Tidal modulation of nonvolcanic tremor

Episodes of nonvolcanic tremor and accompanying slow slip recently have been observed in the subduction zones of Japan and Cascadia. In Cascadia, such episodes typically last a few weeks and differ from "normal" earthquakes in their source location and moment-duration scaling. The three most recent episodes in the Puget Sound/southern Vancouver Island portion of the Cascadia subduction zone were exceptionally well recorded. In each episode, we saw clear pulsing of tremor activity with periods of 12.4 and 24 to 25 hours, the same as the principal lunar and lunisolar tides. This indicates that the small stresses associated with the solid-earth and ocean tides influence the genesis of tremor much more effectively than they do the genesis of normal earthquakes. Because the lithostatic stresses are 10(5) times larger than those associated with the tides, we argue that tremor occurs on very weak faults.     

Nonvolcanic deep tremor associated with subduction in southwest Japan

Deep long-period tremors were recognized and located in a nonvolcanic region in southwest Japan. Epicenters of the tremors were distributed along the strike of the subducting Philippine Sea plate over a length of 600 kilometers. The depth of the tremors averaged about 30 kilometers, near the Mohorovic discontinuity. Each tremor lasted for at most a few weeks. The location of the tremors within the subduction zone indicates that the tremors may have been caused by fluid generated by dehydration processes from the slab.     

Postseismic relaxation along the San Andreas fault at Parkfield from continuous seismological observations

Seismic velocity changes and nonvolcanic tremor activity in the Parkfield area in California reveal that large earthquakes induce long-term perturbations of crustal properties in the San Andreas fault zone. The 2003 San Simeon and 2004 Parkfield earthquakes both reduced seismic velocities that were measured from correlations of the ambient seismic noise and induced an increased nonvolcanic tremor activity along the San Andreas fault. After the Parkfield earthquake, velocity reduction and nonvolcanic tremor activity remained elevated for more than 3 years and decayed over time, similarly to afterslip derived from GPS (Global Positioning System) measurements. These observations suggest that the seismic velocity changes are related to co-seismic damage in the shallow layers and to deep co-seismic stress change and postseismic stress relaxation within the San Andreas fault zone.     

Nonvolcanic tremors deep beneath the San Andreas Fault

We have discovered nonvolcanic tremor activity (i.e., long-duration seismic signals with no clear P or S waves) within a transform plate boundary zone along the San Andreas Fault near Cholame, California, the inferred epicentral region of the 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake (moment magnitude approximately 7.8). The tremors occur between 20 to 40 kilometers' depth, below the seismogenic zone (the upper approximately 15 kilometers of Earth's crust where earthquakes occur), and their activity rates may correlate with variations in local earthquake activity.     

Strain accumulation in the shumagin and yakataga seismic gaps, alaska

Strain accumulation during the 1980-85 interval has been measured by means of trilateration surveys in the Shumagin and Yakataga seismic gaps, which are the two regions identified as the most likely sites for the next great thrust earthquakes along the Alaska-Aleutian arc. No significant strain accumulation was detected in the Shumagin gap, but experience at similar subduction zones and simple models of the subduction process suggest that a measurable amount of strain should have accumulated. The most likely explanation of the observation is that subduction there is either aseismic or episodic. The strain accumulation measured in the Yakataga gap is consistent with that expected for the plate convergence rate, although the direction of maximum compression may suggest a somewhat more oblique convergence than expected.     

Fluid processes in subduction zones

Fluids play a critical role in subduction zones and arc magmatism. At shallow levels in subduction zones (<40 kilometers depth), expulsion of large volumes of pore waters and CH(4)-H(2)O fluids produced by diagenetic and low-grade metamorphic reactions affect the thermal and rheological evolution of the accretionary prism and provide nutrients for deep-sea biological communities. At greater depths, H(2)O and CO(2) released by metamorphic reactions in the subducting oceanic crust may alter the bulk composition in the overlying mantle wedge and trigger partial melting reactions. The location and conse-quences of fluid production in subduction zones can be constrained by consideration of phase diagrams for relevant bulk compositions in conjunction with fluid and rock pressure-temperature-time paths predicted by numerical heat-transfer models. Partial melting of subducting, amphibole-bearing oceanic crust is predicted only within several tens of million years of the initiation of subduction in young oceanic lithosphere. In cooler subduction zones, partial melting appears to occur primarily in the overlying mantle wedge as a result of fluid infiltration.     

Episodic tremor and slip on the Cascadia subduction zone: the chatter of silent slip

We found that repeated slow slip events observed on the deeper interface of the northern Cascadia subduction zone, which were at first thought to be silent, have unique nonearthquake seismic signatures. Tremorlike seismic signals were found to correlate temporally and spatially with slip events identified from crustal motion data spanning the past 6 years. During the period between slips, tremor activity is minor or nonexistent. We call this associated tremor and slip phenomenon episodic tremor and slip (ETS) and propose that ETS activity can be used as a real-time indicator of stress loading of the Cascadia megathrust earthquake zone.     

Slow earthquakes linked along dip in the Nankai subduction zone

We identified a strong temporal correlation between three distinct types of slow earthquakes distributed over 100 kilometers along the dip of the subducting oceanic plate at the western margin of the Nankai megathrust rupture zone, southwest Japan. In 2003 and 2010, shallow very-low-frequency earthquakes near the Nankai trough as well as nonvolcanic tremor at depths of 30 to 40 kilometers were triggered by the acceleration of a long-term slow slip event in between. This correlation suggests that the slow slip might extend along-dip between the source areas of deeper and shallower slow earthquakes and thus could modulate the stress buildup on the adjacent megathrust rupture zone.     

Mantle oxidation state and its relationship to tectonic environment and fluid speciation

The earth's mantle is degassed along mid-ocean ridges, while rehydration and possibly recarbonaton occurs at subduction zones. These processes and the speciation of C-H-O fluids in the mantle are related to the oxidation state of mantle peridotite. Peridotite xenoliths from continental localities exhibit an oxygen fugacity (fo(2)) range from -1.5 to +1.5 log units relative to the FMQ (fayalite-magnetite-quartz) buffer. The lowest values are from zones of continental extension. Highly oxidized xenoliths (fo(2) greater than FMQ) come from regions of recent or acive subduction (for example, Ichinomegata, Japan), are commonly amphibole-bearing, and show trace element and isotopic evidence of fluid-rock interaction. Peridotites from ocean ridges are reduced and have an averae fo(2) of about -0.9 log units relative to FMQ, virtually coincident with values obtained from mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) glasses. These data are further evidence of the genetic link between MORB liquids and residual peridotite and indicate that the asthenosphere, although reducing, has CO(2) and H(2)O as its major fluid species. Incorporation of oxidized material from subduction zones into the continental lithosphere produces xenoliths that have both asthenospheric and subduction signatures. Fluids in the lithosphere are also dominated by CO(2) and H(2)O, and native C is generally unstable. Although the occurrence of native C (diamond) in deep-seated garnetiferous xenoliths and kimberlites does not require reducing conditions, calculations indicate that high Fe(3+) contents are stabilized in the garnet structure and that fo(2) deareases with increasing depth.     

Intermittent plate tectonics?

Although it is commonly assumed that subduction has operated continuously on Earth without interruption, subduction zones are routinely terminated by ocean closure and supercontinent assembly. Under certain circumstances, this could lead to a dramatic loss of subduction, globally. Closure of a Pacific-type basin, for example, would eliminate most subduction, unless this loss were compensated for by comparable subduction initiation elsewhere. Given the evidence for Pacific-type closure in Earth's past, the absence of a direct mechanism for termination/initiation compensation, and recent data supporting a minimum in subduction flux in the Mesoproterozoic, we hypothesize that dramatic reductions or temporary cessations of subduction have occurred in Earth's history. Such deviations in the continuity of plate tectonics have important consequences for Earth's thermal and continental evolution.     

Earthquake hazards on the cascadia subduction zone

Large subduction earthquakes on the Cascadia subduction zone pose a potential seismic hazard. Very young oceanic lithosphere (10 million years old) is being subducted beneath North America at a rate of approximately 4 centimeters per year. The Cascadia subduction zone shares many characteristics with subduction zones in southern Chile, southwestern Japan, and Colombia, where comparably young oceanic lithosphere is also subducting. Very large subduction earthquakes, ranging in energy magnitude (M(w)) between 8 and 9.5, have occurred along these other subduction zones. If the Cascadia subduction zone is also storing elastic energy, a sequence of several great earthquakes (M(w) 8) or a giant earthquake (M(w) 9) would be necessary to fill this 1200-kilometer gap. The nature of strong ground motions recorded during subduction earthquakes of M(w) less than 8.2 is discussed. Strong ground motions from even larger earthquakes (M(w) up to 9.5) are estimated by simple simulations. If large subduction earthquakes occur in the Pacific Northwest, relatively strong shaking can be expected over a large region. Such earthquakes may also be accompanied by large local tsunamis.     

Increase in the stratospheric background sulfuric Acid aerosol mass in the past 10 years

Data obtained from measurements of the stratospheric aerosol at Laramie, Wyoming (41 degrees N), indicate that the background or nonvolcanic stratospheric sulfuric acid aerosol mass at northern mid-latitudes has increased by about 5 +/- 2 percent per year during the past 10 years. Whether this increase is natural or anthropogenic could not be determined at this time because of inadequate information on sulfur sources, in particular, carbonyl sulfide, which is thought to be the dominant nonvolcanic source of stratospheric sulfuric acid vapor. An increase in stratospheric sulfate levels has important climatic implications as well as heterogeneous chemical effects that may alter the concentration of stratospheric ozone.     

Water sources for subduction zone volcanism: new experimental constraints

Despite its acknowledged importance, the role of water in the genesis of subduction zone volcanism is poorly understood. Amphibole dehydration in subducting oceanic crust at a single pressure is assumed to generate the water required for melting, but experimental constraints on the reaction are limited, and little attention has been paid to reactions involving other hydrous minerals. Experiments on an oceanic basalt at pressure-temperature conditions relevant to subducting slabs demonstrate that amphibole dehydration is spread over a depth interval of at least 20 kilometers. Reactions involving other hydrous minerals, including mica, epidote, chloritoid, and lawsonite, also release water over a wide depth interval, and in some subduction zones these phases may transport water to deep levels in the mantle.     

Forearc deformation and great subduction earthquakes: implications for cascadia offshore earthquake potential

The maximum size of thrust earthquakes at the world's subduction zones appears to be limited by anelastic deformation of the overriding plate. Anelastic strain in weak forearcs and roughness of the plate interface produced by faults cutting the forearc may limit the size of thrust earthquakes by inhibiting the buildup of elastic strain energy or slip propagation or both. Recently discovered active strike-slip faults in the submarine forearc of the Cascadia subduction zone show that the upper plate there deforms rapidly in response to arc-parallel shear. Thus, Cascadia, as a result of its weak, deforming upper plate, may be the type of subduction zone at which great (moment magnitude approximately 9) thrust earthquakes do not occur.     

Time scales and heterogeneous structure in geodynamic earth models

Computer models of mantle convection constrained by the history of Cenozoic and Mesozoic plate motions explain some deep-mantle structural heterogeneity imaged by seismic tomography, especially those related to subduction. They also reveal a 150-million-year time scale for generating thermal heterogeneity in the mantle, comparable to the record of plate motion reconstructions, so that the problem of unknown initial conditions can be overcome. The pattern of lowermost mantle structure at the core-mantle boundary is controlled by subduction history, although seismic tomography reveals intense large-scale hot (low-velocity) upwelling features not explicitly predicted by the models.     

Evolving subduction zones in the Western United States, as interpreted from igneous rocks

Variations in the ratio of K(2)O to SiO(2) in andesitic rocks suggest early and middle Cenozoic subduction beneath the western United States along two subparallel imbricate zones dipping about 20 degrees eastward. The western zone emerged at the continental margin, but the eastern zone was entirely beneath the continental plate. Mesozoic subduction apparently occurred along a single steeper zone.     

Evidence for retrograde lithospheric subduction on venus

Annular moats and outer rises around large Venus coronae such as Artemis, Latona, and Eithinoha are similar in arcuate planform and topography to the trenches and outer rises of terrestrial subduction zones. On Earth, trenches and outer rises are modeled as the flexural response of a thin elastic lithosphere to the bending moment of the subducted slab; this lithospheric flexure model also accounts for the trenches and outer rises outboard of the major coronae on Venus. Accordingly, it is proposed that retrograde lithospheric subduction may be occurring on the margins of the large Venus coronae while compensating back-arc extension is occurring in the expanding coronae interiors. Similar processes may be taking place at other deep arcuate trenches or chasmata on Venus such as those in the Dali-Diana chasmata area of eastern Aphrodite Terra.     

Diapiric flow at subduction zones: a recipe for rapid transport

Recent geochemical studies of uranium-thorium series disequilibrium in rocks from subduction zones require magmas to be transported through the mantle from just above the subducting slab to the surface in as little as approximately 30,000 years. We present a series of laboratory experiments that investigate the characteristic time scales and flow patterns of the diapiric upwelling model of subduction zone magmatism. Results indicate that the interaction between buoyantly upwelling diapirs and subduction-induced flow in the mantle creates a network of low-density, low-viscosity conduits through which buoyant flow is rapid, yielding transport times commensurate with those indicated by uranium-thorium studies.     

Global prevalence of double Benioff zones

Double Benioff zones provide opportunities for insight into seismogenesis because the underlying mechanism must explain two layers of deep earthquakes and the separation between them. We characterize layer separation inside subducting plates with a coordinate rotation to calculate the slab-normal distribution of earthquakes. Benchmark tests on well-established examples confirm that layer separation is accurately quantified with global seismicity catalogs alone. Global analysis reveals double Benioff zones in 30 segments, including all 16 subduction zones investigated, with varying subducting plate ages and stress orientations, which implies that they are inherent in subducting plates. Layer separation increases with age and is more consistent with dehydration of antigorite than chlorite.     

Gaseous constituents in the plume from eruptions of mount st. Helens

Measurements in the stratosphere of gaseous constituents in the plume of Mount St. Helens were obtained during five flights of the NASA U-2 aircraft between 19 May and 17 June 1980. Mixing ratios from gas chromatographic measurements on samples acquired about 24 hours after the initial eruption show considerable enhancement over nonvolcanic concentrations for sulfur dioxide (more than 1000 times), methyl chloride (about 10 times), and carbon disulfide (more than 3 times). The mixing ratio of carbonyl sulfide was comparable to nonvolcanic mixing ratios although 3 days later it was enhanced two to three times. Ion chromatography measurements on water-soluble constituents are also reported. Very large concentrations of chloride, nitrate, and sulfate ions were measured, implying large mixing ratios for the water-soluble gaseous constituents from which the anions are derived. Measurements of radon-222 present in the plume are also reported.