Fault interaction near Hollister, California

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
A numerical model is used to study fault stress and slip near Hollister, California. The geometrically complex system of interacting faults, including the San Andreas, Calaveras, Sargent, and Busch faults, is approximated with a two‐dimensional distribution of short planar fault segments in an elastic medium. The steady stress and slip rate are simulated by specifying frictional strength and stepping the remote stress ahead in time. The resulting computed fault stress is roughly proportional to the observed spatial density of small earthquakes, suggesting that the distinction between segments characterized by earthquakes and those with aseismic creep results, in part, from geometry. A nosteady simulation is made by introducing, in addition, stress drops for individual moderate earthquakes. A close fit of observed creep with calculated slip on the Calaveras and San Andreas faults suggests that many changes in creep rate (averaged over several months) are caused by local moderate earthquakes. In particular, a 3‐year creep lag preceding the August 6, 1979, Coyote Lake earthquake on the Calaveras fault seems to have been a direct result of the November 28, 1974, Thanksgiving Day earthquake on the Busch fault. Computed lags in slip rate preceding some other moderate earthquakes in the area are also due to earlier earthquakes. Although the response of the upper 1 km of the fault zone may cause some individual creep events and introduce delays in others, the long‐term rate appears to reflect deep slip.