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WITHDRAWN A Geologic Block Model of the Western Continental United States

Description: 

WITHDRAWN The Pacific-North American plate boundary in the western continental United States is made up of a complex fault network that extends over 1000 km inland. The distribution of tectonic strain across the plate boundary may be described in terms of fault slip rates. Fault slip rates may be estimated using tectonic geology (geologic slip rates) or modeled from satellite geodetic measurements such as Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) (geodetic slip rates). However, geologic and geodetic slip rates are not always consistent. Block models, in which the crust is divided into microplates bounded by faults, are a common method for estimating geodetic fault slip rates while ensuring kinematic consistency across a complex plate boundary. We apply several novel innovations to the block modeling methodology to create a fully geologic block model of the western continental United States (WCUS), in which geologic slip rates are the only constraints. We generate a suite of block geometries and a range of modeling parameters, and consider the full ensemble to estimate geology-constrained slip rates and model based uncertainties throughout the boundary. This approach allows us to identify geologic slip rates that may be inconsistent with overall WCUS kinematics, and identify regions that may require additional fault slip. For example, satisfying kinematic consistency leads to additional fault slip offshore Southern California.

Session: Learning Across Geological, Geophysical & Model-Derived Observations to Constrain Earthquake Behavior [Poster Session]

Type: Poster

Date: 5/1/2024

Presentation Time: 08:00 AM (local time)

Presenting Author: Abigail

Student Presenter: Yes

Invited Presentation: 

Authors