Multi-scale InSAR analysis of aseismic creep across the San Andreas, Calevaras,and Hayward Fault systems

We apply the Multi-scale Interferometric Time-series (MInTS) technique, developed at Caltech,to study spatial variations in aseismic creep across the San Andreas, Calaveras and Hayward Faultsystems in Central California.Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) Time-series methods estimate the spatio-temporal evolution of surface deformation using multiple SAR interferograms. Traditional time-series analysis techniques like persistent scatterers and short baseline methods assume the statistical independence of InSAR phase measurements over space and time when estimating deformation. However, existing atmospheric phase screen models clearly show that noise in InSAR phase observations is correlated over the spatial domain. MInTS is an approach designed to exploit the correlation of phase observations over space to significantly improve the signal-to-noise ratio in the estimated deformation time-series compared to the traditional time-series InSAR techniques. The MInTS technique reduces the set of InSAR observations to a set of almost uncorrelated observations at various spatial scales using wavelets. Traditional inversion techniques can then be applied to the wavelet coefficients more effectively. Creep across the Central San Andreas Fault and the Hayward Fault has been studied previously using C-band (6 cm wavelength) ERS data, but detailed analysis of the transition zone between the San Andreas and Hayward Faults was not possible due to severe decorrelation. Improved coherence at L-band (24 cm wavelength) significantly improves the spatial coverage of the estimated deformation signal in our ALOS PALSAR data set. We analyze 450 ALOS PALSAR interferograms processed using 175 SAR images acquired between Dec 2006 and Dec 2010 that cover the area along the San Andreas Fault System from Richmond in the San Francisco Bay Area to Maricopa in the San Joaquin Valley.We invert the InSAR phase observations to estimate the constant Line-of-Sight (LOS) deformation velocity and the periodic seasonal terms using the MInTS technique. We model the estimated LOS velocity field using simple fault models.The average surface creep across the Central San Andreas, Hayward and the Calaveras Faults are estimated at 35+-4 mm/yr, 7+-2 mm/yr and 15+-4 mm/yr respectively, assuming zero vertical deformation along the faults. We observe spatial variations in creep across the Central San Andreas Fault,in agreement with previously published work. We also observe a deformation signal along the length of the southern Calaveras Fault, suggesting possible interaction between the Hayward and the Calaveras Faults which is consistent with earlier geological studies.