A catalogue of 5000 aseismic slip events from the San Andreas, Anatolian, Dead Sea and Chaman fault systems

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26443/seismica.v5i2.2818

Keywords:

Fault Creep, creep events

Abstract

Steady aseismic slip on surface faults (creep) is occasionally interrupted by an impulsive or emergent acceleration in slip that offsets a surface fault by a few millimetres over a period of several hours to many days. We present here a catalogue of 5695 episodic events recorded by 78 creepmeters on creeping faults worldwide between 1980 and 2023. The events vary in amplitude from < 1 millimetre to > 1 centimetre, have durations from a few hours to a few weeks, and have been recorded on creepmeters at sampling rates from 1 second to 1 hour. Typical instrument resolutions are several microns. This work presents the overall features of these 5000+ events, evaluates patterns of their occurrence through space and time, and provides the resulting catalogue in a unified form to facilitate future investigations.

References

Allen, C. R., Wyss, M., Brune, J. N., Grantz, A., & Wallace, R. E. (1972). Displacements on the Imperial, Superstition Hills and San Andreas Faults Triggered by the Borrego Mountain Earthquake. U.S. Geol. Surv. Prof Pap., 787, 87–104.

Ambraseys, N. N. (1970). Some characteristic features of the Anatolian fault zone. Tectonophysics, 9(2–3), 143–165. https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-1951(70)90014-4

Barbour, A. J., Langbein, J. O., & Farghal, N. S. (2021). Earthquake Magnitudes from Dynamic Strain. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 111(3), 1325–1346. https://doi.org/10.1785/0120200360

Bilham, R. (1989). Surface slip subsequent to the 24 November 1987 Superstition Hills, California, earthquake monitored by digital creepmeters. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 79(2), 424–450. https://doi.org/10.1785/BSSA0790020424

Bilham, R. (2005). Coseismic Strain and the Transition to Surface Afterslip Recorded by Creepmeters near the 2004 Parkfield Epicenter. Seismological Research Letters, 76(1), 49–57. https://doi.org/10.1785/gssrl.76.1.49

Bilham, R., Ayruk, E. T., Turgut, M., Irguren, R., Kokum, M., Elhisso, A., Farimaz, I., & Dogan, U. (2025). Afterslip and Triggered Slip Following the 6 Feb 2023 Kahramanmaras Earthquake Sequence, East Anatolian Fault, Turkiye. In A. Ciner, S. Banerjee, A. Radwan, Z. Hamimi, C. Candeias, M. Meghraoui, & R. Laouar (Eds.), Recent Research on Sedimentology, Stratigraphy, Paleontology, Tectonics, Geochemistry, Volcanology and Petroleum Geology (pp. 447–450). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-87558-8_84

Bilham, R., & Castillo, B. (2020). The July 2019 Ridgecrest, California, Earthquake Sequence Recorded by Creepmeters: Negligible Epicentral Afterslip and Prolonged Triggered Slip at Teleseismic Distances. Seismological Research Letters, 91(2A), 707–720. https://doi.org/10.1785/0220190293

Bilham, R., & Hough, S. E. (2024). Static and Dynamic Strain in the 1886 Charleston, South Carolina, Earthquake. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 114(5), 2687–2712. https://doi.org/10.1785/0120240025

Bilham, R., Ozener, H., Mencin, D., Dogru, A., Ergintav, S., Cakir, Z., Aytun, A., Aktug, B., Yilmaz, O., Johnson, W., & Mattioli, G. (2016). Surface creep on the North Anatolian Fault at Ismetpasa, Turkey, 1944–2016. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 121(10), 7409–7431. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JB013394

Bilham, R., Suszek, N., & Pinkney, S. (2004). California Creepmeters. Seismological Research Letters, 75(4), 481–492. https://doi.org/10.1785/gssrl.75.4.481

Bodin, P., Bilham, R., Behr, J., Gomberg, J., & Hudnut, K. W. (1994). Slip triggered on southern California faults by the 1992 Joshua Tree, Landers, and big bear earthquakes. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 84(3), 806–816. https://doi.org/10.1785/BSSA0840030806

Brooks, B. A., Minson, S. E., Glennie, C. L., Nevitt, J. M., Dawson, T., Rubin, R., Ericksen, T. L., Lockner, D., Hudnut, K., Langenheim, V., Lutz, A., Mareschal, M., Murray, J., Schwartz, D., & Zaccone, D. (2017). Buried shallow fault slip from the South Napa earthquake revealed by near-field geodesy. Science Advances, 3(7), e1700525. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1700525

Bucknam, R. C. (1978). Documentation for alinement arrays, Motagua fault, Guatemala (Techreport No. 78–880). U.S. Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr78880

Burford, R. O. (1977). Bimodal distribution of creep event amplitudes on the San Andreas fault, California. Nature, 268(5619), 424–426. https://doi.org/10.1038/268424a0

Burford, R. O., & Harsh, P. W. (1980). Slip on the San Andreas fault in central California from alinement array surveys. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 70(4), 1233–1261. https://doi.org/10.1785/BSSA0700041233

Bürgmann, R. (2018). The geophysics, geology and mechanics of slow fault slip. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 495, 112–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2018.04.062

Cakir, Z., Doğan, U., Akoğlu, A. M., Ergintav, S., Özarpacı, S., Özdemir, A., Nozadkhalil, T., Çakir, N., Zabcı, C., Erkoç, M. H., Basmenji, M., Köküm, M., & Bilham, R. (2023). Arrest of the Mw 6.8 January 24, 2020 Elaziğ (Turkey) earthquake by shallow fault creep. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 608, 118085. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2023.118085

Donnellan, A., Parker, J., Hensley, S., Pierce, M., Wang, J., & Rundle, J. (2014). UAVSAR observations of triggered slip on the Imperial, Superstition Hills, and East Elmore Ranch Faults associated with the 2010 M 7.2 El Mayor-Cucapah earthquake. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 15(3), 815–829. https://doi.org/10.1002/2013GC005120

Evans, K. F., Burford, R. O., & King, G. C. P. (1981). Propagating episodic creep and the aseismic slip behavior of the Calaveras Fault north of Hollister, California. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 86(B5), 3721–3735. https://doi.org/10.1029/JB086iB05p03721

Freed, A. M. (2007). Afterslip (and only afterslip) following the 2004 Parkfield, California, earthquake. Geophysical Research Letters, 34(6). https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL029155

Gittins, D. B. (2026). dbgittins/Creep_event_detection_scripts: creepeventdetection. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18433667

Gittins, D. B., & Bilham, R. (2025). Standardised creepmeter time series data between 1980-2023 from Southern California, Türkiye, Pakistan and Israel. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17087958

Gittins, D. B., & Hawthorne, J. C. (2022). Are Creep Events Big? Estimations of Along-Strike Rupture Lengths. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 127(1), e2021JB023001. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JB023001

Gittins, D. B., & Hawthorne, J. C. (2024). Scattered M3–4 Slip Bursts Within Creep Events on the San Andreas Fault. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 129(6), e2023JB028187. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JB028187

Gittins, D. B., Materna, K., Crume, H., & Bilham, R. (2025). Digital catalogue of shallow aseismic slip bursts between 1980 – 2023 as recorded by creepmeters from the US, Türkiye, Pakistan and Israel. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17064463

Gittins, D., & Hawthorne, J. (2026). Assessing creep event rheologies using their temporal evolution. Seismica, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.26443/seismica.v5i1.1890

Goulty, N. R., & Gilman, R. (1978). Repeated creep events on the San Andreas Fault near Parkfield, California, Recorded by a strainmeter array. Journal of Geophysical Research, 83(B11), 5415. https://doi.org/10.1029/JB083iB11p05415

Hamiel, Y., Bilham, R., & Piatibratova, O. (2025). Characterizing Shallow Aseismic Deformation Along the Dead Sea Pull-Apart Basin Using Geodetic Observations. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 130(4), e2024JB030191. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JB030191

Hamiel, Y., & Piatibratova, O. (2023). Transient Behavior and Interplay Between Seismic and Aseismic Deformation Near the Tip of a Creeping Segment: Insights From the Northern Jordan Valley Segment of the Dead Sea Fault. Geophysical Research Letters, 50(3), e2022GL100584. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL100584

Hudnut, K. W., & Clark, M. M. (1989). New slip along parts of the 1968 Coyote Creek fault rupture, California. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 79(2), 451–465. https://doi.org/10.1785/BSSA0790020451

Ide, S., & Beroza, G. C. (2023). Slow earthquake scaling reconsidered as a boundary between distinct modes of rupture propagation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(32), e2222102120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2222102120

Ide, S., Beroza, G. C., Shelly, D. R., & Uchide, T. (2007). A scaling law for slow earthquakes. Nature, 447(7140), 76–79. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature05780

Johnson, K. M., Bürgmann, R., & Larson, K. (2006). Frictional Properties on the San Andreas Fault near Parkfield, California, Inferred from Models of Afterslip following the 2004 Earthquake. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 96(4B), S321–S338. https://doi.org/10.1785/0120050808

King, C.-Y. (1972). A Shallow-Faulting Model. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 62(2), 551–559. https://doi.org/10.1785/BSSA0620020551

King, C.-Y., Nason, R. D., & Burford, R. O. (1977). Coseismic steps recorded on creep meters along the San Andreas Fault. Journal of Geophysical Research (1896-1977), 82(11), 1655–1662. https://doi.org/10.1029/JB082i011p01655

Kravitz, K., Mueller, K., Bilham, R. G., & Walton, M. (2020). Active Steady-State Creep on A Nontectonic Normal Fault in Southeast Utah: Implications for Strain Release in a Rapidly Deforming Salt System. Geophysical Research Letters, 47(11), e2020GL087081. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL087081

Langbein, J., Bilham, R. G., Snyder, H., & Ericksen, T. L. (2024). Summary of Creepmeter Data from 1980 to 2020—Measurements Spanning the Hayward, Calaveras, and San Andreas Faults in Northern and Central California [Open-File Report]. USGS.

Langbein, J., Murray, J. R., & Snyder, H. A. (2006). Coseismic and Initial Postseismic Deformation from the 2004 Parkfield, California, Earthquake, Observed by Global Positioning System, Electronic Distance Meter, Creepmeters, and Borehole Strainmeters. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 96(4B), S304–S320. https://doi.org/10.1785/0120050823

Lienkaemper, J. J., Galehouse, J. S., & Simpson, R. W. (1997). Creep Response of the Hayward Fault to Stress Changes Caused by the Loma Prieta Earthquake. Science, 276(5321), 2014–2016. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.276.5321.2014

Lisowski, M., & Prescott, W. H. (1981). Short-range distance measurements along the San Andreas fault system in central California, 1975 to 1979. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 71(5), 1607–1624. https://doi.org/10.1785/BSSA0710051607

Louie, J. N., Allen, C. R., Johnson, D. C., Haase, P. C., & Cohn, S. N. (1985). Fault slip in southern California. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 75(3), 811–833. https://doi.org/10.1785/BSSA0750030811

Marone, C. J., Scholtz, C. H., & Bilham, R. (1991). On the mechanics of earthquake afterslip. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 96(B5), 8441–8452. https://doi.org/10.1029/91JB00275

Materna, K., Bürgmann, R., Lindsay, D., Bilham, R., Herring, T., Crowell, B., & Szeliga, W. (2024). Shallow Slow Slip Events in the Imperial Valley With Along-Strike Propagation. Geophysical Research Letters, 51(12), e2023GL108089. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL108089

Nason, R. D., Philippsborn, F. R., & Yamashita, P. A. (1974). Catalog of creepmeter measurements in central California from 1968 to 1972 (Techreport No. 74–31). U.S. Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr7431

Parker, J., Donnellan, A., Bilham, R., Ludwig, L. G., Wang, J., Pierce, M., Mowery, N., & Jänecke, S. (2021). Buried Aseismic Slip and Off-Fault Deformation on the Southernmost San Andreas Fault Triggered by the 2010 El Mayor Cucapah Earthquake Revealed by UAVSAR. Earth and Space Science, 8(8), e2021EA001682. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EA001682

Peng, Z., & Gomberg, J. (2010). An integrated perspective of the continuum between earthquakes and slow-slip phenomena. Nature Geoscience, 3(9), 599–607. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo940

Perfettini, H., & Avouac, J.-P. (2004). Postseismic relaxation driven by brittle creep: A possible mechanism to reconcile geodetic measurements and the decay rate of aftershocks, application to the Chi-Chi earthquake, Taiwan. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 109(B2). https://doi.org/10.1029/2003JB002488

Ponti, D. J., Pickering, A. J., Blair, J. L., Rosa, C. M., Thomas, K., & Dawson, T. (2020). Digital Datasets Documenting Surface Fault Rupture and Ground Deformation Features Produced by the Ridgecrest M6.4 and M7.1 Earthquake Sequence of July 4 and 5, 2019. U.S. Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.5066/P9BZ5IJ9

Roeloffs, E. A. (2001). Creep rate changes at Parkfield, California 1966–1999: Seasonal, precipitation induced, and tectonic. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 106(B8), 16525–16547. https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JB000352

Sacks, I. S., Suyehiro, S., Linde, A. T., & Snoke, J. A. (1982). Stress redistribution and slow earthquakes. Tectonophysics, 81(3), 311–318. https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-1951(82)90135-4

Savage, J. C., & Langbein, J. (2008). Postearthquake relaxation after the 2004 M6 Parkfield, California, earthquake and rate-and-state friction. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 113(B10). https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JB005723

Schulz, S. S. (1989). Catalog of creepmeter measurements in California from 1966 through 1988 (U.S. Geol. Surv. Open File Rep No. 89–650). U.S. Geological Survey.

Schulz, S. S., Burford, R. O., & Mavko, B. (1983). Influence of seismicity and rainfall on episodic creep on the San Andreas Fault System in central California. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 88(B9), 7475–7484. https://doi.org/10.1029/JB088iB09p07475

Schulz, S. S., Burford, R. O., & Nason, R. D. (1976). Catalog of creepmeter measurements in central California from 1973 through 1975 (Techreport No. 77–31). U.S. Geological Survey,. https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr7731

Schulz, S. S., Mavko, G. M., Burford, R. O., & Stuart, W. D. (1982). Long-term fault creep observations in central California. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 87(B8), 6977–6982. https://doi.org/10.1029/JB087iB08p06977

Shaddox, H., Bilham, R., & Bürgmann, R. (2022). Fox Creek Ranch Creepmeter Data. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7470791

Smith, S. W., & Wyss, M. (1968). Displacement on the San Andreas Fault Subsequent to the 1966 Parkfield Earthquake. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 58(6), 1955–1973. https://doi.org/10.1785/BSSA0580061955

Steinbrugge, K. V., Zacher, E. G., Tocher, D., Whitten, C. A., & Claire, C. N. (1960). Creep on the San Andreas fault. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 50(3), 389–415. https://doi.org/10.1785/BSSA0500030389

Sylvester, A. G. (1986). 11 Near-Field Tectonic Geodesy. In Active Tectonics: Impact on Society. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/624

Titus, S. J., DeMets, C., & Tikoff, B. (2006). Thirty-Five-Year Creep Rates for the Creeping Segment of the San Andreas Fault and the Effects of the 2004 Parkfield Earthquake: Constraints from Alignment Arrays, Continuous Global Positioning System, and Creepmeters. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 96(4B), S250–S268. https://doi.org/10.1785/0120050811

Tocher, D. (1969). Fault creep in central California. Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union, 50(5), 385–385. https://doi.org/10.1029/EO050i005p00385-01

Tong, X., & Chen, S. (2025). Temporal and spatial variation of fault creep along the Xianshuihe fault from InSAR stacking. Geophysical Journal International, 241(2), 1114–1131. https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggae310

Tymofyeyeva, E., Fialko, Y., Jiang, J., Xu, X., Sandwell, D., Bilham, R., Rockwell, T. K., Blanton, C., Burkett, F., Gontz, A., & Moafipoor, S. (2019). Slow Slip Event On the Southern San Andreas Fault Triggered by the 2017 M w 8.2 Chiapas (Mexico) Earthquake. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 124(9), 9956–9975. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JB016765

USGS, & CGS. (2020). Quaternary fault and fold database for the United States. https://www.usgs.gov/programs/earthquake-hazards/faults

Vavra, E. J., Fialko, Y., Rockwell, T., Bilham, R., Štěpančíková, P., Stemberk, J., Tábořík, P., & Stemberk, J. (2024). Characteristic Slow-Slip Events on the Superstition Hills Fault, Southern California. Geophysical Research Letters, 51(12), e2023GL107244. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL107244

Victor, P., Oncken, O., Sobiesiak, M., Kemter, M., Gonzalez, G., & Ziegenhagen, T. (2018). Dynamic triggering of shallow slip on forearc faults constrained by monitoring surface displacement with the IPOC Creepmeter Array. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 502, 57–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2018.08.046

Wei, M., Liu, Y., Kaneko, Y., McGuire, J. J., & Bilham, R. (2015). Dynamic triggering of creep events in the Salton Trough, Southern California by regional M ≥ 5.4 earthquakes constrained by geodetic observations and numerical simulations. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 427, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2015.06.044

Wesson, R. L. (1988). Dynamics of fault creep. Journal of Geophysical Research, 93(B8), 8929. https://doi.org/10.1029/JB093iB08p08929

Williams, P. L., McGill, S. F., Sieh, K. E., Allen, C. R., & Louie, J. N. (1988). Triggered slip along the San Andreas fault after the 8 July 1986 North Palm Springs earthquake. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 78(3), 1112–1122. https://doi.org/10.1785/BSSA0780031112

Xu, X., Ward, L. A., Jiang, J., Smith-Konter, B., Tymofyeyeva, E., Lindsey, E. O., Sylvester, A. G., & Sandwell, D. T. (2018). Surface Creep Rate of the Southern San Andreas Fault Modulated by Stress Perturbations From Nearby Large Events. Geophysical Research Letters, 45(19), 10,259-10,268. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL080137

Yamashita, P. A., & Burford, R. D. (1973). Catalog of preliminary results from an 18-Station creepmeter network along the San Andreas fault system in central California for the time interval June 1969 to June 1973 (USGS Numbered Series No. 73–366). U.S. Geological Survey. http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/ofr73366

Zelenin, E., Bachmanov, D., Garipova, S., Trifonov, V., & Kozhurin, A. (2022). The Active Faults of Eurasia Database (AFEAD): the ontology and design behind the continental-scale dataset. Earth System Science Data, 14(10), 4489–4503. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4489-2022

Downloads

Published

2026-09-11

How to Cite

Gittins, D., Crume, H., Materna, K., Kakar, N., Hamiel, Y., Langbein, J., & Bilham, R. (2026). A catalogue of 5000 aseismic slip events from the San Andreas, Anatolian, Dead Sea and Chaman fault systems. Seismica, 5(2). https://doi.org/10.26443/seismica.v5i2.2818

Issue

Section

Reports (excl. Fast Reports)

Funding data