Near-Surface Structure of the Peninsula Segment of the San Andreas Fault, San Francisco Bay Area, California

The peninsula segment of the San Andreas Fault (SAF) is a section of the fault that has the potential to produce the next large earthquake in the San Francisco Bay Area, yet the slip history of the peninsula segment is relatively unknown. In most places, the surface location of the SAF has been determined primarily on the basis of geomorphic features and from mapping surface ruptures associated with the 1906 M7.9 San Francisco earthquake. To more precisely locate traces of the SAF along the San Francisco peninsula in the subsurface, we acquired a high-resolution seismic imaging survey, using both seismic refraction and reflection profiling, south of Upper Crystal Springs Reservoir near Woodside, California in June 2012. We acquired coincident P- and S-wave data using a 60-channel seismograph system connected via cable to 40-Hz vertical-component and 4-Hz horizontal-component geophones, with spacing at 1-m intervals along a 60-m-long transect across the SAF. Seismic sources (shots) were generated by hammer impacts on a steel plate or aluminum block at each geophone location. All shots were recorded on all channels. This survey design permitted simultaneous acquisition of reflection and refraction data such that both refraction tomography and reflection images were developed. Analysis of the P- and S-wave data, using refraction tomography, shows abrupt variations in the P-wave (Vp) and S-wave (Vs) velocities, including the 1,500 m/s velocity contour that outlines the top to groundwater and images of Vp/Vs and Poisson's ratios. P-wave velocities range from about 700 m/s at the surface to more than 4000 m/s at 20-m depth. S-wave velocities range from about 300 m/s at the surface to about 800 m/s at 20-m depth. The combined data indicate that the near-surface trace of the SAF dips steeply to the southwest in the upper few tens of meters. Variations in the velocity images also suggest the possibility of two additional near-surface fault traces within about 25 m of the main 1906 fault zone. An unmigrated reflection image displays diffraction hyperbolae that are consistent with fault traces inferred from other images. These data aid ongoing paleoseismological investigations along the SAF because the seismic data precisely locate the main fault trace and auxiliary faults that may contribute to the earthquake hazards associated with the fault zone. Furthermore, the seismic images provide insights into near-surface fault structure and P- and S-wave velocities, which can be important in understanding strong shaking resulting from future earthquakes along this segment of the SAF.