6.5 Years of Slow Slip Events in Cascadia: A Catalogue of SSE Surface Expressions, Interface Slip Distributions, Event Magnitudes and Relationship to Tremor.

Abstract:

Slow slip events (SSEs) in Cascadia occur at ~30-50 km depth, every 10-19 months, and typically involve slip of a few cm, producing surface displacements on the order of a few mm up to ~1cm. Are there smaller SSE signals that are currently not recognized geodetically? What is the spatial, temporal and size distribution of SSEs, and how are SSE related to tremor? We address these questions with a catalogue of all detectable SSEs spanning the last 6.5 years using a new methodology based on Vertical Derivatives of Horizontal Stress (VDoHS) rates obtained from cGPS times series.

VDoHS rates, calculated by solving the force balance equations at the Earth’s surface, represent the most inclusive and spatially compact surface expressions of subsurface deformation sources: VDoHS rate vectors are tightly localized above the sources and point in the direction of push or pull. We compare our results with those from the Network Inversion Filter (NIF) for selected events. We identify and characterize a spectrum of SSEs, including events with moment release at least two orders of magnitudes smaller than has been previously identified with GPS data. We catalogue events timing, interface slip distribution and moment release, and compare our results with existing tremor catalogues.

VDoHS rates also reveal the boundaries between the locked and unlocked portions of the megathrust, and we can track how this varies throughout the SSE cycle. Above the locked interface, the pull of the subducted plate generates shear tractions in the overlying plate in the direction of subduction, while above the creeping section shear tractions are in the opposite direction, which is reflected in the VDoHS rates. We show that sections of the Cascadia megathrust unlock prior to some SSEs and lock thereafter, with the locked zone propagating downdip and eastward after the SSEs over weeks to months.

The catalogue and movies of events will be available at http://www.ig.utexas.edu/people/staff/lada/SSEs.