Magnitude of Shear Stress on the San Andreas Fault: Implications of a Stress Measurement Profile at Shallow Depth

@article{Zoback1979MagnitudeOS,
  title={Magnitude of Shear Stress on the San Andreas Fault: Implications of a Stress Measurement Profile at Shallow Depth},
  author={Mark D. Zoback and John C. Roller},
  journal={Science},
  year={1979},
  volume={206},
  pages={445 - 447}
}
A profile of measurements of shear stress perpendicular to the San Andreas fault near Palmdale, California, shows a marked increase in stress with distance from the fault. The pattern suggests that shear stress on the fault increases slowly with depth and reaches a value on the order of the average stress released during earthquakes. This result has important implications for both long- and shortterm prediction of large earthquakes. 
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30 Citations

30 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

Stress measurements at depth in the vicinity of the San Andreas Fault: Implications for the magnitude of shear stress at depth
Using the hydraulic fracturing technique, we have made a systematic series of in situ stress measurements in wells drilled near the San Andreas fault. In an attempt to provide constraints for the…
Continuation of a Deep Borehole Stress Measurement Profile
Hydraulic fracturing stress measurements were made in a 592-m-deep well at Hi Vista, California, 32 km from the San Andreas fault in the western Mojave Desert. The relative magnitudes of the…
Implications of an Elastic Analysis of In Situ Stress Measurements Near the San Andreas Fault
Twenty-nine measurements of in situ stress obtained with the hydraulic fracturing technique near Palmdale, California, are the basis of an elastic analysis of the state of stress in the Mojave Desert…
Stress anomaly accompanying the 1979 lytle creek earthquake: implications for earthquake prediction.
TLDR
An unusual stress transient was recorded 15 kilometers from the epicenter of the Lytle Creek earthquake in southern California as an increased shear stress parallel to the fault surface and with the proper sense of shear to have triggered the earthquake.
Lateral P-Velocity Gradients near Major Strike-Slip Faults in California.
TLDR
The P-wave velocity in shallow crystalline rock decreases systematically from a normal value from the Garlock and San Andreas faults to less than 3 kilometers per second at distances of less than 2 kilometers from these faults, which closely resembles the shear stress profile.
Monitoring changes of stress along active faults in southern California
Measurements of stress changes using IRAD vibrating-wire Stressmeters suggest that significant stress changes have occurred in a large area of Southern California near active faults in the past…
Continuation of a deep borehole stress measurement profile near the San Andreas Fault: 2. Hydraulic fracturing stress measurements at Black Butte, Mojave Desert, California
Hydraulic fracturing stress measurements were obtained in the Black Butte drill hole, 18 km northeast of the San Andreas fault in the Mojave Desert, at depths from 251 to 635 m. In all tests the…
Near‐surface in situ stress: 1. Strain relaxation measurements along the San Andreas Fault in southern California
Strain relaxation stress measurements were made in the Mojave Desert southeast of Palmdale, California, at two sites during the summers of 1979 and 1980, using the U.S. Bureau of Mines technique to…
Stress orientation profile to 3.5 km depth near the San Andreas Fault at Cajon Pass, California
A detailed profile of the orientation of the apparent maximum horizontal compressive stress was constructed over the depth interval 1.75–3.46 km in the Cajon Pass drill hole, located 4.2 km from the…
In situ stress orientation near the San Andreas Fault: Preliminary results to 2.1 km depth from the Cajon Pass Scientific Drillhole
Stress-induced wellbore breakouts were analyzed in the Cajon Pass Scientific Drillhole (4.3km NE of the San Andreas fault) to determine the orientation of the principal horizontal stresses, using…
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Magnitude of Shear stress on the San Andreas Fault: Implications of a stress measurement profile
  • Mark D. Zoback John C. Roller U.S. Geological Survey,
  • 1979
Magnitude of Shear stress on the San Andreas Fault: Implications of a stress measurement profile at shallow depth: Science, v
  • 1979
report surface stress measurements in this area. The measurements at the well sites near the fault show considerable scatter in the direction of maximum compression
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  • 1979
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