Search USGS⌕ Search

Geology topics

T.M. Brocher

Publications and source records attributed to T.M. Brocher.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Deep-crustal seismology of continental margins

This review discusses results from recent seismic experiments at continental margins conducted by U.S. investigators as well as those by non-U. S. investigators necessary to place the results of U.S. workers into context. Continental margins may be characterized as either rifted, transform, or convergent. Rifted (or passive) margins form where continents are torn apart during continental drift. Transform margins accommodate transform plate motions along strike-slip faults such as the San Andreas fault. At convergent margins oceanic crust is being thrust beneath (or subducted under) the continental crust. All three types of margins are found in North America.

Reviews of Geophysics↗

Comparison of Vibroseis and explosive source methods for deep crustal seismic reflection profiling in the Basin and Range province

Direct comparison of low-fold, high-energy explosive and high-fold, lower-energy Vibroseis methods for acquiring deep crustal seismic reflection data in the Basin and Range Province suggests that the high-fold common midpoint (CMP) method there does not provide the best possible image of lower crustal structure. During the recent acquisition of a Vibroseis profile in the Basin and Range Province we fired single deep shot holes to obtain a coincident single-fold explosive section. Within the upper crust (upper 3 s) the explosive source and Vibroseis records are nearly equivalent. For record times below 3 s, however, comparison of the explosive source gathers and the coincident final 60-fold Vibroseis section demonstrates that low-fold explosive profiling provides a higher-quality image of the midcrust to lower crust (3–10 s). The higher record quality of the explosive sources results primarily from the larger seismic energy levels produced by the explosives, making them less sensitive to common noise sources. Whereas deeper than 4–5 s the Vibroseis energy levels on individual source efforts fall to that of ambient noise levels, the explosions provide signal-generated energy exceeding ambient noise levels down to 18–19 s. Although individual reflections can be correlated on explosion and Vibroseis shot gathers, reflection events on the 60-fold Vibroseis stack do not correlate to those on the single-fold explosion profile, suggesting that the high-fold CMP method in our study did not maintain the integrity of the weak lower crustal reflected arrivals. Reasons why the high-fold CMP method apparently failed include complex, even time-varying, statics, nonhyperbolic moveout at long offsets, and the difficulty in resolving stacking velocities with data having low signal-to-noise ratios. Reflections on the explosion section are longer and imply a greater degree of layering than one would infer from the lower-energy Vibroseis section.

Journal of Geophysical Research↗

Seismic reflection images of the crust of the northern part of the Chugach terrane, Alaska: Results of a survey for the Trans-Alaska Crustal Transect (TACT)

Deep crustal seismic reflection data show strong reflections from the middle and lower crust of the convergent continental margin near the eastern end of the Aleutian trench. These data were collected across the Border Ranges fault system, a major suture zone that separates the Peninsular and Chugach tectonostratigraphic terranes. The Chugach terrane consists of metamorphosed, strongly deformed flysch, subduction melange as well as blueschist- and greenschist-facies rocks. Even so, highly reflective rocks lie at great depth within or beneath this terrane. The shallow part of the seismic section (0–5 s) reveals only a few reflections, which undulate and interweave, indicating that some of them originate outside of the plane of the seismic section. Other undulating events could reveal early Cenozoic granitic plutons or antiformal stacks of rock imbricated along thrust faults. In contrast to this shallow reflection pattern, three reflection bands contain most of the events on the middle part of the seismic section (5–12 s or 12–34 km). We interpret divergent reflections within the uppermost band (5–5.5 s) as gently north dipping thrust faults, and subparallel reflections truncated at the boundaries of the upper and middle bands may image a metamorphic foliation or thrust faults. If the truncated reflections represent thrust faults, then the reflection geometry suggests that subparallel roof and floor thrust faults bound imbricated rocks, forming duplex structures. The upper and middle bands are separated by an area on the seismic section that reveals few reflections. This area correlates approximately in depth with a high velocity (7.5 km/s) layer evident in refraction models. The poorly reflective, high velocity unit might be volcanic rocks like those exposed in the structurally lowest part of the Chugach terrane. If so, then the bottom of the poorly reflective rocks indicates the base of the Chugach terrane. Rocks that cause the upper and middle reflection bands and the intervening, poorly reflective volcanic rocks may form a midcrustal shear zone that is about 10 km thick. The deepest band of subparallel reflections (30–35 km) correlates closely in depth with the top of the Wadati-Benioff zone associated with the underthrusting Pacific plate. The reflections probably stem from the decollement that separates lithospheric plates within the subduction zone. This reflection band increases abruptly in thickness, possibly indicating local underplating of subducted sediment. No events from the oceanic Moho have been recognized. Neither the Border Ranges fault system, the suture between the Chugach and Peninsular terranes, nor deep crustal layers of the Peninsular terrane are evident in these seismic reflection data.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗

A high-resolution seismic reflection/refraction study of the Chugach-Peninsular terrane boundary, southern Alaska

We present results from a high-resolution seismic refraction analysis of the shallow (approximately 2 km) crustal structure along the 107-km-long Trans-Alaska Crustal Transect Chugach reflection line in southern Alaska and a comparison with laboratory measurements of field samples. The refraction analysis includes the two-dimensional interpretation of several thousand first- and secondary-arrival travel times digitized from 1024-channel split-spread common shot gathers. The velocity model derived from this analysis better defines the location and geometry of terrane boundaries than does the normal incidence reflection section and agrees well with surface mapping of lithologies. Furthermore, the model predicts travel times within 100 ms of the reflection times recorded from the base of the Quaternary on the Chugach reflection section. Thicknesses of Quaternary deposits, with velocities between 1.1 and 2.0 km/s, correlate inversely with the quantity of observed lower crustal reflections on the Chugach section, suggesting that the presence or absence of these sediments in sufficient thickness exerted primary control on the quality of the deeper portion of the section. There is a significant velocity contrast between crystalline rocks across the Border Ranges fault (5.0 versus 5.6 km/s), the major contact between the Chugach and Peninsular terranes, in agreement with laboratory measurements of field specimens. In the Peninsular terrane the modeling indicates that an unnamed fault delimiting the southern flank of the Copper River Basin dips steeply northward at 50° and has about 1300 m of vertical offset. Laboratory measurements document a maximum velocity anisotropy of 20% for phyllitic schists of the Valdez Group in the Chugach terrane. In agreement with the observed E-W strike and near-vertical dip of the Valdez Group, we determined a significant (14%) velocity anisotropy for ray paths oriented N-S versus NE-SW.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗

Shallow structure and deformation along the San Andreas Fault in Cholame Valley, California, based on high-resolution reflection profiling

The mapped active traces of the San Andreas fault are separated by a 1-km-wide right-stepping offset in Cholame Valley. The geometry of this offset, defined in other strike-slip systems as a releasing bend or a dilational jog, has resulted in the formation of a pullapart basin. Various researchers have inferred that this offset served as a rupture terminus for earthquakes on both strands of the San Andreas fault (1966 Parkfield and 1857 Fort Tejon); thus, this en echelon offset may represent a barrier to the propagation of rupture between two segments of the San Andreas fault. We collected 18 km of high-resolution seismic reflection data specifically designed to image the San Andreas fault zone in the shallow crust surrounding this offset. Four short profiles (≤ 3.3 km long) of Mini-Sosie reflection data (1 s of two-way travel time ≈ 1.5 km deep) were collected perpendicular to the San Andreas fault; three of these profiles were tied by a 7-km-long profile that trended northwest through Cholame Valley, subparallel to the San Andreas fault. A zone of incoherent energy, narrow at the surface but widening with depth, underlies the mapped active traces of the San Andreas fault and abruptly terminates shallow reflections on both sides. The reflection profiles and available well data indicate that west of the mapped active traces of the San Andreas fault the shallow subsurface structure of the crust consists of thin (≤400 m thick), offset packages of reflections, laterally coherent on the scale of tens of meters, overlying deformed clastic sedimentary rocks. East of the San Andreas fault, the structure of the shallow crust in southern Cholame Valley is characterized by thick packages of reflections, laterally coherent on the scale of kilometers, overlying the Franciscan complex. All of the strata east of the fault (within Cholame Valley) dip toward the San Andreas fault and the offset, into an approximately 1-km-deep sedimentary basin abutting the south strand of San Andreas fault. The offset in Cholame Valley is characterized by a gentle downwarping of sediments into the offset, the presence of many small faults and discontinuous reflections (consistent with areally distributed shear) between the traces of the main fault, localized subsidence abutting the main strike-slip fault, the formation of a basin, near the offset, that is about as deep as the jog is wide, and the southward propagation of the deformation associated with the offset. Strain field modeling based on simple geometries of the San Andreas and associated faults successfully predicts the general features of the observed topography and subsurface structure of southern Cholame Valley, including subsidence and basin formation near the offset, a discontinuous San Andreas fault plane, and at least one fault in southeastern Cholame Valley.

Journal of Geophysical Research↗

Images of crust beneath southern California will aid study of earthquakes and their effects

The Whittier Narrows earthquake of 1987 and the Northridge earthquake of 1991 highlighted the earthquake hazards associated with buried faults in the Los Angeles region. A more thorough knowledge of the subsurface structure of southern California is needed to reveal these and other buried faults and to aid us in understanding how the earthquake-producing machinery works in this region.

California↗

Seismograms offer insight into Oklahoma City bombing

The terrorist bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, generated seismic waves that were recorded on two permanent seismographs about 7 and 26 km away from the bombing. The seismogram recorded at 26 km shows two low-frequency wave trains, discrete sets of oscillatory signals, that begin about 10 s apart. Public release of this record prompted speculation that each wave train was caused by a different energy source. On May 23, 1995, the U.S. Geological Survey monitored the demolition of the bomb-ravaged Federal Building with portable seismographs (Figure 1). Two wave trains were picked up again. The recordings indicate that the wave trains during both the bombing and demolition represent seismic waves traveling at different velocities. We conclude that the two wave trains recorded during the bombing are consistent with a single impulsive energy source.

Oklahoma↗

Seismic survey probes urban earthquake hazards in Pacific Northwest

A multidisciplinary seismic survey earlier this year in the Pacific Northwest is expected to reveal much new information about the earthquake threat to U.S. and Canadian urban areas there. A disastrous earthquake is a very real possibility in the region. The survey, known as the Seismic Hazards Investigation in Puget Sound (SHIPS), engendered close cooperation among geologists, biologists, environmental groups, and government agencies. It also succeeded in striking a fine balance between the need to prepare for a great earthquake and the requirement to protect a coveted marine environment while operating a large airgun array.

Washington↗

A simple algorithm for sequentially incorporating gravity observations in seismic traveltime tomography

The geologic structure of the Earth's upper crust can be revealed by modeling variation in seismic arrival times and in potential field measurements. We demonstrate a simple method for sequentially satisfying seismic traveltime and observed gravity residuals in an iterative 3-D inversion. The algorithm is portable to any seismic analysis method that uses a gridded representation of velocity structure. Our technique calculates the gravity anomaly resulting from a velocity model by converting to density with Gardner's rule. The residual between calculated and observed gravity is minimized by weighted adjustments to the model velocity-depth gradient where the gradient is steepest and where seismic coverage is least. The adjustments are scaled by the sign and magnitude of the gravity residuals, and a smoothing step is performed to minimize vertical streaking. The adjusted model is then used as a starting model in the next seismic traveltime iteration. The process is repeated until one velocity model can simultaneously satisfy both the gravity anomaly and seismic traveltime observations within acceptable misfits. We test our algorithm with data gathered in the Puget Lowland of Washington state, USA (Seismic Hazards Investigation in Puget Sound [SHIPS] experiment). We perform resolution tests with synthetic traveltime and gravity observations calculated with a checkerboard velocity model using the SHIPS experiment geometry, and show that the addition of gravity significantly enhances resolution. We calculate a new velocity model for the region using SHIPS traveltimes and observed gravity, and show examples where correlation between surface geology and modeled subsurface velocity structure is enhanced.

Washington↗

Synthesis of crustal seismic structure and implications for the concept of a slab gap beneath Coastal California

Compilation of seismic transects across the central and northern California Coast Ranges provides evidence for the widespread tectonic emplacement beneath the margin of a slab of partially subducted oceanic lithosphere. The oceanic crust of this lithosphere can be traced landward from the former convergent margin (fossil trench), beneath the Coast Ranges, to at least as far east as the Coast Range/Great Valley boundary. Comparison of measured shear and compressional wave velocities in the middle crust beneath the Hayward fault with laboratory measurements suggests that the middle crust is a diabase (oceanic crust). Both of these observations are consistent with recent models of the high heat flow and age progression of Neogene volcanism along the Coast Ranges based on tectonic emplacement (stalling) of young, hot oceanic lithosphere beneath the margin, but appear to contradict the major predictions of the slab-gap or asthenospheric-window model. Finally, the Neogene volcanism and major strike-slip faults in the Coast Ranges occur within the thickest regions (>14 km thick) of the forearc, suggesting that the locations of Cenozoic volcanism and faulting along the margin are structurally controlled by the forearc thickness rather than being determined by the location of a broad slab gap.

International Geology Review↗

Coincident seismic reflection/refraction studies of the continental lithosphere: A global review.

Nearly 50 coincident seismic reflection/refraction studies to depths of at least the Moho provide an improved understanding of the continental lithosphere. Some conclusions include the following: (1) A transparent upper crust, a common observation on vertical reflection profiles, cannot generally be correlated with velocity gradients or low-velocity zones. Rather, a commonly transparent upper crust may be explained by short-wavelength, steeply dipping features in the brittle upper crust and to a lesser degree by signal contamination from source-generated noise. (2) The reflective lower crust in extensional terranes appears to be characterized by a high average seismic velocity (6.6–7.3 km/s) and to consist of laminated high- and low-velocity layers with typical thicknesses of 100–200 m. (3) Landward dipping reflectors observed in the middle to lower crusts of convergent zones have been identified as paired high- and low-velocity slabs which represent oceanic crust and mantle accreted via underplating to the continental margin. (4) The crust-mantle boundary may differ sufficiently when imaged with vertical incidence and wide-angle data to justify the retention, for the present, of the concept of separate reflection and refraction Mohos. While there is good evidence that these features are coincident within measurement uncertainties in most regions, recently recorded data from the Basin and Range admit the possibility for noncoincidence in that area. (5) Upper mantle reflections which cannot be migrated into the lower crust remain rare, despite isolated unequivocal examples. Thus the upper mantle appears to be relatively homogeneous at seismic reflection wavelengths and to lack the laminations inferred for the lower crust. The wide-angle method will likely provide the most reliable information on the velocity structure and physical state of this portion of the lithosphere for some years to come. (6) There appear to be clear and consistent basic differences between convergent and extensional terranes which have been identified from coincident experiments; these differences may be sufficiently universal to infer the tectonic history of poorly exposed terranes. (7) No truly three-dimensional coincident experiment (i.e., including three-dimensional migration) has been conducted, but some three-dimensional data have been collected using both methods. Measurements of attenuation, Poisson's ratio, and anisotropy within the crust using coincident data sets remain frontiers.

Reviews of Geophysics↗

A California statewide three-dimensional seismic velocity model from both absolute and differential times

We obtain a seismic velocity model of the California crust and uppermost mantle using a regional-scale double-difference tomography algorithm. We begin by using absolute arrival-time picks to solve for a coarse three-dimensional (3D) P velocity (V P ) model with a uniform 30 km horizontal node spacing, which we then use as the starting model for a finer-scale inversion using double-difference tomography applied to absolute and differential pick times. For computational reasons, we split the state into 5 subregions with a grid spacing of 10 to 20 km and assemble our final statewide V P model by stitching together these local models. We also solve for a statewide S-wave model using S picks from both the Southern California Seismic Network and USArray, assuming a starting model based on the V P results and a V P =V S ratio of 1.732. Our new model has improved areal coverage compared with previous models, extending 570 km in the SW-NE directionand 1320 km in the NW-SE direction. It also extends to greater depth due to the inclusion of substantial data at large epicentral distances. Our V P model generally agrees with previous separate regional models for northern and southern California, but we also observe some new features, such as high-velocity anomalies at shallow depths in the Klamath Mountains and Mount Shasta area, somewhat slow velocities in the northern Coast Ranges, and slow anomalies beneath the Sierra Nevada at midcrustal and greater depths. This model can be applied to a variety of regional-scale studies in California, such as developing a unified statewide earthquake location catalog and performing regional waveform modeling.

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America↗

Trans-Alaska Crustal Transect and continental evolution involving subduction underplating and synchronous foreland thrusting

We investigate the crustal structure and tectonic evolution of the North American continent in Alaska, where the continent has grown through magmatism, accretion, and tectonic underplating. In the 1980s and early 1990s, we conducted a geological and geophysical investigation, known as the Trans-Alaska Crustal Transect (TACT), along a 1350-km-long corridor from the Aleutian Trench to the Arctic coast. The most distinctive crustal structures and the deepest Moho along the transect are located near the Pacific and Arctic margins. Near the Pacific margin, we infer a stack of tectonically underplated oceanic layers interpreted as remnants of the extinct Kula (or Resurrection) plate. Continental Moho just north of this underplated stack is more than 55 km deep. Near the Arctic margin, the Brooks Range is underlain by large-scale duplex structures that overlie a tectonic wedge of North Slope crust and mantle. There, the Moho has been depressed to nearly 50 km depth. In contrast, the Moho of central Alaska is on average 32 km deep. In the Paleogene, tectonic underplating of Kula (or Resurrection) plate fragments overlapped in time with duplexing in the Brooks Range. Possible tectonic models linking these two regions include flat-slab subduction and an orogenic-float model. In the Neogene, the tectonics of the accreting Yakutat terrane have differed across a newly interpreted tear in the subducting Pacific oceanic lithosphere. East of the tear, Pacific oceanic lithosphere subducts steeply and alone beneath the Wrangell volcanoes, because the overlying Yakutat terrane has been left behind as underplated rocks beneath the rising St. Elias Range, in the coastal region. West of the tear, the Yakutat terrane and Pacific oceanic lithosphere subduct together at a gentle angle, and this thickened package inhibits volcanism.

Alaska↗

Compressional and shear-wave velocity versus depth relations for common rock types in northern California

This article presents new empirical compressional and shear-wave velocity (Vp and Vs) versus depth relationships for the most common rock types in northern California. Vp versus depth relations were developed from borehole, laboratory, seismic refraction and tomography, and density measurements, and were converted to Vs versus depth relations using new empirical relations between Vp and Vs. The relations proposed here account for increasing overburden pressure but not for variations in other factors that can influence velocity over short distance scales, such as lithology, consolidation, induration, porosity, and stratigraphic age. Standard deviations of the misfits predicted by these relations thus provide a measure of the importance of the variability in Vp and Vs caused by these other factors. Because gabbros, greenstones, basalts, and other mafic rocks have a different Vp and Vs relationship than sedimentary and granitic rocks, the differences in Vs between these rock types at depths below 6 or 7 km are generally small. The new relations were used to derive the 2005 U.S. Geological Survey seismic velocity model for northern California employed in the broadband strong motion simulations of the 1989 Loma Prieta and 1906 San Francisco earthquakes; initial tests of the model indicate that the Vp model generally compares favorably to regional seismic tomography models but that the Vp and Vs values proposed for the Franciscan Complex may be about 5% too high.

Conference Paper↗

Ground-motion modeling of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, part I: Validation using the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake

We compute ground motions for the Beroza (1991) and Wald et al. (1991) source models of the 1989 magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake using four different wave-propagation codes and recently developed 3D geologic and seismic velocity models. In preparation for modeling the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, we use this well-recorded earthquake to characterize how well our ground-motion simulations reproduce the observed shaking intensities and amplitude and durations of recorded motions throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. All of the simulations generate ground motions consistent with the large-scale spatial variations in shaking associated with rupture directivity and the geologic structure. We attribute the small variations among the synthetics to the minimum shear-wave speed permitted in the simulations and how they accommodate topography. Our long-period simulations, on average, under predict shaking intensities by about one-half modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) units (25%-35% in peak velocity), while our broadband simulations, on average, under predict the shaking intensities by one-fourth MMI units (16% in peak velocity). Discrepancies with observations arise due to errors in the source models and geologic structure. The consistency in the synthetic waveforms across the wave-propagation codes for a given source model suggests the uncertainty in the source parameters tends to exceed the uncertainty in the seismic velocity structure. In agreement with earlier studies, we find that a source model with slip more evenly distributed northwest and southeast of the hypocenter would be preferable to both the Beroza and Wald source models. Although the new 3D seismic velocity model improves upon previous velocity models, we identify two areas needing improvement. Nevertheless, we find that the seismic velocity model and the wave-propagation codes are suitable for modeling the 1906 earthquake and scenario events in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America↗

Ground-motion modeling of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, part II: Ground-motion estimates for the 1906 earthquake and scenario events

We estimate the ground motions produce by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake making use of the recently developed Song et al. (2008) source model that combines the available geodetic and seismic observations and recently constructed 3D geologic and seismic velocity models. Our estimates of the ground motions for the 1906 earthquake are consistent across five ground-motion modeling groups employing different wave propagation codes and simulation domains. The simulations successfully reproduce the main features of the Boatwright and Bundock (2005) ShakeMap, but tend to over predict the intensity of shaking by 0.1-0.5 modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) units. Velocity waveforms at sites throughout the San Francisco Bay Area exhibit characteristics consistent with rupture directivity, local geologic conditions (e.g., sedimentary basins), and the large size of the event (e.g., durations of strong shaking lasting tens of seconds). We also compute ground motions for seven hypothetical scenarios rupturing the same extent of the northern San Andreas fault, considering three additional hypocenters and an additional, random distribution of slip. Rupture directivity exerts the strongest influence on the variations in shaking, although sedimentary basins do consistently contribute to the response in some locations, such as Santa Rosa, Livermore, and San Jose. These scenarios suggest that future large earthquakes on the northern San Andreas fault may subject the current San Francisco Bay urban area to stronger shaking than a repeat of the 1906 earthquake. Ruptures propagating southward towards San Francisco appear to expose more of the urban area to a given intensity level than do ruptures propagating northward.

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America↗

Key elements of regional seismic velocity models for long period ground motion simulations

Regional 3-D seismic velocity models used for broadband strong motion simulations must include compressional-wave velocity (Vp), shear-wave velocity (Vs), intrinsic attenuation (Qp, Qs), and density. Vs and Qs are the most important of these parameters because the strongest ground motions are generated chiefly by shear- and surface-wave arrivals. Because Vp data are more common than Vs data, many researchers first develop a Vp model and convert it to a Vs model. I describe recent empirical relations between Vs, Vp, Qs, Qp, and density that allow velocity models to be rapidly and accurately calculated. ?? Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2007.

Journal of Seismology↗

Three-dimensional P wave velocity model for the San Francisco Bay region, California

[1] A new three-dimensional P wave velocity model for the greater San Francisco Bay region has been derived using the double-difference seismic tomography method, using data from about 5,500 chemical explosions or air gun blasts and approximately 6,000 earthquakes. The model region covers 140 km NE-SW by 240 km NW-SE, extending from 20 km south of Monterey to Santa Rosa and reaching from the Pacific coast to the edge of the Great Valley. Our model provides the first regional view of a number of basement highs that are imaged in the uppermost few kilometers of the model, and images a number of velocity anomaly lows associated with known Mesozoic and Cenozoic basins in the study area. High velocity ( V p > 6.5 km/s) features at ∼15-km depth beneath part of the edge of the Great Valley and along the San Francisco peninsula are interpreted as ophiolite bodies. The relocated earthquakes provide a clear picture of the geometry of the major faults in the region, illuminating fault dips that are generally consistent with previous studies. Ninety-five percent of the earthquakes have depths between 2.3 and 15.2 km, and the corresponding seismic velocities at the hypocenters range from 4.8 km/s (presumably corresponding to Franciscan basement or Mesozoic sedimentary rocks of the Great Valley Sequence) to 6.8 km/s. The top of the seismogenic zone is thus largely controlled by basement depth, but the base of the seismogenic zone is not restricted to seismic velocities of ≤6.3 km/s in this region, as had been previously proposed.

California↗