A 3D Velocity Model of the Central Cascadia Subduction Zone beneath the Oregon Continental Shelf and Coast Range

Signals from the R/V Langseth's tuned airgun array were recorded on 6 ocean-bottom seismometers and 35 EarthScope FlexArray seismometers deployed in the Oregon Coast Range from 43.5° to 45°N as a piggyback project on the 2012 Ridge2Trench experiment to image the structure of the Juan de Fuca plate. This section of the Juan de Fuca/North America plate boundary slipped in 2 moderate low-angle thrust earthquakes in 2004, and continuing seismicity has clustered around these events since that time. It has also been associated with a transition in megathrust recurrence rate based on paleoseismic data and exhibits anomalous locking characteristics in geodetic data. Previously acquired bathymetric, potential field, and seismic data indicate the presence of subducted seamounts in this region and hint at large velocity variations of the overlying forearc crust immediately above the plate boundary [Tréhu et al., 2012]. The sources for this study are ~18,000 airgun shots along 4 lines on the continental shelf and upper slope and a line oblique to the coast that extends across the margin to the trench (and ultimately to the ridge). Data quality is excellent, with strong Pg and PmP arrivals observed at most stations for all shots. A preliminary look at the data supports the presence of large along-strike velocity variations in this region. To date, ~2/3 of the data have been picked. We will present velocity models that merge the new data with constraints from 2D and 3D onshore/offshore data acquired in 1989 and 1996 to improve the resolution and extend the velocity model to the south to include Heceta Bank, a region of uplifted late Miocene and early Pliocene sediments underlain by a previously poorly resolved high density anomaly. [Tréhu, A.M., Blakely, R.J., Williams, M.C., Subducted seamounts and recent earthquakes beneath the central Cascadia forearc, Geology, v. 40, p. 103-106, 2012]