Do Creeping Faults Ever Host Large Earthquakes?: An investigation of Thermal Alteration in the SAFOD

Lead PI: Dr. Sean C. Solomon

Unit Affiliation: Seismology, Geology and Tectonophysics, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO)

January 2018 - December 2019
Inactive
North America ; San Andreas Fault
Project Type: Research

DESCRIPTION: Use biomarker thermal maturity analysis to determine whether earthquake temperature rise has occurred in material from the San Andreas Fault core; nvestigate and rule out other sources of heating/alteration that may cause biomarker reaction, such as hydrothermal fluids and migrated petroleum.; Estimate the temperature rise if a coseismic heating signal is observed.; Model earthquake slip along the San Andreas Fault to determine the properties of the earthquake that could generate any observed heating signal (e.g., location within the fault, stress, displacement).

SPONSOR:

Brinson Foundation

FUNDED AMOUNT:

$55,000

RESEARCH TEAM:

Genevieve Coffey

KEYWORDS

creeping faults friction thermal alteration earthquakes tectonic plate

THEMES

Restless earth