Slip in the 1857 and Earlier Large Earthquakes along the Carrizo Plain, San Andreas Fault

The moment magnitude $(M_w )$ 7.9 Fort Tejon earthquake of 1857, with a ~350-kilometer-long surface rupture, was the most recent major earthquake along the south-central San Andreas Fault, California. Based on previous measurements of its surface slip distribution, rupture along the ~60-kilometer-lo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2010-02, Vol.327 (5969), p.1119-1122
Main Authors: Zielke, Olaf, Arrowsmith, J. Ramón, Ludwig, Lisa Grant, Akçiz, Sinan O.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Data analysis
Earthquakes
Fault lines
Geological surveys
Measurement techniques
Seismology
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Summary:The moment magnitude $(M_w )$ 7.9 Fort Tejon earthquake of 1857, with a ~350-kilometer-long surface rupture, was the most recent major earthquake along the south-central San Andreas Fault, California. Based on previous measurements of its surface slip distribution, rupture along the ~60-kilometer-long Carrizo segment was thought to control the recurrence of 1857-like earthquakes. New high-resolution topographic data show that the average slip along the Carrizo segment during the 1857 event was 5.3 ± 1.4 meters, eliminating the core assumption for a linkage between Carrizo segment rupture and recurrence of major earthquakes along the south-central San Andreas Fault. Earthquake slip along the Carrizo segment may recur in earthquake clusters with cumulative slip of ~5 meters.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1182781