Northern Cascadia episodic tremor and slip: A decade of tremor observations from 1997 to 2007

Abstract

We analyze continuous seismic and GPS records collected in the last decade (1997-2007) to establish the most comprehensive observational basis for northern Cascadia episodic tremor and slip (ETS) events. A simple "ETS scale" system, using a combination of a letter and a digit, is proposed to quantitatively characterize the spatial and temporal dimensions of ETS events. Clear correlation between GPS and tremor signals is observed for all A/B class episodes, but the GPS signature is less obvious for minor ones. Regular ETS recurrence can be established only for A/B class episodes in southern Vancouver Island. Halting and jumping are very common in ETS migration patterns, and along-strike migration can happen in both directions. A prominent tremor gap is observed in midisland around 49.5°N. This gap coincides with the epicenters of the only two large earthquakes beneath Vancouver Island. ETS tremors also tend to occur in places where the local seismicity is relatively sparse. The tremor depth distribution shows a peak in the 25-35 km range where strong seismic reflectors (i.e., the E layer) are documented. Detailed waveform analysis confirms the existence of shallow tremors above the currently interpreted plate interface. Our results suggest that a significant portion of the tremor activity and perhaps associated shearing are taking place along well-developed structures such as the E layer, while fewer tremor bursts are generated elsewhere in response to the induced stress variation throughout the source volume.