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Published Online November 22, 2007
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1149164

Brevia

Submitted on August 13, 2007
Accepted on October 17, 2007

Widespread Triggering of Nonvolcanic Tremor in California

Joan Gomberg 1*, Justin L. Rubinstein 2, Zhigang Peng 3, Kenneth C. Creager 2, John E. Vidale 2, Paul Bodin 2

1 US Geological Survey, Box 351310, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
2 Department of Earth and Space Science, University of Washington, Box 351310, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
3 School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst Dr., Atlanta, GA 30332-0340, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Joan Gomberg , E-mail: gomberg{at}usgs.gov

We identify seven locations on or near the transform plate boundary in California where nonvolcanic tremor was triggered by the 2002 Denali earthquake. This implies that the conditions essential for non-volcanic tremor exist in a range of tectonic environments. Models explaining tremor typically require conditions endemic to subduction zones, i.e. high temperatures and fluid pressures, as previously tremor was nearly exclusively documented in subduction zones. The absence of tremor in geothermal areas is inconsistent with such models. Additionally, we find no correlation between creeping or locked faults and tremor, contrary to predictions of frictional models of tremor.


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)