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Title: Contrasts in compliant fault zone properties inferred from geodetic measurements in the San Francisco Bay area

Abstract

In crustal fault zones, regions of damaged rock characterized by reduced elastic shear modulus can influence patterns of near-field interseismic deformation. In order to study these compliant fault zones (CFZs) and how they might develop over the lifetimes of faults, we compare two fault segments with contrasting fault age and lithology along the San Andreas Fault in the San Francisco Bay Area. New geodetic measurements of the interseismic velocity fields at each location are used to constrain fault zone parameters through a Markov chain Monte Carlo method. At Black Mountain, in the Santa Cruz Mountains of the San Francisco Peninsula, we do not find evidence for a compliant fault zone; instead, we find that the geodetic data are more consistent with a model of a single fault in a homogeneous elastic half-space. At Lake San Andreas, a younger fault segment 35 km farther north, we find evidence for a compliant fault zone about 3.4 +1.1/-1.4 km wide, containing a shear modulus of about 40% of the shear modulus of the surrounding rock. We also find that the best fitting CFZ model at this location, unlike the best fitting homogeneous half-space model, has a locking depth that agrees well with the observed depthmore » of microseismicity. Based on differences in fault age, cumulative displacement, and lithology between Black Mountain and Lake San Andreas, we infer that lithology plays an important and, in this case, perhaps a dominant role in the accumulation of fault zone damage structures and the development of CFZs over the lifetime of a fault.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [1]
  1. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
OSTI Identifier:
1480732
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-05CH11231
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 121; Journal Issue: 9; Journal ID: ISSN 2169-9313
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES

Citation Formats

Materna, Kathryn, and Bürgmann, Roland. Contrasts in compliant fault zone properties inferred from geodetic measurements in the San Francisco Bay area. United States: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.1002/2016JB013243.
Materna, Kathryn, & Bürgmann, Roland. Contrasts in compliant fault zone properties inferred from geodetic measurements in the San Francisco Bay area. United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JB013243
Materna, Kathryn, and Bürgmann, Roland. Thu . "Contrasts in compliant fault zone properties inferred from geodetic measurements in the San Francisco Bay area". United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JB013243. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1480732.
@article{osti_1480732,
title = {Contrasts in compliant fault zone properties inferred from geodetic measurements in the San Francisco Bay area},
author = {Materna, Kathryn and Bürgmann, Roland},
abstractNote = {In crustal fault zones, regions of damaged rock characterized by reduced elastic shear modulus can influence patterns of near-field interseismic deformation. In order to study these compliant fault zones (CFZs) and how they might develop over the lifetimes of faults, we compare two fault segments with contrasting fault age and lithology along the San Andreas Fault in the San Francisco Bay Area. New geodetic measurements of the interseismic velocity fields at each location are used to constrain fault zone parameters through a Markov chain Monte Carlo method. At Black Mountain, in the Santa Cruz Mountains of the San Francisco Peninsula, we do not find evidence for a compliant fault zone; instead, we find that the geodetic data are more consistent with a model of a single fault in a homogeneous elastic half-space. At Lake San Andreas, a younger fault segment 35 km farther north, we find evidence for a compliant fault zone about 3.4 +1.1/-1.4 km wide, containing a shear modulus of about 40% of the shear modulus of the surrounding rock. We also find that the best fitting CFZ model at this location, unlike the best fitting homogeneous half-space model, has a locking depth that agrees well with the observed depth of microseismicity. Based on differences in fault age, cumulative displacement, and lithology between Black Mountain and Lake San Andreas, we infer that lithology plays an important and, in this case, perhaps a dominant role in the accumulation of fault zone damage structures and the development of CFZs over the lifetime of a fault.},
doi = {10.1002/2016JB013243},
journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth},
number = 9,
volume = 121,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}

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Free Publicly Available Full Text
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Cited by: 8 works
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Figures / Tables:

Figure 1. Figure 1.: (a) Map of the Lake San Andreas region showing the GPS- and EDM-derived velocities used in this study with 95% confidence ellipses. The velocities are displayed assuming zero velocity at the trace of the SAF. (b) Map of Black Mountain showing the GPS velocities used in this studymore » with 95% confidence ellipses. (c) Simplified geologic map of the San Francisco Bay Area showing the major faults in the region, including the Pilarcitos Fault. The hatched area shows the region of the San Francisco Bay Block that has been offset by the currently active strand of the SAF at Lake San Andreas. The central regions of the Lake San Andreas and Black Mountain geodetic networks are highlighted in the black dashed boxes.« less

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