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Were changes in stress state responsible for the 2019 Ridgecrest, California, earthquakes?

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  • K. Z. Nanjo

    (University of Shizuoka
    Shizuoka University
    Institute of Statistical Mathematics)

Abstract

Monitoring the Earth’s stress state plays a role in our understanding of an earthquake’s mechanism and in the distribution of hazards. Crustal deformation due to the July 2019 earthquake sequence in Ridgecrest (California) that culminated in a preceding quake of magnitude (M) 6.4 and a subsequent M7.1 quake caused stress perturbation in a nearby region, but implications of future seismicity are still uncertain. Here, the occurrence of small earthquakes is compared to larger ones, using b-values, showing that the rupture initiation from an area of low b-values, indicative of high stress, was common to both M6.4 and M7.1 quakes. The post-M7.1-quake sequence reveals that another low-b-value zone, which avoided its ruptured area, fell into an area near the Garlock fault that hosted past large earthquakes. If this area were more stressed, there would be a high-likelihood of further activation of seismicity that might influence the Garlock fault.

Suggested Citation

  • K. Z. Nanjo, 2020. "Were changes in stress state responsible for the 2019 Ridgecrest, California, earthquakes?," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-16867-5
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16867-5
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