SCEC Award Number 11016 View PDF
Proposal Category Individual Proposal (Integration and Theory)
Proposal Title Investigating tectonic tremor beneath the San Andreas Fault near Parkfield with the PASO array
Investigator(s)
Name Organization
Clifford Thurber URS Corporation
Other Participants Jeremy Pesicek, post-doctoral research associate, and
Dana Peterson, undergraduate student
SCEC Priorities A11, C, A10 SCEC Groups Seismology, FARM
Report Due Date 02/29/2012 Date Report Submitted N/A
Project Abstract
 We explored the efficacy of three different methods for identifying tremor events recorded by stations of the dense PASO array surrounding SAFOD. Two methods were ineffective, but the third produced excellent results, yielding stacks of tremor event families with pickable P and S arrivals. Initial work relocating a number of tremor event families and nearby deep earthquakes using the new picks and double-difference location illustrates our ability to trace the San Andreas fault deep into the lower crust.
Intellectual Merit Our work relocating a number of tremor event families and nearby deep earthquakes using double-difference location illustrates our ability to trace the San Andreas fault near Parkfield deep into the lower crust.
Broader Impacts This project has supported the research of a UW-Madison undergraduate student, Dana Peterson, and gave her the opportunity to attend the SCEC annual meeting. These experiences are motivating her to pursue graduate work in earthquake studies, almost certainly at a SCEC member institution.
Exemplary Figure Figure 4. Perspective view of locations of tremor event families (crosses - those in green are families 37102 and 27270) and nearby deep earthquakes (red circles); the black line indicates the SAF trace. The tremor events lie below the deep earthquakes and most are located on the southwest side of the fault. Others appear to step to the northeast where there is an offset in the surface trace.