[1] We model ruptures on faults that weaken in response to flash heating of microscopic asperity contacts (within a rate-and-state framework) and thermal pressurization of pore fluid. These are arguably the primary weakening mechanisms on mature faults at coseismic slip rates, at least prior to large slip accumulation. Ruptures on strongly rate-weakening faults take the form of slip pulses or c...

We evaluated the influence of the trench-parallel component of plate motion on the active fault system within the Nankai accretionary wedge from reflection seismic profiles, high-resolution seafloor bathymetry, and deep-towed sub-bottom profiles. Our study demonstrated that a large portion of the trench-parallel component of oblique plate subduction is released by strike-slip motion along a fau...

The importance of tectonics and fluid flow in controlling cold seep habitats has long been appreciated at convergent margins but remains poorly understood in strike-slip systems. Here we present geophysical, geochemical, and biological data from an activemethane seep offshore fromDelMar, California, in the inner California borderlands (ICB). The location of this seep appears controlled by local...

Western Aphrodite Terra, Venus, is characterized by a series of parallel linear structural discontinuities 2000-4000 km in length and 100-200 km wide, which strike at high angles to the general topographic trend of the Aphrodite Terra highlands. The broad characteristics of the cross-strike discontinuities (CSDs) are similar to both strike-slip fault zones and terrestrial oceanic fracture zones...

On 24 August 2014, the M 6.0 South Napa earthquake shook much of the San Francisco Bay area, leading to significant damage in the NapaValley. The earthquake occurred in the vicinity of the West Napa fault (122.313° W, 38.22° N, 11.3 km), a mapped structure located between the Rodger’s Creek and Green Valley faults, with nearly pure right-lateral strike-slip motion (strike 157°, dip 77°, rake –1...

A simple mechanical model and dimensional analysis are used to derive a scaling law for the partitioning between slip rate on a strike-slip fault and distributed deformation in the far-field. The depth of the fault, the distributions of stress, strain rate and slip rate are solved for a given far-field force or displacement in a 2-D medium with a linear temperature-dependent viscous rheology. A...

Abstract The Eastern California shear zone is a complex set of dextral faults that accommodates significant plate motion and has produced large earthquakes. evolution this system why it consists closely spaced, irregular fail in multi‐fault ruptures are not well understood. Here we analyze the geometry, spatial distribution, Quaternary slip activity right‐lateral southern Mojave block. We find ...