Widespread Triggering of Nonvolcanic Tremor in California

Abstract

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