Spatiotemporal Variations of Surface Deformation, Shallow Creep Rate, and Slip...

Li, Y., R. Bürgmann, and T. Taira (2023), Spatiotemporal Variations of Surface Deformation, Shallow Creep Rate, and Slip Partitioning Between the San Andreas and Southern Calaveras Fault, J. Geophys. Res..
Abstract: 

The 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. Plain Language Summary The San Andreas Fault (SAF) takes up most plate motion between the Pacific and North American plates. The southern Calaveras Fault (CF) branches from the SAF near San Benito, being subparallel to the main SAF with only 2–6 km separation for about 50 km. Both faults are slipping aseismically at the surface with variable rates. It is unusual to observe two rapidly creeping faults that are so close to each other. We delineate fault creep rates, that is, how fast the faults are slipping at the surface on major Bay Area faults considering more than 5 years of remote sensing images timeseries. We find that the fault creep rate is to first order controlled by fault geometry and regional tectonics. In addition, we observe a slowdown in fault creep during 2016–2018 on the SAF, confirmed by analysis of clusters of small earthquakes and repeating earthquakes that have nearly identical seismic waveforms. This may indicate that the SAF is extremely sensitive to small loading perturbations. Our study shows remote sensing techniques are capable of monitoring subtle large-scale ground deformation with good spatial and temporal accuracy, which is important for monitoring fault slip behaviors and assessing seismic hazard.

Research Program: 
Earth Surface & Interior Program (ESI)
Funding Sources: 
NASA ESI award 19-ESI19–0057, NASA FINESST