Geology topics

W.H. Prescott

Publications and source records attributed to W.H. Prescott.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2012

GPS measured rates of deformation in the northern San Francisco Bay Region, California, 1990–1993

A 100-km-long, 13-station profile extending across the San Andreas fault system north of San Francisco Bay was measured 7 times between March 1990 and January 1993 with the Global Positioning System (GPS). The data have been processed using the Bernese Version 3.2 software. Data from a continental-scale fiducial network were included in the solutions to aid orbit improvement and provide a consistent reference frame. We find 33 ± 2 mm/yr of fault-parallel (N33°W) shear evenly distributed southwest and northeast of the Rodgers Creek fault and a near linear velocity gradient across the profile. The profile spans most of the zone of active deformation associated with the San Andreas fault system. Shear is negligible at the east end of the profile near the Great Valley. Additional shear of a few millimeters per year is likely beyond Point Reyes Head, the west end of the profile. We observe no systematic convergence upon the fault. The GPS measured velocities are similar to those derived previously from trilateration. The velocity change across the GPS profile (31–35 mm/yr) plus that west of the profile (0–3 mm/yr) and that observed with VLBI east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains (∼10–12 mm/yr) accounts for the North American-Pacific plate rate (46–47 mm/yr).

California↗

USGS2012

A possible geodetic anomaly observed prior to the Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake

Monthly measurements since mid‐1981 of distance from a geodetic station located 11 km from the epicenter of the Loma Prieta earthquake ( M s = 7.1; October 17, 1989) to three stations 30 to 40 km distant provides an unusually complete record of deformation in the epicentral region in the years prior to an earthquake. Roughly 1.3 years before the earthquake, at about the time of the first magnitude‐5 foreshock, the rate of change in line length for two of the lines appears to change; the rate for the third line does not change. Other similar, though smaller, changes in rate are apparent in the eight‐year record. Thus, there is marginal evidence for a change in deformation rate about one year before the Loma Prieta earthquake, but that change need not be a precursor.

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USGS2012

Geodetic estimate of coseismic slip during the 1989 Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake

Offsets in the relative positions of geodetic stations resulting from the Loma Prieta earthquake can be explained with a dislocation model that includes buried oblique slip on a rupture surface extending 37 km along the strike of the San Andreas fault, dipping 70° to the SW, and extending from a depth of about 5 to 17.5 km. Assuming uniform slip on a rectangular surface, the mean values for a range of reasonable fault geometries are 1.6 ± 0.3 m right‐lateral strike slip and 1.2 ±0.3 m reverse slip. Slip on an adjacent extension of the rupture to the southeast, recorded in the aftershock sequence, is not well constrained by the geodetic data. The geodetic data clearly preclude rupture extending near the surface.

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USGS2012

An apparent shear zone trending north‐northwest across the Mojave Desert into Owens Valley, eastern California

Strain rates measured at four geodetic networks in eastern California situated between northern Owens Valley and the Transverse Ranges along a small circle drawn about the Pacific‐North America pole of rotation are remarkably consistent. Each exhibits 0.14 μrad/yr simple right‐lateral engineering‐shear‐strain accumulation across the local vertical plane tangent to the small circle. Local faults ( e.g. , Owens Valley, Garlock, Helendale) traversing these networks are not as closely aligned with the vertical planes of maximum shear‐strain accumulation as is the local tangent to the small circle. A fifth network slightly east of the small circle shows no significant strain accumulation. Thus, a shear zone trending N35° W from near the eastern end of the big bend of the San Andreas fault to northern Owens Valley is indicated by these data. This corresponds to the Eastern California shear zone proposed on geological evidence by Dokka and Travis. The shear zone carries ∼8 mm/yr of the Pacific‐North America relative plate motion from the San Andreas fault north‐northwest across the Mojave Desert into Owens Valley and the northern Basin and Range province. The shear zone observed at the surface may be a manifestation of a through‐going subcrustal fault.

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USGS2012

Geodolite measurements of deformation near Hollister, California, 1971-1978

A 24‐station trilateration network spanning the San Andreas and Calaveras faults near Hollister, California, has been surveyed each year between 1971 and 1978, inclusive. Two moderate ( M L = 5) earthquakes have occurred within the network during the interval. No convincing preseismic or coseismic anomalies associated with those earthquakes have been identified. The deformation of the network can be described roughly by rigid body motion of the three blocks bounded by the two faults with accommodation occurring by right‐lateral strike slip on the San Andreas (13±2 mm/a) and Calaveras (17±2 mm/a) faults. The required slip rates are within the range of the observed fault creep on those faults. A more detailed analysis of the deformation indicates appreciable strain accumulation (0.4 μstrain/a tensor shear) within the block lying between the San Andreas and Calaveras faults. Many of the features of the observed deformation can be produced by an elementary dislocation model, indicating that most of the deformation is associated directly with slip on the major faults. The network is not extensive enough to define uniquely the relative motion across the San Andreas fault system, but the data are consistent with a value of about 38 mm/a. The rate of deformation in 1971–1978 was not uniform but rather appears to have been higher than normal in 1973–1974 and lower than normal in 1975–1976.

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USGS2012

The velocity field along the San Andreas Fault in central and southern California

The velocity field within a 100‐km‐broad zone centered on the San Andreas fault between the Mexican border and San Francisco Bay has been inferred from repeated surveys of trilateration networks in the 1973–1989 interval. The velocity field has the appearance of a shear flow that remains parallel to the local strike of the fault even through such major deflections as the big bend of the San Andreas fault in the Transverse Ranges of southern California. Across‐strike profiles of the fault‐parallel component of velocity exhibit the expected sigmoidal shape, whereas across‐strike profiles of the fault‐normal component of velocity are flat and featureless. No significant convergence upon the fault is observed even along the big bend sector of the fault. Simple dislocation models can explain most of the features of the observed velocity field, but those explanations are not unique. About 35 mm/yr of relative plate motion is accounted for within the span of the trilateration networks. Geologic studies indicate that the secular slip rate on the San Andreas fault is about 35 mm/yr. The agreement between these two estimates implies that most of the strain accumulation is elastic and will be recovered in subsequent earthquakes. The relative motion observed across the San Andreas fault (35 mm/yr) plus that observed across the Eastern California shear zone (8 mm/yr) accounts for most (43 mm/yr) of the observed North America‐Pacific relative plate motion (47 mm/yr).

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USGS2012

Strain accumulation in western Washington

The Juan de Fuca plate is subducted beneath the North American plate off the coast of Washington at a rate of about 40 mm/yr N68°E. The average principal strain rates (extension reckoned positive) measured in northwestern Washington are as follows: Olympic peninsula 25 km south of Port Angeles from 1982 through 1990, and and near Seattle from 1972 through 1985, and . Both strain measurements are consistent with uniaxial contraction in the direction of plate convergence. Uplift rates inferred from tide gage recordings are about 4 mm/yr on the Pacific coast and near 0 mm/yr farther inland near Seattle. These deformation rates are consistent with a model of the Cascadia subduction zone in which the plate interface beneath the continental slope and outer continental shelf is locked but free to slip farther landward. The limited downdip extent of the locked segment of the plate interface is consistent with a shallow depth (∼20 km) of the isotherm (∼450°C) that defines the brittle‐ductile transition. Small thrust events diagnostic of seismic subduction should then occur only offshore and at shallow depths. The principal strain rates measured from 1972 through 1983 in the back arc region near Richland, Washington, are and .

Washington↗

USGS2012

Strain accumulation across the Wasatch Fault near Ogden, Utah

Deformation of a 70 by 40‐km trilateration network spanning the north trending Wasatch fault near Ogden, Utah, has been monitored from 1972 through 1990. All but nine of the 200 measurements are consistent with deformation that is linear in time. We presume that those nine observations are contaminated by some blunder in making the measurements and that deformation is linear in time. The strain rate over the 1972–1990 interval across a 40‐km‐wide zone west of the Wasatch fault (hanging wall block) is adequately approximated by a 0.04 ± 0.01 μstrain/yr N85°E±5° uniaxial extension. Adequate coverage of the footwall block is available only over the 1981–1990 interval, and the strain rate across a 30‐km‐wide zone there is approximated by a 0.07 ± 0.03 μstrain/yr N20°E±12° uniaxial extension. The observed extension of the hanging wall block in the direction normal to fault strike suggests that the Wasatch fault may be listric; a planar fault would produce a zone of contraction normal to the fault at the surface of the hanging wall block. The component of extension parallel to fault strike observed on the footwall block is unexplained.

Utah↗

USGS2012

Deformation from 1973 to 1987 in the epicentral area of the 1959 Hebgen Lake, Montana, earthquake (Ms = 7.5)

A 40‐km aperture trilateration network centered on the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake epicenter has been surveyed in 1973, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1981, 1984, and 1987. The deformation inferred from those surveys is described roughly by a uniaxial, 0.266 ± 0.014 μstrain/yr, N15°E ± 1°extension that is uniform in both time and space. That extension is orthogonal to the strike (N78°W ± 5°) of the 1959 rupture plane inferred from focal mechanism solutions. The absence of strain accumulation in the N75°W direction suggests that the source of deformation must be greatly elongated in that direction. Looked at in greater detail, the deformation is found to be concentrated in the northern part of the network. The zone of concentrated deformation coincides with a part of a well‐defined trend in seismicity that extends at least 100 km N75°W from the Sour Creek resurgent dome in the Yellowstone caldera. Extension perpendicular to that trend is indicated by focal mechanism solutions. Thus, the zone of rifting identified within the Hebgen Lake network apparently extends east southeast to the Yellowstone caldera. About 8 mm/yr extension is observed across a 20‐km width within the zone.

Montana, Wyoming↗

USGS2012

Preseismic and coseismic deformation associated with the Hollister, California, earthquake of November 28, 1974

The epicenter of the Hollister earthquake ( M L = 5.1) of November 28, 1974, is located near the center of an 81‐line trilateration network which has been surveyed annually since 1971. Five lines in the neighborhood of the epicenter were surveyed just 2 days before the earthquake, and two other lines nearby were surveyed 48 days earlier. Although some of these measurements suggest a possible preearthquake anomaly in line length, the anomaly is within the uncertainty in measurement. A comparison of the most recent preearthquake survey (June 1974) and the most immediate postearthquake survey (December 1974 to January 1975) of the entire network indicates a uniform linear contraction of about 0.8 ppm. This is most reasonably attributed to survey error even though a systematic error of that magnitude is unexpected. We conclude that no demonstrable preseismic or coseismic deformation was detected and suggest that an upper limit for these phenomena is less than 1 ppm in line length. A reasonable dislocation model for the Hollister earthquake yields coseismic changes in line length not greater than a few parts in 10 7 , well below the limit of detection in Geodolite surveys.

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USGS2012

Strain accumulation on the San Andreas Fault near Palmdale, California

Precise distance measurements of a 10×25 km 15‐station trilateration network that spans the San Andreas fault west of Palmdale, California, have been repeated annually in the period 1971–1975. The network appears to be deforming under simple uniform tensor shear of about 0.21±0.03 μstrain/yr with the direction of maximum right‐lateral shear parallel to the local strike of the San Andreas fault. Comparison of trilateration with triangulation surveys of the same network shows that the rate of strain accumulation has been constant over the past 40 yr. The strain accumulation can be explained by conventional dislocation models (i.e., slip at depth beneath a locked section) of the San Andreas fault with 30‐ to 50‐mm/yr slip. Leveling surveys along a 16‐km line that crosses the fault at Palmdale indicate significant changes in tilt but with frequent reversals, so that no net tilt has accumulated in the overall period 1935–1975.

California↗

USGS2012

Geodimeter measurements of strain during the Southern California Uplift

A review of geodimeter measurements made along the ‘big‐bend’ section of the San Andreas fault in southern California indicates no significant increment in strain during the period of major uplift (late 1959 to mid‐1963). Specifically, no evidence of an increment in compressional strain normal to the San Andreas fault at the time of the uplift was found. Geodolite measurements at four networks along the big bend independently indicate that the strain rate during the 1974–1977 episode of subsidence was essentially a uniaxial north‐south compression at the rate of about ⅓ μstrain/yr. Whether the 1974–1977 rate is significantly different from earlier rates determined by triangulation is not clear owing to a rather large variability in the earlier determinations.

California↗

USGS2012

Deformation across the Salton Trough, California, 1973-1977

A trilateration network extending across the San Andreas, San Jacinto, and Elsinore faults in the vicinity of the Salton Sea, California, has been surveyed to very high precision several times in the 5‐year interval 1973–1977. The average strain across the entire network is essentially a uniaxial north‐south contraction at the rate of about 0.3 μstrain/a. There is no substantial strain perpendicular to the Salton trough, indicating no tendency to either open or close that rift. The observed uniaxial north‐south contraction differs from a pure shear parallel to the major faults by a uniform dilatation of about −0.25 μstrain/a that is only partly explained. The shear strain across the network reaches a maximum near the San Jacinto fault and could be explained by right lateral slip at depth on that fault. The displacement pattern also suggests right lateral slip at depth on the San Jacinto fault with total right lateral relative movement near 50 mm/a across the 120‐km breadth of the network. The deformation appears to be uniform in time in the 1973–1977 interval. A dislocation model of the deformation suggests about 50±15 mm/a of relative right lateral slip at depth distributed between the San Andreas, San Jacinto, and Elsinore faults and demonstrates that a significant average dilatation can be generated by pure strike slip on several subparallel faults.

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USGS2012

Strain accumulation rates in the western United States between 1970 and 1978

The rate of dilatation and the rate and direction of shear have been determined from trilateration data for 23 Geodolite networks in the western United States. Sixteen nets are located along the San Andreas fault system between Point Reyes, California, and the United States‐Mexico border. Other locations are across the Garlock fault in California; across Puget Sound near Seattle, Washington; near Hanford in eastern Washington; near Hebgen Lake in Montana; across the Wasatch fault at Ogden, Utah; across the Rio Grande rift at Socorro, New Mexico; and Dixie Valley in Nevada; and at the northern end of Owens Valley on the California‐Nevada border. Implicit in the treatment are the assumptions that the strain was accumulating at a constant rate over the time period (within the interval 1970–1978) and over the local area (usually about 50‐km diameter) covered by the surveys. Of the nets located away from the San Andreas fault, only Ogden and Hebgen show significant strain accumulation. At Ogden the deformation is principally an east‐west compression of 0.23±0.05 μstrain/yr and at Hebgen Lake a northeast‐southwest extension of 0.17±0.03 μstrain/yr. Along the San Andreas fault system the rate of shear is 0.2 to 0.4μ/yr. The direction of shear agrees very well with the surface strike of nearby faults. This agreement is maintained even in regions like the ‘big bend,’ where both the fault strike and the observed shear direction are more westerly than they are elsewhere. Shear strain in northern California appears to be concentrated more closely on the faults, whereas in southern California the strain is a broader, smoother feature. In the San Francisco Bay area the strain data indicate slip at depth on both the San Andreas and the Calaveras faults. In addition to the observed shear the nets in California indicate a negative dilatation (areal decrease) of about 0.2 μstrain/yr. This dilatation is unexplained, but the following sources appear unlikely: (1) systematic survey error, (2) an association with the southern California uplift, (3) an association with the big bend in the San Andreas fault in Southern California, or (4) the result of the superposition of a uniaxial strain on the Pacific‐North American plate boundary shear.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗

USGS2012

The accommodation of relative motion at depth on the San Andreas fault system in California

Plate motion below the seismogenic layer along the San Andreas fault system in California is generally assumed to occur by aseismic slip along a deeper extension of the fault. It is also possible that below the seismogenic layer, deformation is distributed laterally over a zone. Several observed features of the San Andreas fault in California have implications about the mode of accommodation of relative motion along the plate boundary beneath the seismogenic zone: the shallow depth of all earthquakes in California, the depth to which coseismic slip occurred during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the broad zone of strain accumulation, the broad heat flow anomaly, and the existence of widely separated parallel faults. The observations strongly imply that below the seismogenic zone, relative motion is distributed over a zone and occurs by inelastic flow rather than by aseismic slip on discrete fault planes. The existence of multiple faults further suggests that tractions at the base of the brittle layer are significant over time periods of years to hundreds of years.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗

USGS2012

Strain accumulation across the Denali fault in the Delta River canyon, Alaska

Deformation along the Denali fault in the Delta River canyon was determined from geodetic surveys in 1941/1942, 1970, 1975, and 1979. The data were best for the 1975–1979 interval; in that period the average strain accumulation was essentially pure right lateral shear at a rate of 0.6 ± 0.1 μrad/a (a is years) (engineering shear) across a vertical plane striking N87°E. The plane of maximum shear is rotated about 30° counterclockwise from the local strike of the Denali fault but closely coincides with the strike of a major linear segment of the fault that begins 50 km farther west. The deformation between 1941/1942 and 1970 is consistent with a similar rate of strain accumulation if one removes the coseismic strain step contributed by the 1964 Alaska earthquake. The 1970–1975 deformation is poorly defined owing to uncertainties in the 1970 survey, but the strain accumulation during that period is certainly much less than during the 1975–1979 interval. The 1975–1979 strain accumulation is interpreted by means of a dislocation model which suggests that the Denali fault in the vicinity of the Delta River Canyon behaves as a leaky transform fault (i.e., a source of spreading as well as lateral slip). The block south of the Denali fault appears to be moving westward (parallel to the strike of the Denali fault west of the 147th meridian) at the rate of about 20 mm/a relative to the North American plate. Because the linear segment of the Denali fault east of the 147th meridian (along which the geodetic network is located) strikes N63°W, accommodation of the westward motion of the southern block requires some spreading within the fault zone as well as right lateral slip on the fault.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗

USGS2012

Strain accumulation in southern California, 1973-1980

Frequent surveys of seven trilateration networks in southern California over the interval 1973–1980 suggest that a regional increment in strain may have occurred in 1978–1979. Prior to 1978 and after late 1979 the strain accumulation has been predominantly a uniaxial north-south compression. This secular trend was interrupted sometime in 1978–1979 by an increment in both north-south and east-west extension in five of the seven networks. The onset of this change appears to have occurred first in the networks farthest south. The changes occurred without any unusual seismicity within the networks, but the overall seismicity in southern California was unusually low prior to and has been unusually high since the occurrence. The average principal strain rates for the seven networks in the 1973–1980 interval are 0.17 μstrain/yr north-south contraction and 0.08 μstrain/yr east-west extension. Although the observed increment in strain could be related to unidentified systematic error in the measuring system, a careful review of the measurements and comparisons with three other measuring systems reveal no appreciable cumulative systematic error.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗

USGS2012

Geodetic measurement of crustal deformation on the San Andreas, Hayward, and Calaveras faults near San Francisco, California

Analysis of a geodetic network of 115 lines crossing the San Andreas, Hayward, and Calaveras faults in the vicinity of San Francisco Bay and measured repeatedly between 1970 and 1980 has revealed details about the accommodation of relative plate motion in this area. The most striking result is that the deformation is not uniformly distributed across the area. In the east bay, along the Hayward and Calaveras faults, all motion appears to take place as slip directly on the fault, with no accumulation of strain in the adjacent crust. On both the Calaveras and the Hayward faults the rate obtained for the 1970 to 1980 period agrees with geologic rates spanning a few million years and with creep rates spanning a few decades. The Hayward fault slip rate is 7 ± 1 mm/yr. The Calaveras fault slip rate is 7 ± 1 mm/yr, with perhaps half of this slip distributed across a zone a few kilometers wide, probably as inelastic deformation of weak near‐surface material. The absence of strain accumulation in the east bay is surprising since the Hayward and Calaveras faults have been the site of large earthquakes in the past. A block located east of the Calaveras fault and south of the Las Positas fault has been rotating clockwise at a rate of 0.3 ± 0.1 μrad/yr with very little internal deformation. Along the San Francisco peninsula no detectable slip occurs (less than 1.5 mm/yr) at the surface, but appreciable strain is accumulating. Near fault shear strain rates are 0.6 ± 0.1 μstrain/yr (engineering) with direction N47°W ± 9. The slip rate near the San Andreas fault is 12.2 ± 3.9 mm/yr distributed across a broad zone. The relative motion across the whole region during the period 1970–1980 is 32.1 ± 7.4 mm/yr.

California↗