Episodic creep events on the San Andreas Fault caused by pore-pressure variations.

ABSTRACT: Recent seismic and geodetic observations indicate that interseismic creep rate varies in both time and space. The spatial extent of creep pinpoints locked asperities, while its temporary accelerations, known as slow-slip events, may trigger earthquakes. Although the conditions promoting fault creep are well-studied, the mechanisms for initiating episodic slow-slip events are enigmatic. Here we investigate surface deformation measured by radar interferometry along the central San Andreas Fault between 2003 and 2010 to constrain the temporal evolution of creep. We show that slow-slip events are ensembles of localized creep bursts that aseismically rupture isolated fault compartments. Using a rate and state friction model, we show that effective normal stress is temporally variable on the fau

SUBMITTER: Khoshmanesh M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6008793 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature