@article {moyer_spatial_2018,
	title = {Spatial and Temporal Variations in Earthquake Stress Drop on Gofar Transform Fault, East Pacific Rise: Implications for Fault Strength},
	journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth},
	volume = {123},
	number = {9},
	year = {2018},
	note = {_eprint: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/2018JB015942},
	pages = {7722{\textendash}7740},
	abstract = {On Gofar Transform Fault on the East Pacific Rise, the largest earthquakes (6.0 <= MW <= 6.2) have repeatedly ruptured the same portion of the fault, while intervening fault segments host swarms of microearthquakes. These long-term patterns in earthquake occurrence suggest that heterogeneous fault zone properties control earthquake behavior. Using waveforms from ocean bottom seismometers that recorded seismicity before and after an anticipated 2008 MW 6.0 mainshock, we investigate the role that differences in material properties have on earthquake rupture at Gofar. We determine stress drop for 138 earthquakes (2.3 <= MW <= 4.0) that occurred within and between the rupture areas of large earthquakes. Stress drops are calculated from corner frequencies derived using an empirical Green{\textquoteright}s function spectral ratio method, and seismic moments are obtained by fitting the omega-square source model to the low frequency amplitude of the displacement spectrum. Our analysis yields stress drops from 0.04 to 3.2 MPa with statistically significant spatial variation, including 2 times higher average stress drop in fault segments where large earthquakes also occur compared to fault segments that host earthquake swarms. We find an inverse correlation between stress drop and P wave velocity reduction, which we interpret as the effect of fault zone damage on the ability of the fault to store strain energy that leads to our spatial variations in stress drop. Additionally, we observe lower stress drops following the MW 6.0 mainshock, consistent with increased damage and decreased fault strength after a large earthquake.},
	keywords = {earthquake stress drop, earthquake swarms, fault zone damage, oceanic transform faults, rupture dynamics, seismic coupling},
	issn = {2169-9356},
	doi = {10.1029/2018JB015942},
	url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2018JB015942},
	author = {Moyer, Pamela A. and Boettcher, Margaret S. and McGuire, Jeffery J. and Collins, John A.}
}
@article {roland_seismic_2012,
	title = {Seismic velocity constraints on the material properties that control earthquake behavior at the Quebrada-Discovery-Gofar transform faults, East Pacific Rise},
	journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth},
	volume = {117},
	number = {B11},
	year = {2012},
	note = {_eprint: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/2012JB009422},
	abstract = {Mid-ocean ridge transform faults (RTFs) vary strongly along strike in their ability to generate large earthquakes. This general observation suggests that local variations in material properties along RTFs exert a primary control on earthquake rupture dynamics. We explore these relationships by examining the seismic structure of two RTFs that have distinctly different seismic coupling. We determine the seismic velocity structure at the Gofar and Quebrada faults on the East Pacific Rise (EPR) using P wave traveltime tomography with data from two active-source wide-angle refraction lines crossing the faults. We image low-velocity zones (LVZs) at both faults, where P wave velocities are reduced by as much as 0.5{\textendash}1.0 km/s (\~{}10{\textendash}20\%) within a several kilometer wide region. At the Gofar fault, the LVZ extends through the entire crust, into the seismogenic zone. We rule out widespread serpentinization as an explanation for the low velocities, owing to the lack of a corresponding signal in the locally measured gravity field. The reduced velocities can be explained if the plate boundary region is composed of fault material with enhanced fluid-filled porosity (1.5{\textendash}8\%). Local seismic observations indicate that the high-porosity region lies within a \~{}10 km long portion of the fault that fails in large swarms of microearthquakes and acts as a barrier to the propagation of large (M \~{} 6.0) earthquakes. Tomographic images of fault structure combined with observed earthquake behavior suggest that EPR transform segments capable of generating large earthquakes have relatively intact gabbro within the seismogenic zone, whereas segments that slip aseismically or via earthquake swarms are composed of highly fractured, >=2 km wide damage zones that extend throughout the crust.},
	keywords = {fault structure, marine seismology, rupture dynamics, tomography, transform fault},
	issn = {2156-2202},
	doi = {10.1029/2012JB009422},
	url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2012JB009422},
	author = {Roland, Emily and Lizarralde, Dan and McGuire, Jeffrey J. and Collins, John A.}
}
