Katherine J. Kendrick

Primary Surface Rupture Associated with the Mw 7.1 16 October 1999 Hector Mine Earthquake, San Bernardino County, California

The M w 7.1 Hector Mine earthquake occurred within the Mojave Desert portion of the eastern California shear zone and was accompanied by 48 km of dextral surface rupture. Complex northward rupture began on two branches of the Lavic Lake fault in the northern Bullion Mountains and also propagated southward onto the Bullion fault. Lesser amounts of rupture occurred across two right steps to the south. Surface rupture was mapped using postearthquake, 1:10,000-scale aerial photography. Field mapping provided additional detail and more than 400 fault-rupture observations; of these, approximately 300 measurements were used to characterize the slip distribution. En echelon surface rupture predominated in areas of thick alluvium, whereas in the bedrock areas, rupture was more continuous and focused within a narrower zone. Measured dextral offsets were relatively symmetrical about the epicentral region, with a maximum displacement of 5.25 ± 0.85 m.[*][1] Vertical slip was a secondary component and was variable, with minor west-side-down displacements predominating in the Bullion Mountains. Field and aerial photographic evidence indicates that most of the faults that ruptured in 1999 had had prior late-Quaternary displacement, although only limited sections of the rupture show evidence for prior Holocene displacement. [1]: #fn-1

Uncertainties in slip-rate estimates for the Mission Creek strand of the southern San Andreas fault at Biskra Palms Oasis, southern California

This study focuses on uncertainties in estimates of the geologic slip rate along the Mission Creek strand of the southern San Andreas fault where it offsets an alluvial fan (T2) at Biskra Palms Oasis in southern California. We provide new estimates of the amount of fault offset of the T2 fan based on trench excavations and new cosmogenic 10Be age determinations from the tops of 12 boulders on the fan surface. We present three alternative fan offset models: a minimum, a maximum, and a preferred offset of 660 m, 980 m, and 770 m, respectively. We assign an age of between 45 and 54 ka to the T2 fan from the 10Be data, which is significantly older than previously reported but is consistent with both the degree of soil development associated with this surface, and with ages from U-series geochronology on pedogenic carbonate from T2, described in a companion paper by Fletcher et al. (this volume). These new constraints suggest a range of slip rates between ∼12 and 22 mm/yr with a preferred estimate of ∼14–17 mm/yr for the Mission Creek strand of the southern San Andreas fault. Previous studies suggested that the geologic and geodetic slip-rate estimates at Biskra Palms differed. We find, however, that considerable uncertainty affects both the geologic and geodetic slip-rate estimates, such that if a real discrepancy between these rates exists for the southern San Andreas fault at Biskra Palms, it cannot be demonstrated with available data.

Late Pleistocene to Holocene slip rates for the Gurvan Bulag thrust fault (Gobi-Altay, Mongolia) estimated with 10Be dates

[1] We surveyed morphotectonic markers along the central part of the Gurvan Bulag thrust, a fault that ruptured with the Bogd fault during the Gobi-Altay earthquake (1957, M 8.3), to document climatic and tectonic processes along the fault for the late PleistoceneHolocene period. The markers were dated using 10 Be produced in situ. Two major periods of alluviation ended at 131 ± 20 and 16 ± 4.8 ka. These appear to be contemporaneous with global climatic changes at the terminations of marine isotope stages (MIS) 6 and 2. The vertical slip rates, determined from offset measurements and surfaces ages, are 0.14 ± 0.03 mm/yr over the late Pleistocene-Holocene and between 0.44 ± 0.11 and 1.05 ± 0.25 mm/yr since the end of the late Pleistocene. The higher of these slip rates for the last � 16 kyr is consistent with paleoseismic investigations along the fault [Prentice et al., 2002], and suggests that, at the end of late Pleistocene, the fault evolved from quiescence to having recurrence intervals of 4.0 ± 1.2 kyr for surface ruptures with � 4 m vertical offset (similar to that of 1957). The inferred recurrence interval is comparable to that of the Bogd fault (3.7 ± 1.3 kyr) suggesting that the two faults may have ruptured together also earlier during the last � 16 kyr. INDEX TERMS: 7221 Seismology: Paleoseismology; 1208 Geodesy and Gravity: Crustal movements—intraplate (8110); 1824 Hydrology: Geomorphology (1625); 7230 Seismology: Seismicity and seismotectonics; 8107 Tectonophysics: Continental neotectonics; KEYWORDS: Late Pleistocene, Holocene, thrust fault, slip rate, 10Be dating, Mongolia

Latest Pleistocene and Holocene slip rate for the San Bernardino strand of the San Andreas fault, Plunge Creek, Southern California: Implications for strain partitioning within the southern San Andreas fault system for the last ∼35 k.y.

An alluvial succession on the northeast side of the San Bernardino strand of the San Andreas fault includes distinctive aggradational and degradational features that can be matched with correlative features on the southwest side of the fault. Key among these are (1) a terrace riser on the northeast side of the fault that correlates with an offset channel wall on the southwest side of the fault and forms a basis for slip estimates for the period ca. 35 ka to the present, and (2) a small alluvial fan on the southwest side of the fault that has been matched with its most likely source gullies on the northeast side of the fault and forms a basis for slip estimates for the last 10.5 k.y. Slip-rate estimates for these two separate intervals are nearly identical. The rate for the older feature is most likely between 8.3 and 14.5 mm/yr, with a 95% confidence interval of 7.0–15.7 mm/yr. The rate for the younger feature is most likely between 6.8 and 16.3 mm/yr, with a 95% confidence interval of 6.3–18.5 mm/yr. These rates are only half the previously published slip rate for the San Andreas fault 35 km to the northwest in Cajon Pass, a rate that traditionally is extrapolated southeastward along the San Bernardino section of the fault. Results from Plunge Creek suggest that about half of the 25 mm/yr rate at Cajon Pass transfers southeastward to the San Jacinto fault, as proposed by other workers on the basis of regional geologic relations. These results indicate that the discrepancy between latest Quaternary slip rates and present-day rates of strain accumulation across the San Bernardino section of the San Andreas fault from geodesy can be largely explained by slip transfer between faults, leading to spatial variation in rate along the San Andreas fault. Nonetheless, the latest Pleistocene and Holocene slip rate at Plunge Creek is still somewhat faster than rates inferred for the San Bernardino section of the San Andreas fault based on elastic block modeling of geodetic data and may be more appropriate than those rates for hazard estimation.

230Th/U dating of a late Pleistocene alluvial fan along the southern San Andreas fault

U-series dating of pedogenic carbonate-clast coatings provides a reliable, precise minimum age of 45.1 ± 0.6 ka (2σ) for the T2 geomorphic surface of the Biskra Palms alluvial fan, Coachella Valley, California. Concordant ages for multiple subsamples from individual carbonate coatings provide evidence that the 238 U- 234 U- 230 Th system has remained closed since carbonate formation. The U-series minimum age is used to assess previously published 10 Be exposure ages of cobbles and boulders. All but one cobble age and some boulder 10 Be ages are younger than the U-series minimum age, indicating that surface cobbles and some boulders were partially shielded after deposition of the fan and have been subsequently exhumed by erosion of fine-grained matrix to expose them on the present fan surface. A comparison of U-series and 10 Be ages indicates that the interval between final alluvial deposition on the T2 fan surface and accumulation of dateable carbonate is not well resolved at Biskra Palms; however, the “time lag” inherent to dating via U-series on pedogenic carbonate can be no larger than ∼10 k.y., the uncertainty of the 10 Be-derived age of the T2 fan surface. Dating of the T2 fan surface via U-series on pedogenic carbonate (minimum age, 45.1 ± 0.6 ka) and 10 Be on boulder-top samples using forward modeling (preferred age, 50 ± 5 ka) provides broadly consistent constraints on the age of the fan surface and helps to elucidate its postdepositional development.

Holocene geologic slip rate for the Banning strand of the southern San Andreas Fault, southern California

Northwest directed slip from the southern San Andreas Fault is transferred to the Mission Creek, Banning, and Garnet Hill fault strands in the northwestern Coachella Valley. How slip is partitioned between these three faults is critical to southern California seismic hazard estimates but is poorly understood. In this paper, we report the first slip rate measured for the Banning fault strand. We constrain the depositional age of an alluvial fan offset 25 ± 5 m from its source by the Banning strand to between 5.1 ± 0.4 ka (95% confidence interval (CI)) and 6.4 + 3.7/−2.1 ka (95% CI) using U-series dating of pedogenic carbonate clast coatings and 10Be cosmogenic nuclide exposure dating of surface clasts. We calculate a Holocene geologic slip rate for the Banning strand of 3.9 + 2.3/−1.6 mm/yr (median, 95% CI) to 4.9 + 1.0/−0.9 mm/yr (median, 95% CI). This rate represents only 25–35% of the total slip accommodated by this section of the southern San Andreas Fault, suggesting a model in which slip is less concentrated on the Banning strand than previously thought. In rejecting the possibility that the Banning strand is the dominant structure, our results highlight an even greater need for slip rate and paleoseismic measurements along faults in the northwestern Coachella Valley in order to test the validity of current earthquake hazard models. In addition, our comparison of ages measured with U-series and 10Be exposure dating demonstrates the importance of using multiple geochronometers when estimating the depositional age of alluvial landforms.

Late Quaternary slip history of the Mill Creek strand of the San Andreas fault in San Gorgonio Pass, southern California: The role of a subsidiary left-lateral fault in strand switching

The fault history of the Mill Creek strand of the San Andreas fault (SAF) in the San Gorgonio Pass region, along with the reconstructed geomorphology surrounding this fault strand, reveals the important role of the left-lateral Pinto Mountain fault in the regional fault strand switching. The Mill Creek strand has 7.1–8.7 km total slip. Following this displacement, the Pinto Mountain fault offset the Mill Creek strand 1–1.25 km, as SAF slip transferred to the San Bernardino, Banning, and Garnet Hill strands. An alluvial complex within the Mission Creek watershed can be linked to palinspastic reconstruction of drainage segments to constrain slip history of the Mill Creek strand. We investigated surface remnants through detailed geologic mapping, morphometric and stratigraphic analysis, geochronology, and pedogenic analysis. The degree of soil development constrains the duration of surface stability when correlated to other regional, independently dated pedons. This correlation indicates that the oldest surfaces are significantly older than 500 ka. Luminescence dates of 106 ka and 95 ka from (respectively) 5 and 4 m beneath a younger fan surface are consistent with age estimates based on soil-profile development. Offset of the Mill Creek strand by the Pinto Mountain fault suggests a short-term slip rate of ~10–12.5 mm/yr for the Pinto Mountain fault, and a lower long-term slip rate. Uplift of the Yucaipa Ridge block during the period of Mill Creek strand activity is consistent with thermochronologic modeled uplift estimates.

Granitic Boulder Erosion Caused by Chaparral Wildfire: Implications for Cosmogenic Radionuclide Dating of Bedrock Surfaces

Rock surface erosion by wildfire is significant and widespread but has not been quantified in southern California or for chaparral ecosystems. Quantifying the surface erosion of bedrock outcrops and boulders is critical for determination of age using cosmogenic radionuclide techniques, as even modest surface erosion removes the accumulation of the cosmogenic radionuclides and causes significant underestimate of age. This study documents the effects on three large granitic boulders following the Esperanza Fire of 2006 in southern California. Spalled rock fragments were quantified by measuring the removed rock volume from each measured boulder. Between 7% and 55% of the total surface area of the boulders spalled in this single fire. The volume of spalled material, when normalized across the entire surface area, represents a mean surface lowering of 0.7–12.3 mm. Spalled material was thicker on the flanks of the boulders, and the height of the fire effects significantly exceeded the height of the vegetation prior to the wildfire. Surface erosion of boulders and bedrock outcrops as a result of wildfire spalling results in fresh surfaces that appear unaffected by chemical weathering. Such surfaces may be preferentially selected by researchers for cosmogenic surface dating because of their fresh appearance, leading to an underestimate of age.