Summary of Creepmeter Data from 1980 to 2020—Measurements Spanning the Hayward, Calaveras, and San Andreas Faults in Northern and Central California

Abstract

This report is an update to the presentation by Schulz (1989) introducing potential users to the creepmeter data collected between the publication of Schulz’s report and mid-2020. The creepmeter network monitors aseismic, surface slip at various locations on the Hayward, Calaveras, and San Andreas Faults in northern and central California. There are different designs of creepmeters and these are briefly described. For a majority of the creepmeters, these data are automatically sent to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) offices where they are stored and processed. In addition, for most of the creepmeters, occasional manual measurements are made and these are compared with digitally recorded data. For some sites, the comparisons indicated degradation of the electronic sensor and consequently corrections are made to the digital data. The largest transient deformation is that which followed the 2004, M6 , Parkfield earthquake. Various functions found in the literature that have been used to model postseismic slip were tested with the observed postseismic behavior seen on the creepmeters in the vicinity of Parkfield, California. No single function adequately fit all the data from these Parkfield instruments. This report is a discussion and analysis of data from creepmeters deployed by the USGS. The discussion primarily focuses on instruments that are currently operating in 2020 or have operated quite recently but are no longer in service.