Source Parameter Scaling and the Cascadia Paleoseismic Record

Several approaches to interpreting the Cascadia paleoseismic record are used to derive relationships between fault area, slip, and moment and to compare the results with the scaling relationships determined by Somerville et al. (2015) for recent subduction-zone events. In two models (CA12a and CA12b), taken from Goldfinger et al. (2012), paleoevents are classified into five characteristic areas (CA), with the slip during each event estimated based on the time between the event and either the following or the previous event. In model CA14, taken from Scholz (2014), slip on four characteristic segments is determined from the plate tectonic convergence rate, assuming a constant stress drop. In model CL, introduced in this article, the fault length for paleoevents is defined by the along-strike length over which the observations have been correlated; width and slip are interpolated from model CA14. CA12a and CA12b show large scatter compared with the global compilation because of large variations in slip for a given area. Models CA14 and CL reproduce the relationship derived for asperities (defined as patches in finite-fault models with slip >1:5 times the average slip). These models can be reconciled with the total area and average slip from Somerville et al. (2015) by increasing the fault area and decreasing the slip using scaling factors derived from the analysis of recent earthquakes (CLmod1) or by reducing the slip by a factor of ∼8 (CLmod2). CLmod1 implies that the paleoearthquake observations are controlled by high-slip patches, whereas CLmod2 implies that much of the plate tectonic convergence is accommodated aseismically. A scenario intermediate between CLmod1 and CLmod2 is considered most likely. This study demonstrates the value of using scaling relationships based on modern earthquakes as a tool for evaluating earthquake histories derived from paleoseismic data

Transpression between two warm mafic plates: The Queen Charlotte Fault revisited

The Queen Charlotte Fault is a transpressive transform plate boundary between the Pacific and North American plates offshore western Canada. Previous models for the accommodation of transpression include internal deformation of both plates adjacent to the plate boundary or oblique subduction of the oceanic plate; the latter has been the preferred model. Both plates are warm and mafic and have similar mechanical structures. New multichannel seismic reflection data show a near-vertical Queen Charlotte Fault down to the first water bottom multiple, significant subsidence east of the Queen Charlotte Fault, a large melange where the fault is in a compressive left step, and faulting which involves oceanic basement. Gravity modeling of profiles indicates that the Pacific plate is flexed downward adjacent to the Queen Charlotte Fault. Upward flexure of North America along with crust thickened relative to crust in the adjacent basin creates topography known as the Queen Charlotte Islands. Combined with other regional studies, these observations suggest that the plate boundary is a vertical strike-slip fault and that transpression is taken up within each plate

Relationship between subduction erosion and the up‐dip limit of the 2014 Mw 8.1 Iquique earthquake

The aftershock distribution of the 2014 Mw 8.1 Iquique earthquake offshore northern Chile, identified from a long‐term deployment of ocean bottom seismometers installed eight months after the mainshock, in conjunction with seismic reflection imaging, provides insights into the processes regulating the up‐dip limit of coseismic rupture propagation. Aftershocks up‐dip of the mainshock hypocenter frequently occur in the upper plate and are associated with normal faults identified from seismic reflection data. We propose that aftershock seismicity near the plate boundary documents subduction erosion that removes mass from the base of the wedge and results in normal faulting in the upper plate. The combination of very little or no sediment accretion and subduction erosion over millions of years has resulted in a very weak and aseismic frontal wedge. Our observations thus link the shallow subduction zone seismicity to subduction erosion processes that control the evolution of the overriding plate. Key Points: - We investigate structure and seismicity at the up-dip end of the 2014 Iquique earthquake rupture using amphibious seismic data. - Seismicity up-dip of the 2014 Iquique earthquake occurs over a broad range likely interpreted to be related to the basal erosion processes. - Coseismic stress changes and aftershocks activate extensional faulting of the upper plate and subduction erosion

A Plan for a Long-Term, Automated, Broadband Seismic Monitoring Network on the Global Seafloor

Establishing an extensive and highly durable, long‐term, seafloor network of autonomous broadband seismic stations to complement the land‐based Global Seismographic Network has been a goal of seismologists for decades. Seismic signals, chiefly the vibrations from earthquakes but also signals generated by storms and other environmental processes, have been processed from land‐based seismic stations to build intriguing but incomplete images of the Earth’s interior. Seismologists have mapped structures such as tectonic plates and other crustal remnants sinking deep into the mantle to obtain information on their chemical composition and physical state; but resolution of these structures from land stations is not globally uniform. Because the global surface is two‐thirds ocean, increasing the number of seismic stations located in the oceans is critical for better resolution of the Earth’s interior and tectonic structures. A recommendation for a long‐term seafloor seismic station pilot experiment is presented here. The overarching instrumentation goal of a pilot experiment is performance that will lead to the installation of a large number of long‐term autonomous ocean‐bottom seismic stations. The payoff of a network of stations separated from one another by a few hundred kilometers under the global oceans would be greatly refined resolution of the Earth’s interior at all depths. A second prime result would be enriched understanding of large‐earthquake rupture processes in both oceanic and continental plates. The experiment would take advantage of newly available technologies such as robotic wave gliders that put an affordable autonomous prototype within reach. These technologies would allow data to be relayed to satellites from seismometers that are deployed on the seafloor with long‐lasting, rechargeable batteries. Two regions are presented as promising arenas for such a prototype seafloor seismic station. One site is the central North Atlantic Ocean, and the other high‐interest locale is the central South Pacific Ocean

Relationship of pore water freshening to accretionary processes in the Cascadia margin: Fluid sources and gas hydrate abundance

Drilling in the Cascadia accretionary complex enable us to evaluate the contribution of dehydration reactions and gas hydrate dissociation to pore water freshening. The observed freshening with depth and distance from the prism toe is consistent with enhanced conversion of smectite to illite, driven by increase in temperature and age of accreted sediments. Although they contain gas hydrate -as evidenced by discrete low chloride spikes- the westernmost sites drilled on Hydrate Ridge show no freshening trend with depth. Strontium data reveal that all the me´lange samples contain deep fluids modified by reaction with the subducting oceanic crust. Thus we infer that, at the westernmost sites, accretion is too recent for the sediments to have undergone significant illitization. Our data demonstrate that a smooth decrease in dissolved chloride with depth cannot generally be used to infer the presence or to estimate the amount of gas hydrate in accretionary margins

North-south variability in the history of deformation and fluid venting across Hydrate Ridge, Cascadia margin

Hydrate Ridge is an accretionary thrust ridge located on the lower slope of the central Cascadia convergent margin. Structural mapping based on two-dimensional and three-dimensional multichannel seismic reflection profiles and gridded bathymetry coupled with deep-towed sidescan sonar data and Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) biostratigraphy suggests that seafloor fluid venting patterns are likely controlled by the seaward-vergent (SV) structural style at northern Hydrate Ridge (NHR) and by the dominantly landward-vergent (LV) structural style at southern Hydrate Ridge (SHR). North-south structural variability across Hydrate Ridge is coincident with the seafloor authigenic carbonate distribution, which varies from aerially extensive authigenic carbonate crusts at NHR to a minor focused occurrence of authigenic carbonate at SHR. The older stratigraphy exposed at the seafloor at NHR (>1.6–1.7 Ma) has likely been subjected to a longer history of sediment compaction, dewatering, and deformation than the younger slope basin strata preserved at SHR (1.7 Ma to recent), suggesting the extent of carbonates at NHR may result from a longer history of fluid flow and/or more intense venting through a more uplifted, lithified, and fractured NHR sequence. Furthermore, recent work at SHR shows that the major seafloor fluid venting site there is fed by fluid flow through a volcanic ash–bearing turbidite sequence, suggesting stratigraphic conduits for fluid flow may be important in less uplifted, LV-dominated portions of Hydrate Ridge. In addition, the variability in structural style observed at Hydrate Ridge may have implications for the distributions and concentrations of fluids and gas hydrates in other accretionary settings and play a role in the susceptibility of accretionary ridges to slope failure

An Abrupt Transition in the Mechanical Response of the Upper Crust to Transpression along the Queen Charlotte Fault

The Queen Charlotte Fault (QCF) is a major strike-slip fault that forms the boundary between the Pacific and North American plates from 51° to 58° N. Near 53.2° N, the angle of oblique convergence predicted by the Mid-Ocean Ridge VELocity (MORVEL) interplate pole of rotation decreases from >15° in the south to <15° in the north. South of 53.2° N, the convergent component of plate motion results in the formation of a 40 km wide terrace on the Pacific plate west of QCF and earthquakes with thrust mechanisms (including the 2012 Haida Gwaii earthquake sequence) are observed. North of 53.2° N, in the primary rupture zone of the M 8.1 strike-slip earthquake of 1949, the linear terrace disappears, and topography of the continental slope west of the QCF is characterized by a complex pattern of ridges and basins that trend obliquely to the primary trace of the QCF. Deformation within the Pacific plate appears to occur primarily through strike-slip faulting with a minor thrust component on secondary synthetic faults. The orientations of these secondary faults, as determined from seismic reflection and bathymetric data, are consistent with the reactivation of faults originally formed as ridge-parallel normal faults and as thrust faults formed parallel to the QCF south of the bend at 53.2° N and subsequently translated to the north. We suggest that an oblique convergence angle of 15° represents a critical threshold separating distinct crustal responses to transpression. This result is consistent with theoretical and analog strain models of transpressive plate boundaries. The sharpness of this transition along the QCF, in contrast to purely continental transform boundaries, may be facilitated by the relatively simple structure of oceanic crust and the presence of pre-existing, optimally oriented faults in the young Pacific plate

Seismic and seafloor evidence for free gas, gas hydrates, and fluid seeps on the transform margin offshore Cape Mendocino

Seismic data and seafloor samples indicate the presence of free gas, gas hydrate, and fluid seeps south of the Gorda Escarpment, a topographic feature that marks the eastern end of the Gorda/Pacific transform plate boundary southwest of Cape Mendocino, California. In spite of high sedimentation rates and high biological productivity, direct or indirect indicators of gas hydrate presence had not previously been recognized in this region, or along transform margins in general. Gas is indicated by a bottom simulating reflection (BSR) observed near the Gorda Escarpment, by ‘‘bright spots’’ and ‘‘gas curtains’’ scattered throughout the sedimentary basin to the south, and by δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O isotopes of carbonates, which are similar to those recovered from other hydrate-bearing regions. The BSR reflection coefficient of -0.13 ± 0.04 and interval velocities as low as 1.38 km/s indicate that free gas is present beneath the BSR. Local shallowing of the BSR toward the north facing Gorda Escarpment and beneath a channel near the crest suggests fluid flow toward the seafloor. Integrating these various observations, we suggest a scenario in which methane is formed in thick Miocene and Pliocene deposits of organicrich sediments that fill the marginal basin south of the transform fault. Dissolved and free gas migrates toward the escarpment along stratigraphic horizons, resulting in hydrate formation and in channels, slumps and chemosynthetic communities on the face of the escarpment. We conclude that the BSR appears where hydrate-bearing sediments are uplifted because of current triple junction tectonics

The Cascadia Initiative: A Sea Change In Seismological Studies of Subduction Zones

Increasing public awareness that the Cascadia subduction zone in the Pacific Northwest is capable of great earthquakes (magnitude 9 and greater) motivates the Cascadia Initiative, an ambitious onshore/offshore seismic and geodetic experiment that takes advantage of an amphibious array to study questions ranging from megathrust earthquakes, to volcanic arc structure, to the formation, deformation and hydration of the Juan De Fuca and Gorda Plates. Here, we provide an overview of the Cascadia Initiative, including its primary science objectives, its experimental design and implementation, and a preview of how the resulting data are being used by a diverse and growing scientific community. The Cascadia Initiative also exemplifies how new technology and community-based experiments are opening up frontiers for marine science. The new technology—shielded ocean bottom seismometers—is allowing more routine investigation of the source zone of megathrust earthquakes, which almost exclusively lies offshore and in shallow water. The Cascadia Initiative offers opportunities and accompanying challenges to a rapidly expanding community of those who use ocean bottom seismic data.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the Oceanography Society and can be found at: http://www.tos.org/oceanography/index.html