OS33A-1035:
New High-Resolution 3D Seismic Imagery of Deformation and Fault Architecture Along Newport-Inglewood/Rose Canyon Fault in the Inner California Borderlands
Wednesday, 17 December 2014
James J Holmes1,2, Jayne M Bormann3, Neal W Driscoll1,2, Graham Kent3, Alistair J Harding1,4 and Steven G Wesnousky3,5, (1)University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States, (2)Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, United States, (3)Nevada Seismological Lab, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV, United States, (4)IGPP, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, United States, (5)Center for Neotectonic Studies, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV, United States
Abstract:
The tectonic deformation and geomorphology of the Inner California Borderlands (ICB) records the transition from a convergent plate margin to a predominantly dextral strike-slip system. Geodetic measurements of plate boundary deformation onshore indicate that approximately 15%, or 6-8 mm/yr, of the total Pacific-North American relative plate motion is accommodated by faults offshore. The largest near-shore fault system, the Newport-Inglewood/Rose Canyon (NI/RC) fault complex, has a Holocene slip rate estimate of 1.5-2.0 mm/yr, according to onshore trenching, and current models suggest the potential to produce an Mw 7.0+ earthquake. The fault zone extends approximately 120 km, initiating from the south near downtown San Diego and striking northwards with a constraining bend north of Mt. Soledad in La Jolla and continuing northwestward along the continental shelf, eventually stepping onshore at Newport Beach, California. In late 2013, we completed the first high-resolution 3D seismic survey (3.125 m bins) of the NI/RC fault offshore of San Onofre as part of the Southern California Regional Fault Mapping project. We present new constraints on fault geometry and segmentation of the fault system that may play a role in limiting the extent of future earthquake ruptures. In addition, slip rate estimates using piercing points such as offset channels will be explored. These new observations will allow us to investigate recent deformation and strain transfer along the NI/RC fault system.
