SCEC Award Number 11073 View PDF
Proposal Category Individual Proposal (Integration and Theory)
Proposal Title Incorporating Geodetic Surface Data into UCERF3: Strain Rate
Investigator(s)
Name Organization
David Sandwell University of California, San Diego
Other Participants Elizabeth Hearn, Kaj Johnson, Wayne Thatcher, Yuehua Zheng and Xiaopeng Tong
SCEC Priorities A, A2, A3 SCEC Groups Geodesy, CDM, SHRA
Report Due Date 02/29/2012 Date Report Submitted N/A
Project Abstract
 The main objective of this research was to establish best practices for the use of geodetic data in the development of the Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast (UCERF3). One of the geodetic parameters to be used in UCERF3 is crustal strain rate. Our research was to investigate the state of the art in strain rate mapping. We analyzed 17 strain rate models contributed by the community and determined that there were large differences among models. Improving strain rate models will require denser geodetic measurements, either from GPS or InSAR. Since dense data will not be available by the UCERF3 deadline, the consensus was to use the best available block modeling approach. Our research also involved establishing dense GPS networks across the Imperial and Cerro Prieto faults in Baja California. In addition we investigated methods for integrating line of sight data from stacks of ALOS interferograms with the GPS data along the San Andreas Fault system.
Intellectual Merit This research contributes to our estimates of the seismic moment accumulation rate along the San Andreas Fault system. These results will improve our understanding of the physics of the earthquake cycle.
Broader Impacts This research contributes to the development of the Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast, which is used to inform the public about earthquake hazard.
Exemplary Figure Figure 3. (a) Interseismic deformation of the SAFS derived from integrating the GPS observations with ALOS radar interferograms .