The geometry of faults is usually thought to be more complicated at the surface than at depth and to control the initiation, propagation and arrest of seismic ruptures1–6. The fault system that runs from southern California into Mexico is a simple strike-slip boundary: the west side of California and Mexico moves northwards with respect to the east. However, the Mw 7.2 2010 El Mayor–Cucapah ear...

This paper presents structural evidence of extensional activity in Central Alborz during Mesozoic. The structural evidence of homogenous early stage stretching such as layer-parallel to oblique boudinage of Permian and Triassic rocks in various portions of the study area accompanied by extensional-fibrous fractures were followed with more advanced extensional features. These extensional structu...

Tectonic motion across the Los Angeles region is distributed across an intricate network of strike-slip and thrust faults that will be released in destructive earthquakes similar to or larger than the 1933 M6.4 Long Beach and 1994 M6.7 Northridge events. Here we show that Los Angeles regional thrust, strike-slip, and oblique faults are connected and move concurrently with measurable surface def...

[1] The San Andreas Fault (SAF) is the transform boundary between the Pacific and the North American plates, yet up to 25% of the relative plate motion is now accommodated by the eastern California shear zone (ECSZ). Here we investigate the inception of the ECSZ and its geodynamic interactions with the SAF using a 3‐D viscoelastoplastic finite element model. For a given fault configuration of t...

Global Positioning System (GPS) results from networks spanning the Eastern California shear zone and adjacent Sierra Nevada block, occupied annually between 1993 and 1998, constrain plate margin kinematics. We use an elastic block model to relate GPS station velocities to long-term fault slip rate estimates. The model accounts for elastic strain accumulation on the San Andreas fault, as well as...

Long-period long-duration (LPLD) seismic events are relatively low-amplitude signals that have been observed during hydraulic fracturing in several shale-gas and tight-gas reservoirs. These events are similar in appearance to tectonic tremor sequences observed in subduction zones and transform fault boundaries. LPLD events are predominantly composed of S-waves, but weaker P-waves have also been...

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 earthqua...

Slow earthquakes that occur at subduction zones are distinct from regular earthquakes in terms of their slip behavior. We consider this difference to relate to localized hydration reactions at the plate interface that influence the frictional properties. The results of laboratory friction experiments indicate that simulated serpentine faults are characterized by a low healing rate and large sli...

The Coyote Creek fault is a major strand of the San Jacinto fault zone in southern California. Pleistocene sediments and sedimentary rocks exposed in the lower Coyote Creek area preserve a record of surface deformation, stream reorganization, and erosion that resulted from initiation and slip on the Coyote Badlands strand of the Coyote Creek fault. A well-exposed section of conglomerate and san...