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Vertical crustal displacement due to interseismic deformation along the San Andreas fault: Constraints from tide gauges
Author(s) -
SmithKonter Bridget R.,
Thornton Garrett M.,
Sandwell David T.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2014gl060091
Subject(s) - geology , tide gauge , seismology , lithosphere , san andreas fault , geodesy , vertical displacement , deformation (meteorology) , fault (geology) , tectonics , plate tectonics , sea level , geomorphology , oceanography
Interseismic motion along complex strike‐slip fault systems such as the San Andreas Fault System (SAFS) can produce vertical velocities that are ~10 times smaller than horizontal velocities, caused by along‐strike variations in fault orientation and locking depth. Tide gauge stations provide a long (50–100 year) recording history of sea level change due to several oceanographic and geologic processes, including vertical earthquake cycle deformation. Here we compare relative sea level displacements with predictions from a 3‐D elastic/viscoelastic earthquake cycle model of the SAFS. We find that models with lithospheric structure reflecting a thick elastic plate (>50 km) and moderate viscosities produce vertical motions in surprisingly good agreement with the relative tide gauge uplift rates. These results suggest that sea level variations along the California coastline contain a small but identifiable tectonic signal reflecting the flexure of the elastic plate caused by bending moments applied at the ends of locked faults.