High-Resolution Seismic Images and 3-D Seismic Velocities of the San Andreas Fault Zone at Burro Flats, Southern California

The southern San Andreas fault (SAF) has produced large earthquakes in the past 1500 yrs. Burro Flats, a basin within the San Bernardino Mountains, is bounded on the southwest by the southern San Andreas fault. Burro Flats has been the site of paleoseismological investigations to determine the slip history of the fault. Additional paleoseismic studies at this location are needed to further resolve the structure and slip history of the SAF. In addition to the main trace of the SAF at Burro Flats, there are splay faults, suggesting a complex geometry for the fault. To better understand the structure of the SAF, we acquired a 3-D, combined seismic reflection/refraction profile centered on the main trace at Burro Flats. The seismic investigation included a 60 m by 70 m rectangular array. Sensors were spaced every 5 m; seismic sources, likewise with a spacing of 5 m, consisted of a combination of down-hole explosives and shallow (approximately 0.3 m) Betsy Seisgun shots. Data were recorded without acquisition filters for 5 s at a 0.5-ms sampling rate. To analyze the data for velocity structure, we used a tomographic inversion procedure to invert first-arrival refractions. Preliminary measurements from shot gathers show that near-surface velocities range between 700 m/s and 1500 m/s. We observe apparent travel-time delays of approximately 7 ms near the main surface trace of the SAF, suggesting that seismic imaging methods may be useful in identifying this and other fault traces. These results will be useful for paleoseismic investigations.