Feature:

earthquake
T h e S a n A n d re a s
Earthquake

http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_images.jsp?cntn_id=104300&org=NSF
F a u l t O b s e r vat o r y at The SAFOD drill
rig illuminates

Depth
the night.

Digging Deeper into the

Mysteries of an by

I
Active Fault Julia Guth
n a project fraught with terrifying moments and
gratifying highs, scientists from around the world are
collaborating on the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth
(SAFOD). As the first observatory located within an active
fault zone, SAFOD is a drilling project into the San Andreas
fault. The data extracted and the knowledge gained from the
observatory may enable scientists to answer long-standing
questions pertaining to the origin of earthquakes and the
properties of the fault at depth - specifically unusual thermal
signatures and chemical compositions within.

Lab Underground
“This is a project whose fundamental aim is to study the
physical and chemical processes associated with earthquake
nucleation in situ – in place – where it is actually happening,”
explains Dr. Mark Zoback, Professor of Geophysics at Stanford
University. Zoback has led the SAFOD project since 1982,
along with Stephen Hickman and William Ellsworth of the
United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Previously, scientists have attempted to simulate
earthquakes in the laboratory or using computer models.
Without physical data, however, a great deal of speculation
was required. The SAFOD data contains clues to better
understand how earthquakes result from complex geophysical
phenomena.

An Ideal Site
The site for SAFOD was specifically chosen so that data could
be obtained from a dynamic region of the fault. Geologically,
California can be delineated into two areas: locked and
creeping. Northern and Southern California, both known
as locked areas, produce intermediate earthquakes every
several decades. The region between the two locked areas
– the creeping region – produces small or micro-earthquakes
frequently. For this reason, Parkfield, California was chosen as
the ideal site for the SAFOD project. Located halfway between
Los Angeles and San Francisco, Parkfield effectively straddles
two tectonic plates grinding in opposite directions: the North
American plate and the Pacific plate.
http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/research/parkfield/safod_pbo.html
Drilling Two Miles Down In this cross section of SAFOD, red dots in drill holes represent locations of
A vertical hole drilled in 2002 provided initial data and monitoring instruments, while white dots depict areas of persistent minor
allowed for the transport of instruments later used in SAFOD. seismic activity.
36 stanford scientific
 Feature:
Data from the Depths Earthquake
SAFOD Project In addition to discerning the fault’s
The SAFOD project is part of the National Earthquake thermal signature, SAFOD scientists
Hazards Reduction Program, enacted in 1977 by Congress. have measured the physical properties
The program focuses on the prediction of earthquakes and of the rock at depth and witnessed how
the mitigation of risk, and aims to protect people’s lives and these properties have been altered by
property from the earthquakes that are inevitable in California earthquakes and millions of years of
and the entire United States. geological transformations. From
their observations, they uncovered

http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/earthq1/how.html
the mechanism by which the fault
Drilling for SAFOD’s main hole began in 2004 and finally slips at depth and found that there
punctured through the fault at a depth of almost 2 miles in are multiple branches of active
2005, initiating a series of scientific studies. fault lines. Some branches, they
The researchers of SAFOD attempt to answer questions determined, creep at a stable rate due
about the mechanisms of earthquakes, the physics of the fault to an unusual chemical composition
zone and the chemical composition of the fault at depth. Various in the fault. “The mineral that is
instruments were installed at different depths to monitor what thought to be responsible for fault
happens before, during, and after small earthquakes. From creep – [the slow movement of faults]
this underground observatory, scientists measure forces in the -- is serpentinite, which forms due to An aerial view of the San
earth, gauge the pressure of fluids within the fault and obtain the chemical alteration of the ocean’s Andreas Fault in the Carrizo
core samples for laboratory study to answer pressing questions crust,” explains Zoback. “These rocks Plain, Central California.
about earthquakes on the San Andreas fault. were abducted up onto the continent
as California was assembled through a variety of plate tectonics
The Stress/Heat-Flow Paradox processes.”
A long standing paradox in earthquake studies has been Further analysis of the chemical processes responsible for
the stress/heat flow paradox. The mystery surfaced in the fault creep may provide more
1960s, when graduate student information as to the origins of
Tom Henyey of the California SAFOD has established an ob- earthquakes and the possibility
Institute of Technology lowered
electronic thermometers 2,000
servatory within an active fault of predicting the next major
earthquake. Scientists of the
feet down into drill holes zone, which has never been project are currently attempting
near the San Andreas fault. to discern a link between the
Previously, a well-established achieved before. chemical composition of the rocks
geophysical theory, based upon at depth and the occurrence of
lab experiments with many the numerous micro-earthquakes
different types of rock, dictated in Parkfield, hoping to eventually predict the occurrence of
the expected temperatures at different depths in the fault. The larger-scale tremors.
observed heat, however, was only two to five times cooler than
predicted. The Future of SAFOD
The Pacific plate is moving past the North American plate Even with the project’s discoveries, scientists and
at a rate of about 3 centimeters/year, a relatively quick rate in researchers have yet to tap SAFOD’s full potential. According
geological terms. “If the forces to Zoback, there are plans to return to the site in 2007 and
The SAFOD rig is the first to drill
through a section of an active fault. were as high as we thought they extract core samples. Because the drilling process reduced
were, based on measurements many rocks to small particles -- making it impossible to extract
in the laboratory and in deep whole samples -- the researchers plan to cut windows into the
http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/research/parkfield/safod_pbo.html

holes around the world, there
should be strong thermal
signature to the fault,” says
Zoback. This thermal signature
is analogous to the sensation
one feels when quickly rubbing
one’s hands together to
generate heat. Oddly, SAFOD
proved that no heat is produced
at the fault’s depths. Due to the
constant motion of the plate
and yet lack of heat, scientists
infer that there is little frictional
resistance, though the causes
remain unknown.
layout design:
steel encasing the drilled hole and extract large core samples
for more thorough study.
In 2008, Zoback intends to deploy monitoring instruments,
wrapping up the current stage of the project. He has no plans
to desert the observatory, however. He and his colleagues
plan to monitor many earthquakes within SAFOD, using the
information toward the goal of predicting when, where, and
how hard future quakes will hit.
Reflecting upon his experience with SAFOD, Zoback
remarks, “The exciting thing is that it’s a type of beginning,
which is a nice feeling after all these years.” S
JUliA GUTh is a freshman majoring in Earth Systems, with a minor in
Economics. She enjoys biking in the rain, reading German literature,
and discussing the role of corporations in the U.S. government.
layout design : Pam Bhattacharya volume iv