Fault Slip Rates at Depth from Recurrence Intervals of Repeating Microearthquakes

Abstract

Unique attributes in sequences of recurring, similar microearthquakes at Parkfield, California, provide a means for inferring slip rate at depth throughout the active fault surface from the time intervals between sequence events. Application of the method using an 11-year microseismicity record revealed systematic spatial and temporal changes in the slip rate that were synchronous with earthquake activity and other independent measures of fault-zone slip. If this phenomenon is found to be generally common behavior in active faults, it forms the basis for a method to monitor the changing strain field throughout a seismogenic fault zone.

Spatial distribution of similar aftershocks of a large inland earthquake, the 2000 Western Tottori earthquake, in Japan

“…The slip of each event is estimated from extrapolation of the empirical relation, d = 1.56×10 −7 ×M o 1/3 , between the scalar moment M o (dyne·cm) and the slip d (cm) reported by Somerville et al (1999). Hiramatsu et al (2011) pointed out that this relation provided reasonable values for similar aftershocks of the 2007 Noto Hanto earthquake-an inland earthquake-in contrast to the relation reported by Nadeau and Johnson (1998) for repeating earthquakes at a plate boundary, that has been applied to the case of repeating earthquakes in California (Nadeau and McEvilly, 1999), in northeastern Japan (Igarashi et al, 2003;Uchida et al, 2004Uchida et al, , 2009Matsuzawa, 2011), in Sumatra (Yu et al, 2013), and in Taiwan (Chen et al, 2008).…”

Comparison of postseismic afterslip models with aftershock seismicity for three subduction-zone earthquakes: Nias 2005, Maule 2010 and Tohoku 2011

“…S6). CSS has some similarity with the graphical representation of slip by Nadeau & McEvilly (1999) where slip of repeating event clusters is added within circles of constant diameter. Here, we additionally consider the size of the events from scaling relations.…”

Implications of recent asperity failures and aseismic creep for time-dependent earthquake hazard on the Hayward fault

“…lower-magnitude events (e.g. (Nadeau and McEvilly, 1999;Nadeau and McEvilly, 2004; 47 Vidale et al, 1994) ). While these smaller earthquakes don't generate significant ground 48 shaking, they, together with associated slow-slip transients, may modify the short-term 49 probability of rupture of larger nearby sections of the fault exposed to transient stress 50…”