Trehu
Anne M.
Trehu
Anne M.
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ArticleThe Cascadia Initiative : a sea change In seismological studies of subduction zones(The Oceanography Society, 2014-06) Toomey, Douglas R. ; Allen, Richard M. ; Barclay, Andrew H. ; Bell, Samuel W. ; Bromirski, Peter D. ; Carlson, Richard L. ; Chen, Xiaowei ; Collins, John A. ; Dziak, Robert P. ; Evers, Brent ; Forsyth, Donald W. ; Gerstoft, Peter ; Hooft, Emilie E. E. ; Livelybrooks, Dean ; Lodewyk, Jessica A. ; Luther, Douglas S. ; McGuire, Jeffrey J. ; Schwartz, Susan Y. ; Tolstoy, Maya ; Trehu, Anne M. ; Weirathmueller, Michelle ; Wilcock, William S. D.Increasing public awareness that the Cascadia subduction zone in the Pacific Northwest is capable of great earthquakes (magnitude 9 and greater) motivates the Cascadia Initiative, an ambitious onshore/offshore seismic and geodetic experiment that takes advantage of an amphibious array to study questions ranging from megathrust earthquakes, to volcanic arc structure, to the formation, deformation and hydration of the Juan De Fuca and Gorda Plates. Here, we provide an overview of the Cascadia Initiative, including its primary science objectives, its experimental design and implementation, and a preview of how the resulting data are being used by a diverse and growing scientific community. The Cascadia Initiative also exemplifies how new technology and community-based experiments are opening up frontiers for marine science. The new technology—shielded ocean bottom seismometers—is allowing more routine investigation of the source zone of megathrust earthquakes, which almost exclusively lies offshore and in shallow water. The Cascadia Initiative offers opportunities and accompanying challenges to a rapidly expanding community of those who use ocean bottom seismic data.
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ArticleThe hidden history of the South‐Central Cascadia Subduction Zone Recorded on the Juan de Fuca Plate Offshore Southwest Oregon(American Geophysical Union, 2022-08-18) Tréhu, Anne M. ; Tominaga, Masako ; Lyle, Mitch ; Davenport, Kathy ; Phrampus, Benjamin J. ; Favorito, Jules ; Zhang, Edward ; Lenz, Brandi L. ; Shreedharan, Srisharan ; Yelisetti, SubbaraoNew seismic reflection data collected and processed as part of early career scientist training at sea and in classroom projects fill gaps in seismic coverage of the Cascadia subduction zone and provide new insights into anomalous subduction behavior and mass wasting along the south‐central Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) between 42°20’N and 44°15’N. The data reveal at least six distinct buried horizons of folded and faulted sediments similar to strata recently interpreted to result from in situ deformation induced by the load imposed by a large blocky mass transport deposit known as the 44°N slide. Although our results support prior studies indicating that the south‐central CSZ has experienced large slope instabilities, they indicate that the slides were more frequent but volumetrically smaller than previously thought. Similar strata have not been observed elsewhere beneath the abyssal plain adjacent to the Cascadia subduction zone. The structure of the deformation front along this segment is also indistinct, in contrast to the clear frontal faults outboard of folded trench strata observed immediately to the north and south (and generally throughout the rest of Cascadia). We attribute the anomalous nature of this segment of the margin to past subduction of shallow and rough seafloor, which resulted in greater uplift of the forearc than elsewhere along the margin. A consequence of this postulated history would be the shedding of older, more consolidated blocks onto the Juan de Fuca plate, resulting in the observed distinctive stratigraphy offshore southern Oregon.Key PointsThe number of large blocky slides on the south‐central Cascadia margin has been underestimated, while their volume has been overestimatedBlocky slides of similar scale have not occurred along other segments of the Cascadia subduction zoneThe history of large landslides on the south‐central Cascadia margin is more complex than previously suggested and may be a response to past subduction of high topography
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ThesisSeismicity and structure of the Orozco transform fault from ocean bottom seismic observations(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1982-02) Trehu, Anne M.In this thesis, seismic waves generated by sources ranging from 2.7 kg shots of TNT to magnitude 5 earthquakes are studied in order to determine the seismic activity and crustal structure of the Orozco transform fault. Most of the data were collected by a network of 29 ocean bottom seismometers (OBS) and hydrophones (OBH) which were deployed as part of project ROSE (Rivera Ocean Seismic Experiment). Additional information is provided by magnetic anomaly and bathymetric data collected during and prior to ROSE and by teleseismic earthquakes recorded by the WWSSN (Worldwide Seismic Station Network). In Chapter II, the tectonic setting, bathymetry and teleseismic history of the Orozco Fracture Zone are summarized. Covering an area of 90 x 90 km which includes ridges and troughs trending both parallel and perpendicular to the present spreading direction (approximately east-west), the bathymetry of the transform portion of the fracture zone does not resemble that of other transform faults which have been studied in detail. A detailed study of one of the largest teleseismic earthquakes (mb=5.1) indicates right lateral strike-slip faulting with a strike parallel to the present spreading direction and a focal depth of less than 5 km. The moment sum from teleseismic earthquakes suggests an average fault width of at most a few kilometers. Because the teleseismic earthquake locations are too imprecise to define the present plate boundary and the magnetic anomaly data are too sparse to resolve the recent tectonic history, more questions are raised than are answered by the results in this chapter. These questions provide the focus for the study of the ROSE data. Chapter III contains an examination of the transfer function between seafloor motion and data recorded by the MIT OBS. The response of the recording system is determined and the coupling of the OBS to the seafloor during tests at two nearshore sites is analysed. Applying these results to the ROSE data, we conclude that the ground motion in the absence of the instrument can be adequately determined for at least one of the MIT OBS deployed during ROSE. Hypocentral parameters for 70 earthquakes, calculated for an assumed laterally homogeneous velocity structure which was adapted from the results of several refraction surveys in the area, are presented in Chapter IV. Because of the large number of stations in the ROSE network, the epicentral locations, focal depths and source mechanisms are determined with a precision unprecedented in marine microseismic work. Relative to the assumed model, most horizontal errors are less than ±1 km; vertical errors are somewhat larger. All epicenters are within the transform region of the Orozco Fracture Zone. About half of the epicenters define a narrow line of activity parallel to the spreading direction and situated along a deep topographic trough which forms the northern boundary of the transform zone (region 1). Most well determined depths are very shallow (<4km) and no shallowing of activity is observed as the rise-transform intersection is approached. In fact, the deepest depths (4-10km) are for earthquakes within 10 km of the intersection; these apparent depth differences are supported by the waveforms recorded a t the MIT OBS. First motion polarities for all but two of the earthquakes in region 1 are compatible with right lateral strike-slip faulting along a nearly vertical plane striking parallel to the spreading direct ion. Another zone of activity is observed in the central part of the transform (region 2). The apparent horizontal and vertical distribution of activity is more scattered than for the first group and the first motion radiation patterns of these events do not appear to be compatible with any known fault mechanism. No difference can be resolved between the stress drops or b values in the two regions. In Chapter V, lateral variations in the crustal structure within the transform region are determined and the effect of these structures on the results of the previous chapter is evaluated. Several data sources provide information on different aspects of the crustal structure. Incident angles and azimuths of body waves from shots and earthquakes measured at one of the MIT OSS show systematic deflections from the angles expected for a laterally homogeneous structure. The effect of various factors on the observed angles and azimuths is discussed and it is concluded that at least some of the deflection reflects regional lateral velocity heterogeneity. Structures which can explain the observations are found by tracing rays through three dimensional velocity grids. High velocities are inferred at upper mantle depths beneath a shallow, north-south trending ridge to the west of the OBS, suggesting that the crust under the ridge is no thicker, and perhaps thinner, than the surrounding crust. Observations from sources in region 2 suggest the presence of a low velocity zone in the central transform between the sources and the receiver. That the presence of such a body provides answers to several of the questions raised in Chapter IV about the hypocenters and mechanisms of earthquakes in region 2 is circumstantial evidence supporting this model. These proposed structures do not significantly affect the hypocenters and fault plane solutions for sources in region 1. The crustal velocity structure beneath the north-south trending ridges in the central transform and outside of the transform zone is determined by travel time and amplitude modeling of the data from several lines of small shots recorded at WHOI OBH. Outside of the transform zone, a velocity-depth structure typical of oceanic crust throughout the world oceans is found from three unreversed profiles: a 1 to 2 km thick layer in which the velocity increases from about 3 to 6.7 km/sec overlies a 4 to 4.5 km thick layer with a nearly constant velocity of 6.8 km/sec. A reversed profile over one of the north-south trending ridges, on the other hand, indicates an anomalous velocity structure with a gradient of 0.5 sec-1 throughout most of the crust ( from 5.25 km/sec to 7.15 km/sec over 3.5 km). A decrease in the gradient at the base of the crust to about 0.1 sec-1 and a thin, higher gradient layer in the upper few hundred meters are also required to fit the travel time and amplitude data. A total crustal thickness of about 5.4 km is obtained. An upper mantle velocity of 8.0 to 8.13 km/sec throughout much of the transform zone is determined from travel times of large shots of TNT recorded at MIT and WHOI instruments. "Relocations" of the large shots relative to the velocity model assumed in Chapter IV support the conclusion from the ray tracing that results from region 2 may be systematically biased because of lateral velocity heterogeneity whereas results from region 1 are not affected. In the last chapter, the results on crustal structure and seismicity are combined in order to define the present plate boundary and to speculate on the history of the present configuration.
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ArticleFluid sources and overpressures within the central Cascadia Subduction Zone revealed by a warm, high-flux seafloor seep(American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2023-01-25) Philip, Brendan T. ; Solomon, Evan A. ; Kelley, Deborah S. ; Tréhu, Anne M. ; Whorley, Theresa L. ; Roland, Emily ; Tominaga, Masako ; Collier, Robert W.Pythia's Oasis is a newly discovered seafloor seep on the Central Oregon segment of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, where focused venting emits highly altered fluids ~9°C above the background temperature. The seep fluid chemistry is unique for Cascadia and includes extreme enrichment of boron and lithium and depletion of chloride, potassium, and magnesium. We conclude that the fluids are sourced from pore water compaction and mineral dehydration reactions with minimum source temperatures of 150° to 250°C, placing the source at or near the plate boundary offshore Central Oregon. Estimated fluid flow rates of 10 to 30 cm s are orders of magnitude higher than those estimated elsewhere along the margin and are likely driven by extreme overpressures along the plate boundary. Probable draining of the overpressured reservoir along the vertical Alvin Canyon Fault indicates the important role that such faults may play in the regulation of pore fluid pressure throughout the forearc in Central Cascadia.