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Remotely triggered microearthquakes and tremor in central California following the 2010 Mw 8.8 Chile earthquake

January 1, 2010

We examine remotely triggered microearthquakes and tectonic tremor in central California following the 2010 Mw 8.8 Chile earthquake. Several microearthquakes near the Coso Geothermal Field were apparently triggered, with the largest earthquake (Ml 3.5) occurring during the large-amplitude Love surface waves. The Chile mainshock also triggered numerous tremor bursts near the Parkfield-Cholame section of the San Andreas Fault (SAF). The locally triggered tremor bursts are partially masked at lower frequencies by the regionally triggered earthquake signals from Coso, but can be identified by applying high-pass or matched filters. Both triggered tremor along the SAF and the Ml 3.5 earthquake in Coso are consistent with frictional failure at different depths on critically-stressed faults under the Coulomb failure criteria. The triggered tremor, however, appears to be more phase-correlated with the surface waves than the triggered earthquakes, likely reflecting differences in constitutive properties between the brittle, seismogenic crust and the underlying lower crust.

Publication Year 2010
Title Remotely triggered microearthquakes and tremor in central California following the 2010 Mw 8.8 Chile earthquake
DOI 10.1029/2010GL045462
Authors Zhigang Peng, David P. Hill, David R. Shelly, Chastity Aiken
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Geophysical Research Letters
Index ID 70041343
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Volcano Science Center