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Tectonic motion in the western United States inferred from very long baseline interferometry measurements, 1980-1986Over six years of mobile very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) baseline measurements between 12 sites in the western U.S. were used to infer their velocities relative to the North American plate. These velocities were found to be generally consistent with those determined from geologic data and contemporaneous satellite laser ranging measurements in the same region. The discrepancy between the largest velocities determined from the VLBI measurements of 40-48 mm/yr and the relative plate velocity of 50-56 mm/yr predicted from plate motion models is found to be consistent with a broadened distribution of interseismic strain from cyclic activity on the San Andreas and subsidiary faults. The VLBI data are best explained by a cumulative rate of strike-slip motion near the plate boundary of approximately 48 mm/yr, although exclusion of competing values of 56 and 41 mm/yr is based upon very few data. The rates of offshore fault slip inferred from this study range from about 15 mm/yr in central California to negligible amounts in the San Francisco region. Finite element calculations of multiple fault strain distributions show good agreement with systematic variations in the distribution of shear strain along the San Andreas system, as revealed by previous geodetic measurements.
Document ID
19880038447
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Kroger, Peter M.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Lyzenga, Gregory A.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Wallace, Karen S.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Davidson, John M.
(California Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, United States)
Date Acquired
August 13, 2013
Publication Date
December 10, 1987
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research
Volume: 92
ISSN: 0148-0227
Subject Category
Geophysics
Accession Number
88A25674
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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