and Volcanoes; (USA)

OSTI ID:6033941

Kerr, R A

The ninth of January, 1989, was the 132nd anniversary of the great southern California earthquake of 1857. The latest research shows that, on average, at least part of the section of the San Andreas fault that broke then should break again this year. But the same research suggests that the fault's average behavior could be misleading. A newly refined dating of the past 10 San Andreas ruptures adjacent to Los Angeles reveals a previously unrecognized clustering of large earthquakes in bunches of two or three. If this pattern were to hold, Los Angeles would wait at least another 80 years for another jolt from there. But the San Andreas is not that easy to get around. The paper discusses these findings.

• OSTI ID: 6033941
• Journal Information: Earthquakes and Volcanoes; (USA), Journal Name: Earthquakes and Volcanoes; (USA) Vol. 21:3; ISSN EAVAE; ISSN 0894-7163
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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58 GEOSCIENCES
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AGE ESTIMATION
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CALIFORNIA
CARBON 14
CARBON ISOTOPES
DATA ANALYSIS
EARTHQUAKES
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FEDERAL REGION IX
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ISOTOPES
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RADIOISOTOPES
SEDIMENTS
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YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES