Connecting a broad spectrum of transient slip on the San Andreas fault
Yen Joe Tan, David Marsan
Abstract
Strain accumulated on the deep extension of some faults is episodically released during transient slow-slip events, which can subsequently load the shallow seismogenic region. At the San Andreas fault, the characteristics of slow-slip events are difficult to constrain geodetically due to their small deformation signal. Slow-slip events (SSEs) are often accompanied by coincident tremor bursts composed of many low-frequency earthquakes. Here, we probabilistically estimate the spatiotemporal clustering properties of low-frequency earthquakes detected along the central San Andreas fault. We find that tremor bursts follow a power-law spatial and temporal decay similar to earthquake aftershock sequences. The low-frequency earthquake clusters reveal that the underlying slow-slip events have two modes of rupture velocity. Compared to regular earthquakes, these slow-slip events have smaller stress drop and rupture velocity but follow similar magnitude-frequency, moment-area, and moment-duration scaling. Our results connect a broad spectrum of transient fault slip that spans several orders of magnitude in rupture velocity.