Fault Architecture of the Salton Sea through multi-scale Seismic Reflection Surveys
Abstract
Two sets of seismic reflection images collected in the Salton Sea, California in May 2010 and April 2011 highlight a longstanding episode of extension-related deformation within the Salton Sea pull-apart system. These data are part of a continued multi-scale network of seismic studies of the faults within the Salton Trough. In 2010, we collected ~350 line-km of data using a 75-m-long, 24-channel streamer and a 1.6kJ "sparker" source fired at 1.2 sec intervals. These images document a series of south-east dipping normal faults that are related to the current pull-apart geometry; this configuration appears to persist for only the past 20-40 ka. Newly acquired low fold images (~150 line-km) collected using a 300-m-long, 48-channel streamer and a Generator Injector (GI) airgun source firing at 1 min intervals show that the same structures seen in the higher resolution (2010) data as well as high-resolution seismic CHIRP images collected in 2007 (Brothers et al., 2009, 2010) continue to depths of >2.5 km. From this deeper imagery, we infer that the structures seen in the very shallow CHIRP data are through-going to seismogenic depths and play a dominant role in strain partitioning from the Imperial Fault to the San Andreas Fault through the Brawley Seismic Zone. The 2011 reflection and refraction data are part of a larger collaborative project involving Cal Tech, Virginia Tech, the USGS, University of Nevada, Reno and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Within this study we seek to understand the mechanisms of how crustal thinning and rifting develops. The fault dip imaged at both scales is ~50-60° and show vertical offsets (sub-meter to tens of meters) distinguishable to the limits of our imaging resolution. These multi-scale data offer a unique opportunity to calculate the timing and mode of motion in the most actively deforming portion of the Salton Trough. The insights gained through these data allow a greater understanding of the tectonics and seismic hazards inherent in Southern California.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2011
- Bibcode:
- 2011AGUFM.T23F..07K
- Keywords:
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- 8105 TECTONOPHYSICS / Continental margins: divergent