Using data from nodal geophones and broadband seismometers, this study investigates the seismicity near Red Deer, Alberta, a region with increasing cases of hydraulic fracturing (HF)-induced earthquakes. A cluster of 417 events was detected, and their spatial distribution and focal mechanisms reveal a NE trending rupture area with two strike-slip fault planes. Reactivation of preexisting faults by pore pressure diffusion is likely responsible for the occurrence of the earthquake sequence following the M L 4.18 mainshock. The temporal sequence of reactivated fault orientations suggests apparent changes in the local stress field following the mainshock, which is also responsible for a remotely triggered cluster observed 1 month after the mainshock. This secondary triggering process enhances our understanding of the trailing effect of HF-induced seismicity. Plain Language Summary Since 2018, the Red Deer region in Alberta, Canada, has experienced an increasing number of earthquakes, most of which are associated with nearby hydraulic fracturing operations. In this study, we analyze data from a dense array of seismic sensors and regional seismometers to detect and locate events surrounding a hydraulic fracturing site near Red Deer from 4 March to 10 April 2019. The spatial distribution of the earthquakes defines a complex fault system that was activated at two different times. The results in this study signify stress changes in the shallow crust in connection with the 4.18 magnitude earthquake on 4 March 2019. Modifications to the regional stress regime are relatively long-lived, as suggested by the continued occurrences of smaller earthquakes 1 month after the mainshock.
Deformation‐associated craton assembly and Cordilleran orogenesis played major roles during the crustal formation beneath the western margin of North America. To improve the understanding of the deformation history in this region, we investigate the crustal shear velocity and anisotropy by analyzing fundamental mode Rayleigh and Love waves from ambient seismic noise. Continuous recordings from 118 regional broadband stations reveal lateral variations in both velocity and anisotropy with strong spatial affinities to major geological domains. Strong variations in radial anisotropy, which dips westward and extends to at least midcrustal depths, suggest a “thick‐skinned” foreland thrust‐and‐fold belt beneath the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Our regional data also suggest increased horizontal shear velocities beneath the southern Canadian Cordillera, particularly near the Omineca Belt, which may have resulted from strong zonal deformation within the Cordilleran crust. This anisotropic anomaly migrates southward, and its spatial extent agrees well with the normal fault distribution to the west of the Rocky Mountain Trench. Our observations offer new evidence for the Eocene extension of the orogenic hinterland during the trans‐tensional motion of the Cordillera to the North American craton.
This study investigates lateral variations in density contrast across the 660‐km discontinuity, which is critical for understanding mantle convection and composition. We produce a global map of density jump, with values ranging from 3.8% to 9.3%, at the mineralogical phase boundary by applying inversions of amplitude variations with offset to underside S reflections. Our observations reveal a global average velocity jump of 4.1% and a density jump of 5.3%, favoring a pyrolitic bulk composition. Near major subduction zones, most notably the western Pacific and South America, we identify reduced density jumps in regions of depressed 660‐km discontinuity, consistent with basalt fractions greater than 30% in a mechanically mixed mantle. The causal association between density jump and compositional changes is further supported by a moderate correlation between lateral variations in density jump and those of water content anomalies.
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