RAPID proposal: Rapid seismic response to the July 2019 Mw 7.1 and 6.4 doublet near Ridgecrest, Southern California

University Of California-Riverside, Riverside CA

Investigators

Abstract

This RAPID project is a seismic response to the two July 2019 Ridgecrest earthquakes in southern California. The earthquakes occurred close to the southern San Andreas fault and the Garlock fault. This is a heavily populated area that could sustain significant damage if earthquakes happened on those faults. While Ridgecrest is less populated, understanding these earthquakes can help us to better understand the seismic hazard more broadly in southern California, it can also help us to understand how large earthquake evolve and what physics governs these events. This experiment will rapidly deploy 20 seismic instruments around the earthquake ruptures. These additional stations will improve our ability to record aftershocks from the two mainshocks. The broader impacts of the project include support for students to be trained in scientific response to earthquakes and an improved understanding of seismic hazard in southern California. The data from this experiment will be made publicly available through the seismic data facility at IRIS. This deployment of 20 seismic stations around the epicenter of the Mw 7.1 and Mw6.4 Ridgecrest earthquakes will be used to determine the detailed fault structure, possible earthquake triggering, aftershock occurrence. The project will deploy a combination of short period and strong ground motion stations in collaboration with the USGS. Results may also inform high resolution seismic velocity structure, postseismic deformation and the evolution of stress in the region. Ultimately this may improve understanding of seismic potential on the Garlock and San Andreas faults which are in close proximity. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.