Document Type
Article
Department or Administrative Unit
Geological Sciences
Publication Date
11-18-2009
Abstract
A suite of 15 episodic tremor and slip events imaged between 1997 and 2008 along the northern Cascadia subduction zone suggests future coseismic rupture will extend to 25 km depth, or approximately 60 km inland of the Pacific coast, rather than stopping offshore at 15 km depth. An ETS-derived coupling profile accurately predicts GPS measured interseismic deformation of the overlying North American plate, as measured by approximately 50 continuous GPS stations across western Washington State. When extrapolated over the 550-year average recurrence interval of Cascadia megathrust events, the coupling model also replicates the pattern and amplitude of coseismic coastal subsidence inferred from previous megathrust earthquakes here. For only the Washington State segment of the Cascadia margin, this translates into an Mw = 8.9 earthquake, with significant moment release close to its metropolitan centers.
Recommended Citation
Chapman, J. & Melbourne, T. (2009). Future Cascadia megathrust rupture delineated by episodic tremor and slip. Geophysical Research Letters, 36, L22301. DOI: 10.1029/2009GL040465
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Rights
Copyright © 2009 the American Geophysical Union