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Abstract The San Fernando Valley (SFV), part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, is a seismically active urban environment. Large-magnitude earthquakes, such as the 1994 Mw 6.7 Northridge event that occurred on a blind fault beneath the valley, caused significant infrastructure damage in the region, underscoring the need for enhanced seismic monitoring to improve the identification of buried faults and hazard evaluation. Currently, the Southern California Earthquake Data Center operates four broadband instruments within the valley; however, the network’s ability to capture small earthquakes beneath the region may be limited. To demonstrate how this data gap can be filled, we use recordings from the SFV array, comprised of 140 nodal instruments with interstation distances ranging from 0.3 to 2.5 km that recorded for one month. High-anthropogenic noise levels in urbanized areas tend to conceal earthquake signals; therefore, we applied a previously developed machine learning model fine-tuned on similar waveforms to detect events and pick seismic phases. In a two-step event association workflow, isolated phase picks were first culled, which eliminated false positive detections and reduced computational runtime. We located 62 events within a 209 km radius of our array with magnitudes ranging from ML 0.13 to 4, including 36 new events that were undetected by the regional network. One event cluster reveals a previously unidentified (5.3 km × 4 km) blind fault zone located ∼5 km beneath the southern part of the valley. Seismicity from this zone is rare in the regional catalog (<3 events per year), despite producing a Mb 4.4 event in 2014. Our results highlight the benefits of detecting small-magnitude seismicity for hazard estimation. Temporary nodal arrays can identify critical gaps in regional monitoring and guide site selection for permanent stations. In addition, our workflow can be applied to complement seismic monitoring in other urban settings. 

Abstract The San Fernando Valley (SFV), a densely populated region in Southern California, has high earthquake hazard due to a complex network of active faults and the amplifying effects of the sedimentary basin. Since the devastating 1994 Mw 6.7 Northridge earthquake, numerous studies have examined its structure using various geological and geophysical datasets. However, current seismic velocity models still lack the resolution to accurately image the near-surface velocity structure and concealed or blind faults, which are critical for high-frequency wavefield simulations and earthquake hazard modeling. To address these challenges, we develop a 3D high-resolution shear-wave velocity model for the SFV using ambient noise data from a dense array of 140 seismic nodes and 10 Southern California Seismic Network stations. We also invert gravity data to map the basin geometry and integrate horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios and aeromagnetic data to constrain interfaces and map major geological structures. With a lateral resolution of 250 m near the basin center, our model reveals previously unresolved geological features, including the detailed geometry of the basin and previously unmapped structure of faults at depth. The basin deepens from the Santa Monica Mountains in the south to approximately 4 km near its center and 7 km in the Sylmar sub-basin at the basin’s northern margin. Strong velocity contrasts are observed across major faults, at the basin edges, and in the basin’s upper 500 m, for which we measure velocities as low as 200 m/s. Our high-resolution model will enhance ground-motion simulations and earthquake hazard assessments for the SFV and has implications for other urban areas with high seismic risk. 

We explore a novel acquisition geometry that can be used to estimate the linear component of site amplification using a dense nodal seismic network installed in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city. The city is surrounded by several seismically active faults, including the Sagaing Fault, which is capable of generating M_w > 7.0 earthquakes. As part of the Irrawaddy delta system, this densely populated city sits on young water-saturated alluvium that is likely to amplify earthquake ground motions. Assessing site response is crucial for understanding the seismic hazard potential to minimize the loss of property and lives. Using a dense seismic array comprised of 110 three-component nodes, we estimated the frequency-dependent site amplification pattern of Yangon from regional (Lg) and local (Sg) seismic phases. Since this acquisition geometry is not sensitive to Q or geometric spreading, this approach provides a fast and cost-effective way to estimate the linear component of site response as a function of frequency. Our Lg and Sg site response results identify regions with high site amplification that have significantly greater seismic hazard risks for regional and local distance earthquakes. We observed consistent site response characteristics between both Lg and Sg phases. Site amplification patterns correlate well with the surficial geology and subsurface structure beneath the city. De-amplification is observed across all frequencies at stations located above an anticlinal structure composed of older Pliocene rocks (i.e. the Irrawaddy Formation). Conversely, highly amplified areas correspond to younger Pleistocene to recent alluvial plains consisting of loose, unconsolidated alluvium. We found a dominant horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) peak at ∼1.0 Hz from ambient noise, likely corresponding to the thickness of unconsolidated sediments. We suggest that the growing number of nodal networks worldwide can be used to estimate frequency-dependent site amplification, addressing key data gaps in seismic hazard assessment. 

Abstract Seismicity in the Los Angeles metropolitan area has been primarily attributed to the regional stress loading. Below the urban areas, earthquake sequences have occurred over time showing migration off the faults and providing evidence that secondary processes may be involved in their evolution. Combining high-frequency seismic attenuation with other geophysical observations is a powerful tool for understanding which Earth properties distinguish regions with ongoing seismicity. We develop the first high-resolution 3D seismic attenuation models across the region east of downtown Los Angeles using 5,600 three-component seismograms from local earthquakes recorded by a dense seismic array. We present frequency-dependent peak delay and coda-attenuation tomography as proxies for seismic scattering and absorption, respectively. The scattering models show high sensitivity to the seismicity along some of the major faults, such as the Cucamonga fault and the San Jacinto fault zone, while a channel of low scattering in the basement extends from near the San Andreas fault westward. In the vicinity of the Fontana seismic sequence, high absorption, low scattering, and seismicity migration across a fault network suggest fluid-driven processes. Our attenuation and fault network imaging characterize near-fault zones and rock-fluid properties beneath the study area for future improvements in seismic hazard evaluation. 

Abstract Underground storage in geologic formations will play a key role in the energy transition by providing low‐cost storage of renewable fuels such as hydrogen. The sealing qualities of caverns leached in salt and availability of domal salt bodies make them ideal for energy storage. However, unstable boundary shear zones of anomalous friable salt can enhance internal shearing and pose a structural hazard to storage operations. Considering the indistinct nature of internal salt heterogeneities when imaged with conventional techniques such as reflection seismic surveys, we develop a method to map shear zones using seismicity patterns in the US Gulf Coast, the region with the world's largest underground crude oil emergency supply. We developed and finetuned a machine learning algorithm using tectonic and local microearthquakes. The finetuned model was applied to detect microearthquakes in a 12‐month long nodal seismic dataset from the Sorrento salt dome. Clustered microearthquake locations reveal the three‐dimensional geometry of two anomalous salt shear zones and their orientations were determined using probabilistic hypocenter imaging. The seismicity pattern, combined with borehole pressure measurements, and cavern sonar surveys, shows the spatiotemporal evolution of cavern shapes within the salt dome. We describe how shear zone seismicity contributed to a cavern well failure and gas release incident that occurred during monitoring. Our findings show that caverns placed close to shear zones are more susceptible to structural damage. We propose a non‐invasive technique for mapping hazards related to internal salt dome deformation that can be employed in high‐noise industrial settings to characterize storage facilities. 

We utilized shear wave splitting analysis of teleseismic SKS, SKKS, and PKS phases to infer upper mantle deformational fabrics across a substantial area of Southeast Asia, where splitting measurements were previously limited. We used newly available permanent and temporary broadband seismic networks deployed across the Indo-Burma subduction zone and the eastern Indochina peninsula. The resulting 492 well-constrained splitting and 654 null measurements from 185 stations reveal clear large-scale patterns in the mantle deformational fabrics in response to the highly oblique active subduction and a large transform plate boundary. We identified two distinct domains of mantle deformation fabrics in the western Burma microplate and the eastern Indochina peninsula. In the former, trench parallel N-S fast polarization directions with an average lag time (δt) of 1.9 s are observed beneath the Indo-Burman Ranges. We suggest the observed splitting is partly due to anisotropy in the sub-slab region and relates to shear induced by the north moving Indian plate. The lithospheric fabric within the Indo-Burman Ranges and underlying subducting slab fabric contribute to produce the observed average δt of 1.9 s. The δt value decreases to an average of 1.0 s towards the back-arc until we reach the dextral Sagaing fault. In the second domain, starting approximately 100 km east of the Sagaing fault, we observe a consistent E-W fast direction with an average δt of 1.10 s in the eastern Shan-Thai and Indochina blocks. We interpret the E-W fabric as due to the deformation associated with the westward spreading of the Hainan mantle plume, possibly driven by overriding plate motion. Low velocities in the shallow mantle and late Cenozoic intraplate volcanism in this region support the plume-driven asthenospheric flow model in the Indochina peninsula. The sudden transition of the fast polarization direction from N-S to E-W along the eastern edge of the Burma microplate indicates the Sagaing fault acts as a mantle flow boundary between the subduction dominated trench parallel flow to the west and plume induced asthenospheric flow to the east. We also observed no net splitting beneath the Bengal basin which is most likely due to the presence of frozen vertical fabric resulting from the Kerguelen plume activity during Early Cretaceous. 

We constrained sedimentary basin structure using a nodal seismic array consisting of ten dense lines that overlie multiple basins in the northern Los Angeles area. The dense array consists of 758 seismic nodes, spaced ~250–300 m apart along linear transects, that recorded ground motions for 30–35 days. We applied the receiver function (RF) technique to 16 teleseismic events to investigate basin structure. Primary basin-converted phases were identified in the RFs. A shear wave velocity model produced in a separate study using the same dataset was incorporated to convert the basin time arrivals to depth. The deepest part of the San Bernardino basin was identified near the Loma Linda fault at a depth of 2.4 km. Basin depths identified at pierce points for separate events reveal lateral changes in basin depth across distances of ~2–3 km near individual stations. A significant change in basin depth was identified within a small distance of ~4 km near the San Jacinto fault. The San Gabriel basin exhibited the largest basin depths of all three basins, with a maximum depth of 4.2 km. The high lateral resolution from the dense array helped to reveal more continuous structures and reduce uncertainties in the RFs interpretation. We discovered a more complex basin structure than previously identified. Our findings show that the basins’ core areas are not the deepest, and significant changes in basin depth were observed near some faults, including the San Jacinto fault, Fontana fault, Red Hill fault and Indian Hill fault. 

This projects focuses on understanding seismic and aseismic deformation at salt domes and high-volume wastewater injection sites. 

This study focusses on understanding seismic structure of the San Fernando Valley, Southern California.