Oceanography The Official Magazine of
The Oceanography Society
Volume 24 Issue 03

View Issue TOC
Volume 24, No. 3
Pages 280 - 293

OpenAccess

A 20-Year Hydroacoustic Time Series of Seismic and Volcanic Events in the Northeast Pacific Ocean

By Robert P. Dziak , Stephen R. Hammond , and Christopher G. Fox  
Jump to
Article Abstract Citation References Copyright & Usage
Article Abstract

For the last 20 years, civilian researchers have used the Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS), a US Navy hydrophone array deployed for anti-submarine warfare during the Cold War, to detect seismic and volcanic activity in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. A total of 46,498 earthquakes have been located along oceanic plate boundaries, providing a comprehensive view of volcano-tectonic activity in the region. During the 20-year interval, the Northeast Pacific spreading centers exhibited both high levels of continued background seismicity (Explorer and Gorda segments) and long periods of quiescence punctuated by brief periods (days to weeks) of intense (> 1000 events/day) earthquake activity. The Juan de Fuca Ridge south of the Cobb Offset is largely aseismic, with the exception of events associated with two three-week-long volcanic eruptions and frequent seismicity at 46°50’N. In contrast, the Endeavour, Explorer, and Gorda Ridges, and the Cobb Offset are highly seismic, producing continuous earthquake activity. Of the seven major episodes of seafloor spreading identified by analysis of the SOSUS data, three resulted in lava eruptions onto the seafloor and release of large hydrothermal plumes. The Blanco Transform produces the most earthquakes and the largest seismic energy release of any Northeast Pacific plate boundary. The Explorer and Gorda plates are also very seismically active, which is consistent with these areas being highly fractured deformation zones that are structurally independent from the Juan de Fuca plate.

Citation

Dziak, R.P., S.R. Hammond, and C.G. Fox. 2011. A 20-year hydroacoustic time series of seismic and volcanic events in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. Oceanography 24(3):280–293, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2011.79.

References
    Baker, E.T., G.J. Massoth, R.A. Feely, R.W. Embley, R.E. Thomson, and B.J. Burd. 1995. Hydrothermal event plumes from the CoAxial seafloor eruption site, Juan de Fuca Ridge. Geophysical Research Letters 22(2):147–150, https://doi.org/10.1029/94GL02403.
  1. Boettcher, M.S., and J.J. McGuire. 2009. Scaling relations for seismic cycles on mid-ocean ridge transform faults. Geophysical Research Letters 36, L21301, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009GL040115.
  2. Bohnenstiehl, D.R., R.P. Dziak, M. Tolstoy, C. Fox, and M. Fowler. 2004. Temporal and spatial history of the 1999–2000 Endeavour Segment seismic series, Juan de Fuca Ridge. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 5, Q09003, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004GC000735.
  3. Bohnenstiehl, D.R., M. Tolstoy, R.P. Dziak, C.G. Fox, and D.K. Smith. 2002. Aftershock sequences in the mid-ocean ridge environment: An analysis using hydroacoustic data. Tectonophysics 354(1–2):49–70, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0040-1951(02)00289-5.
  4. Braunmiller, J., and J. Nabelek. 2008. Segmentation of the Blanco Transform Fault Zone from earthquake analysis: Complex tectonics of an oceanic transform fault. Journal of Geophysical Research 113, B07108, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JB005213.
  5. Chaytor, J.D., C. Goldfinger, R.P. Dziak, C.G. Fox. 2004. Active deformation of the Gorda plate: Constraining deformation models with new geophysical data. Geology 32(4):353–356, https://doi.org/10.1130/G20178.2.
  6. Cowan, D.S., M. Botros, and H.P. Johnson. 1986. Bookshelf tectonics: Rotated crustal blocks within the Sovanco Fracture Zone. Geophysical Research Letters 13(190):995–998, https://doi.org/10.1029/GL013i010p00995.
  7. Davis, E.E., K. Becker, R. Dziak, J. Cassidy, and K. Wang. 2004. Hydrologic response to a seafloor spreading episode on the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Nature 430:335–338, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02755.
  8. Dziak, R.P. 2006. Explorer deformation zone: Evidence of a large shear zone and reorganization of the Pacific–Juan de Fuca–North American triple junction. Geology 34(3):213–216, https://doi.org/10.1130/G22164.1.
  9. Dziak, R.P., and C.G. Fox. 1999. The January 1998 earthquake swarm at Axial Volcano, Juan de Fuca Ridge: Hydroacoustic evidence of seafloor volcanic activity. Geophysical Research Letters 26(23):3,429–3,432, https://doi.org/10.1029/1999GL002332.
  10. Dziak, R.P., D.R. Bohnenstiehl, J.P. Cowen, E.T. Baker, K.H. Rubin, J.H. Haxel, and M.J. Fowler. 2007. Rapid dike emplacement leads to eruptions and hydrothermal plume release during seafloor spreading events. Geology 35(7):579–582, https://doi.org/10.1130/G23476A.1.
  11. Dziak, R.P., D.R. Bohnenstiehl, H. Matsumoto, C.G. Fox, D.K. Smith, M. Tolstoy, T.-K. Lau, J.H. Haxel, and M.J. Fowler. 2004. P- and T-wave detection thresholds, Pn velocity estimate, and detection of lower mantle and core P-waves on ocean sound channel hydrophones at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 94:665–677, https://doi.org/10.1785/0120030156.
  12. Dziak, R.P., W.W. Chadwick, C.G. Fox, and R.W. Embley. 2003. Hydrothermal temperature changes at the southern Juan de Fuca Ridge associated with a Mw 6.2 Blanco Transform earthquake. Geology 31:119–122, https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2003)031<0119:HTCATS>2.0.CO;2.
  13. Dziak, R.P., C.G. Fox, and A.E. Schreiner. 1995. The June-July seismo-acoustic event at CoAxial segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge: Evidence for lateral dike injection. Geophysical Research Letters 22(2):135–138, https://doi.org/10.1029/94GL01857.
  14. Dziak, R.P., C.G. Fox, and R.W. Embley. 1991. Relationship between the seismicity and geologic structure of the Blanco Transform Fault Zone. Marine Geophysical Researches 13:203–208, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00369149.
  15. Embley, R.W., and E.T. Baker. 1999. Interdisciplinary group explores seafloor eruption with remotely operated vehicle. Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union 80:213, 219, 222, https://doi.org/10.1029/99EO00157.
  16. Embley, R.W., and D.S. Wilson. 1992. Morphology of the Blanco Transform Fault Zone-NE Pacific: Implications for its tectonic evolution. Marine Geophysical Researches 14:25–45, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01674064.
  17. Embley, R.W., W.W. Chadwick Jr., I.R. Jonasson, D.A. Butterfield, and E.T. Baker, 1995. Initial results of a rapid response to the 1993 CoAxial event: Relationships between hydrothermal and volcanic processes. Geophysical Research Letters 22(2):143–146, https://doi.org/10.1029/94GL02281.
  18. Embley, R.W., W.W. Chadwick Jr., D. Stakes, and D. Clague. 1999. 1998 eruption at Axial Volcano: Multibeam anomalies and seafloor observations. Geophysical Research Letters 26:3,425–3,428, https://doi.org/10.1029/1999GL002328.
  19. Fox, C.G., and R.P. Dziak. 1998. Hydroacoustic detection of volcanic activity on the Gorda Ridge, February-March 1996. Deep-Sea Research Part II 45(12):2,513–2,530, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0967-0645(98)00081-2.
  20. Fox, C.G., and R.P. Dziak. 1999. Internal deformation of Gorda Plate observed by hydroacoustic monitoring. Journal of Geophysical Research 104(B8):17,603–17,615, https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JB900104.
  21. Fox, C.G., and S.R. Hammond. 1994. The VENTS Program T-phase project and NOAA’s role in ocean environmental research. Marine Technology Society Journal 27(4):70–74.
  22. Fox, C.G., H. Matsumoto, and T.-K. Lau. 2001. Monitoring Pacific Ocean seismicity from an autonomous hydrophone array. Journal of Geophysical Research 106:4,183–4,206, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JB900404.
  23. Fox, C.G, W.E. Radford, R.P. Dziak, T.-K. Lau, H. Matsumoto, and A.E. Schreiner. 1995. Acoustic detection of a seafloor spreading episode on the Juan de Fuca Ridge using military hydrophone arrays. Geophysical Research Letters 22(2):131–134, https://doi.org/10.1029/94GL02059.
  24. Goldfinger, C., C.H. Nelson, and J.E. Johnson. 2003. Holocene earthquake records from the Cascadia subduction zone and Northern San Andreas Fault based on dating of offshore turbidites. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 31:555–577, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.earth.31.100901.141246.
  25. Haxel, J.H., R.P. Dziak, W.W. Chadwick, and S. Nooner. 2010. Multi-year relationships between surface deformation and seismicity rates at Axial Volcano. Paper presented at the American Geophysical Union 2010 Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA, December 13–17, 2010, Abstract # OSC-21C-1521.
  26. Heaton, T.H., and S.H. Hartzell. 1987. Earthquake hazards on the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Science 236:162–168, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.236.4798.162.
  27. Holden, J.F., M. Summit, and J.A. Baross. 1998. Thermophilic and hyperthermophilic microorganisms in 3–30°C hydrothermal fluids following a deep-sea volcanic eruption. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 25:33–41, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6941.1998.tb00458.x.
  28. Hooft, E.E.E., H. Patel, W. Wilcock, K. Becker, D. Butterfield, E. Davis, R. Dziak, K. Inderbitzen, M. Lilley, P. McGill, and others. 2010. A seismic swarm and regional hydrothermal and hydrologic perturbations: The northern Endeavour segment, February 2005. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 11, Q12015, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010GC003264.
  29. Jaupart, C., and S. Tait. 1995. Dynamics of differentiation in magma reservoirs. Journal of Geophysical Research 100(B9):17,615–17,636, https://doi.org/10.1029/95JB01239.
  30. Johnson, H.P., M. Hutnak, R.P. Dziak, C.G. Fox, I. Urcuyo, J.P. Cowen, J. Nabelek, and C. Fisher. 2000. Earthquake-induced changes in a hydrothermal system on the Juan de Fuca mid-ocean ridge. Nature 407:174–177, https://doi.org/10.1038/35025040.
  31. Johnson, R., J. Northrop, and R. Epply. 1963. Sources of Pacific T-phases. Journal of Geophysical Research 68:4,251–4,261.
  32. McGuire, J.J., M.S. Boettcher, and T.H. Jordan. 2005. Foreshock sequences and short-term earthquake predictability on East Pacific Rise transform faults. Nature 434:457–461, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03377.
  33. Merle, S.M., R.P. Dziak, R.W. Embley, J.E. Lupton, R.R. Greene, W.W. Chadwick, M. Lilley, D.R. Bohnenstiehl, J. Braunmiller, M. Fowler, and J. Resing. 2008. Preliminary analysis of multibeam, subbottom, and water column data collected from the Juan de Fuca Plate and Gorda Ridge earthquake swarm sites, March–April 2008. Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union 89(53) Fall Meeting Supplement, Abstract #T23B-2025.
  34. Nooner, S.L., and W.W. Chadwick Jr. 2009. Volcanic inflation measured in the caldera of Axial Seamount: Implications for magma supply and future eruptions. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 10, Q02002, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GC002315.
  35. OOI (Ocean Observatories Initiative). 2006. Review Report of the NSF Conceptual Design Review Panel for the Ocean Observatories Initiative. Conducted August 14–17, 2006, at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in Moss Landing, CA, 69 pp.
  36. Preisendorfer, R.W., and C.D. Mobley. 1988. Principal Component Analysis in Meteorology and Oceanography. Developments in Atmospheric Science 17. Elsevier, New York, 425 pp.
  37. Riddihough, R. 1984. Recent movements of the Juan de Fuca Plate system. Journal of Geophysical Research 89:6,980–6,994, https://doi.org/10.1029/JB089iB08p06980.
  38. Robinson, D.P., S. Das, and A.B. Watts. 2006. Earthquake rupture stalled by a subducting fracture zone. Science 312:1,203–1,205, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1125771.
  39. Rogers, G., and H. Dragert. 2003. Episodic tremor and slip on the Cascadia subduction zone: The chatter of silent slip. Science 300:1,942–1,943, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1084783.
  40. Rubin, A.M. 1995. Propagation of magma-filled cracks. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 23:287–336, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ea.23.050195.001443.
  41. Sandwell, D.T., and W.H.F. Smith. 1997. Marine gravity data from Geosat and ERS-1 satellite altimetry. Journal of Geophysical Research 102:10,039–10,054, https://doi.org/10.1029/96JB03223.
  42. Slack, P.D., C.G. Fox, and R.P. Dziak. 1999. P wave detection thresholds, Pn velocity estimates, and T wave location uncertainty from oceanic hydrophones. Journal of Geophysical Research 104(B6):13,061–13,072, https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JB900112.
  43. Smith, D.K., M. Tolstoy, C.G. Fox, D.R. Bohnenstiehl, H. Matsumoto, and M.J. Fowler. 2002. Hydroacoustic monitoring of seismicity at the slow-spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Geophysical Research Letters 29, 1518, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001GL013912.
  44. Teague, W.J., M.J. Carron, and P.J. Hogan. 1990. A comparison between the Generalized Digital Environmental Model and Levitus climatologies. Journal of Geophysical Research 95:7,183–7,200, https://doi.org/10.1029/JC095iC05p07167.
  45. Tolstoy, I., and M. Ewing. 1950. The T phase of shallow-focus earthquakes. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 40:25–51.
  46. Walker, D.A., and S.R. Hammond. 1998. Historical Gorda Ridge T-phase swarms: Relationships to ridge structure and the tectonic and volcanic state of the ridge during 1964–1966. Deep-Sea Research Part II 45(12):2,531–2,545, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0967-0645(98)00082-4.
  47. Wang, K., J. He, and E.E. Davis. 1997. Transform push, oblique subduction resistance, and intraplate stress of the Juan de Fuca plate. Journal of Geophysical Research 102:661–674, https://doi.org/10.1029/96JB03114.
  48. Wilson, D.S. 1989. Deformation of the so-called Gorda Plate. Journal of Geophysical Research 94:3,065–3,075, https://doi.org/10.1029/JB094iB03p03065.
Copyright & Usage

This is an open access article made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format as long as users cite the materials appropriately, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate the changes that were made to the original content. Images, animations, videos, or other third-party material used in articles are included in the Creative Commons license unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If the material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission directly from the license holder to reproduce the material.