Continental plate boundaries commonly consist of broad regions of deformation characterized by fault systems consisting of multiple, approximately parallel faults, such as the San Andreas fault system of California. To better quantify the seismic hazard posed by such faults, it is essential to determine their pattern of motion through time. While recent advances in geodetic observations in the vicinity of plate boundary fault systems provide unprecedented insight into patterns of crustal deformation on the relatively short (i.e., decadal) timescale, it is likely that over longer timescales seismogenic faults exhibit variable displacement rates. That is, slip rates derived from geodetic data may reflect transient motions associated with large earthquakes in the recent past, or other recent changes in crustal loading. On a longer timescale, slip rates on major faults such as the San Andreas of southern California are thought to have varied by about a factor of two within the last approximately100,000 years. Such variability, if confirmed, could perhaps result from redistribution of slip due to evolving crustal structural complexities, clustering of earthquakes on intermediate timescales (i.e., approximately 10,000 years), or other mechanisms. Quantifying fault slip rates on timescales of 1 to 100,000 years is therefore fundamental to an improved understanding of continental dynamics and will serve societal needs for improved quantification of seismic hazards near major fault systems.
Reliable measurements of fault slip on the timescale of 1 to 100,000 years, however, are quite limited in number. This is in part because of the relative rarity of geological situations that preserve the appropriate stratigraphic or geomorphologic information needed to precisely determine offsets on active faults. A second and equally demanding requirement for determining long-term slip rates, however, is that offset strata or landforms must be reliably dated, and existing methods for dating geologically young surfaces and strata only partially meet this demand. A novel technique for determining the age of landforms offset by faulting will be developed and applied in this research project. Specifically, the project will extend and further develop small-sample, high precision 230Th/U dating of soil carbonate via mass spectrometry. The results will provide unprecedented insight into the constancy (or lack thereof) of slip rates over time on the Elsinore fault, a principal strand of the San Andreas fault system in southern California, over a range of intervals in the past approximately 100,000 to 200,000 years.
The research project will further develop a novel means of dating geologically youthful landforms, extend the capacity and capability of earth scientists to determine fault slip rates in arid regions worldwide, and help to address societal needs for more quantitative assessment of seismic hazards. The project will also provide comprehensive training in innovative techniques of geochronology for doctoral candidate.
