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Seismic velocity structure and seismotectonics of the eastern San Francisco Bay region, California

January 1, 2007

The Hayward Fault System is considered the most likely fault system in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, to produce a major earthquake in the next 30 years. To better understand this fault system, we use microseismicity to study its structure and kinematics. We present a new 3D seismic-velocity model for the eastern San Francisco Bay region, using microseismicity and controlled sources, which reveals a ∼10% velocity contrast across the Hayward fault in the upper 10 km, with higher velocity in the Franciscan Complex to the west relative to the Great Valley Sequence to the east. This contrast is imaged more sharply in our localized model than in previous regional-scale models. Thick Cenozoic sedimentary basins, such as the Livermore basin, which may experience particularly strong shaking during an earthquake, are imaged in the model.

Publication Year 2007
Title Seismic velocity structure and seismotectonics of the eastern San Francisco Bay region, California
DOI 10.1785/0120060032
Authors J.L. Hardebeck, A.J. Michael, T. M. Brocher
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America
Index ID 70030190
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
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