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The Geological Fingerprints

of Slow Earthquakes

1–5 April 2022 | Santa Catalina Island, California, USA
https://www.geosociety.org/penrose

CONVENERS Contributions that address outstanding questions regarding
James Kirkpatrick, McGill University, Dept. of Earth and deformation mechanisms, limits on rates of deformation, and
Planetary Sciences, Montréal, Québec, Canada, james.kirkpatrick@ environmental conditions are encouraged. New multidisciplinary
mcgill.ca approaches are needed to define the physical controls on slow
Melodie French, Rice University, Dept. of Earth, Environmental earthquakes and to develop new insights into disparate datasets.
and Planetary Sciences, Houston, Texas, USA, mefrench@rice.edu For this conference, we aim to stimulate contributions from
John Platt, University of Southern California, Dept. of Earth geological-focused, particularly field-based, investigators and
Sciences, Los Angeles, California, USA, jplatt@usc.edu to engage geophysicists with a range of backgrounds to define
Christie Rowe, McGill University, Dept. of Earth and Planetary key unknowns and debate possible models.
Sciences, Montréal, Québec, Canada, christie.rowe@mcgill.ca The meeting conveners and organizers are closely monitoring
David Schmidt, University of Washington, Dept. of Earth and the ongoing pandemic, but we anticipate that this meeting will
Space Sciences, Seattle, Washington, USA, dasc@uw.edu be fully in-person. Additional requirements or changes may be
imposed to help mitigate the risks.
SPONSORS
The Geological Society of America PRELIMINARY AGENDA
NSF-GeoPRISMS This five-day meeting will be held at the University of California
Southern California Earthquake Center Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies, Santa Catalina Island,
California, USA. Ferry rides to and from Santa Catalina Island will
DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES be provided for attendees. The meeting format will be a balance of
The discovery of slow earthquakes twenty years ago revolutionized invited talks, breakout discussions, pop-up talks, and poster presen-
understanding of how plate motions are accommodated at major tec- tations. All nights will be spent at the Wrigley Institute. Participants
tonic boundaries. Slow earthquakes are a family of events that include will be expected to observe the GSA Code of Ethics & Professional
slow slip events, tectonic tremor, and low-frequency earthquakes. Conduct (https://www.geosociety.org/ethics) throughout the meet-
Compared to regular earthquakes, the slip across a fault during a slow ing. For a detailed description of the agenda, please see the meeting
earthquake occurs slowly, but significantly faster than plate-rate website at https://sites.google.com/view/penrose2022/attend.
creep. They are often associated with “transitional” regions at the All participants will be invited to attend a day-long field trip in
edges of seismogenic zones but occur both updip and downdip, so the middle of the meeting, taking in several exposures within an
encompass a wide range of pressure and temperature conditions. ~30–40-minute drive from the Wrigley Institute. These exposures
Understanding slow earthquakes is critical to developing better display a variety of structural features that have been suggested as
constraints on regional seismic hazards and may also provide possibly associated with slow slip, including blocks of effectively
information on the physical conditions and fault loading rates at rigid rock in a viscous matrix, sheeted vein complexes, and shear
depth. However, there are numerous outstanding issues regarding zones showing evidence for solution-redeposition creep associated
the basic processes, deformation mechanisms, and conditions that with microfolding and dilational cracking.
control slow-earthquake characteristics. It is increasingly clear
that only field geological observations of exhumed structures can ATTENDEES AND ESTIMATED COSTS
resolve these issues and differentiate between models for slow GSA and the meeting conveners are committed to fostering
earthquake occurrence, because geodesy and seismology cannot diversity, equity, inclusive excellence, and belonging in the geosci-
resolve the relevant length scales. ence community. For this meeting, we welcome and encourage
For this conference, we solicit contributions that use geologi- applications from all gender identities, Black, Indigenous, Latinx,
cal observations, lab measurements, or numerical models to aid and People of Color, people with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ indi-
in understanding the physics of slow earthquakes. We encour- viduals, and other groups which are currently underrepresented
age researchers studying analog systems from any tectonic set- within the earth-science community.
ting or metamorphic grade relevant to modern tremor and slow Thanks to the generous support of the sponsoring agencies,
earthquakes to build a wide range of geological perspectives. the anticipated registration fee will be US$100, which will cover

30 GSA Today | November 2021