Tremor patches in Cascadia revealed by seismic array analysis

Episodic tremor and slip (ETS) events in Cascadia have recently been observed, illuminating the general area that radiates seismic energy in the form of non-volcanic tremor (NVT). However, the picture of the ETS zone remains fuzzy because of difficulties in tremor detection and location. To observe the intimate details of tremor, we deployed a dense 84-element small-aperture seismic array on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington, above the tremor migration path. It recorded the main ETS event in May 2008, as well as a weaker tremor episode two months earlier. Using a beamforming technique, we are able to capture and track tremor activity with an unprecedented resolution from southern Puget Sound to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The array technique reveals up to four times more duration of tremor compared to the conventional envelope cross-correlation method. Our findings suggest that NVT is not uniformly distributed on the subduction interface, and unveils several distinct patches that release much of the tremor moment. The patches appear to be devoid of ordinary earthquakes, and may indicate the heterogeneity in fault strength that affects the modes of stress release within the ETS zone. Citation: Ghosh, A., J. E. Vidale, J. R. Sweet, K. C. Creager, and A. G. Wech (2009), Tremor patches in Cascadia revealed by seismic array analysis, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L17316, doi: 10.1029/2009GL039080.