Quick
Search: 		  
advanced search
 GSW Home   GeoRef Home   My GSW Alerts   Contact GSW   About GSW   Journals List   Help 
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America Signup for GSW Email News
JOURNAL HOME HELP CONTACT PUBLISHER SUBSCRIBE ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America; April 1973; v. 63; no. 2; p. 571-586
© 1973 Seismological Society of America
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by CARDER, D. S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
GeoRef
Right arrow GeoRef Citation

Trans-California seismic profile, death Valley to Monterey Bay

DEAN S. CARDER

EARTHQUAKE MECHANISM LABORATORY NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94105

Abstract

An experiment to investigate the major earth structure along a profile from the Nevada Test Site (NTS) to the Pacific Ocean across two sections of the Sierra Nevada, one in the Kings Canyon area and the other which includes Huntington Lake, was undertaken by the Earthquake Mechanism Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Instrumental coverage included 35 temporary and seven permanent seismographs. Energy sources included four high-yield and 20 intermediate- to low-yield nuclear explosions under the NTS, one high-yield explosion under Amchitka Island of Alaska, two earthquakes near Santa Rosa, and one earthquake in Monterey Bay. An upper-mantle speed of 7.9 km/sec satisfied most of the observed data except under the Sierra where the velocity was somewhat lower than this. An earthquake in Monterey Bay helped to close the west end of the profile. The Sierra Nevada "root" in large part can be attributed to relatively low upper-mantle speed under the Sierras (estimated at 7.64 km/sec) which extends to an indefinite depth and which possibly may serve as lens to refract late arriving high-energy waves to coastal areas. Crustal thickness from the Sierra foothills eastward varies from 25 to 35 km, the thinner portion under the Sierra crest and Owens Valley, near Independence, and the thicker sections under the western Sierra and the basin ranges east of Owens Valley. West of Fresno, the crust thins more or less gradually to about 20 km in thickness under the western coast ranges. This profile contrasts with that from an earlier study, across the Central Valley south of Stockton, where no such thinning under the Central Valley was observed. The sub-Sierra crust east of Fresno is somewhat complicated. Low-angle thrusting toward the east is indicated.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
K. F. PRIESTLEY, A. S. RYALL, and G. S. FEZIE
Crust and upper mantle structure in the northwest Basin and Range province
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, June 1, 1982; 72(3): 911 - 923.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 ScienceHome page
L. C. Pakiser, L. C. Pakiser, and J. N. Brune
Seismic Models of the Root of the Sierra Nevada
Science, December 5, 1980; 210(4474): 1088 - 1094.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Bulletin of the Seismological Society of AmericaHome page
S. GREGERSEN and L. E. ALSOP
Mode conversion of Love waves at a continental margin
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, December 1, 1976; 66(6): 1855 - 1872.
[Abstract] [PDF]


JOURNAL HOME HELP CONTACT PUBLISHER SUBSCRIBE ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2009 by Seismological Society of America