This paper presents results of a seismic tomography experiment carried out at the Bullseye cold vent site offshore Vancouver Island. In the experiment, a seismic air gun survey was recorded on an array of five ocean bottom seismometers (OBS) deployed around the vent. The locations of the shots and the OBSs were determined to high accuracy by an inversion based on the shot travel times. A three-dimensional tomographic inversion was then carried out to determine the velocity structure around the vent, using the localized source and receiver positions. The inversion indicates a relatively uniform velocity field around and inside the vent. The velocities are close to the values expected for sediments containing no hydrate, which supports previous claims that the bulk concentrations of gas hydrates are low at the site. However, the largest resolved velocity anomalies of + 25 m/s are spatially within the limits of the acoustic blank zone seen in multichannel seismic data near the Bullseye vent. The velocity inversion is consistent with zones of high concentration (15-20 % of the pore space) in the top 50-100 m of sediment.

This study applies Bayesian inversion to receiver functions (RF) to estimate local shear wave velocity (Vs) structure of the crust and upper mantle beneath two ocean bottom seismometers (OBS) offshore, and two land-based seismometers onshore Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. We use passive seismic data recorded on NC89, a permanent NEPTUNE (North-east Pacific Time-series Undersea Networked Experiments) OBS located on the continental slope, and on a temporary autonomous KECK foundation OBS, KEBB, located at the Endeavour segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge (JdFR). The two land based seismometers (OZB and PGC) are located on Vancouver Island and are part of the Canadian National Seismograph Network (CNSN). The introduction of NEPTUNE has helped to fill a gap in offshore seismic monitoring, however; due to high noise levels and a relatively short deployment time, few useful events have been recorded (to date) for RF analysis. In this study, we utilize three-component, broadband recordings of large (M6+), distant (30 -100 degrees) earthquakes to compute RFs due to locally generated P (compressional) to S (shear) converted waves. RFs are then inverted using a non-linear Bayesian approach which yields optimal profiles of Vs, Vp (compressional wave velocity), and strike and dip angles, as well as rigorous uncertainty estimates for these parameters. Near the JdFR a thin sediment layer (<1 km) is resolved overlying a 2 km thick oceanic crust. The crust contains a large velocity contrast at the depth of an expected axial magma chamber. The oceanic crust thickens to 10 km at the continental slope where it is overlain by 5 km of sediments. At the coastal station (OZB) a low velocity zone is imaged at 16 km depth dipping approximately 12 degrees NE. Evidence for this low velocity zone is also seen beneath southern Vancouver Island (PGC) at a depth consistent with previous studies. Determining such models at a number of locations (from the spreading ridge to the coast) provides new information regarding local structure and can aid in seismic hazard analysis. / Graduate

Depuis les séismes dévastateurs de 1999 d’Izmit et de Duzce, la partie immergée de la Faille Nord Anatolienne (FNA)en Mer de Marmara fait l’objet d’une intense surveillance. Malgré cela, la micro-sismicité demeure mal connue. Par ailleurs, alors que la connexion avec le système pétrolier du Bassin de Thrace est établie, le rôle du gaz sur la sismicité n’a pas été identifié.Dans ce travail, nous avons analysé des données d’OBS (Ocean Bottom Seismometers) acquises dans la partie ouest de la Mer de Marmara (en avril-juillet 2011 et septembre-novembre 2014), à partir de méthodes non-linéaires –NonLinLocet d’un modèle 3D de vitesses. Une grande partie de la sismicité se produit à des profondeurs inférieures à 6 km environ : le long de failles secondaires, héritées de l’histoire complexe de la FNA ; ou dans des couches de sédiments superficiels (< 1 km) riches en gaz. Cette sismicité superficielle semble être associée à des processus liés au gaz, déclenchés par les séismes profonds de magnitude M1 > 4.5 qui se produisent régulièrement le long de la MMF.Par ailleurs, 2 familles de signaux de courte durée (<1s), dits ≪ SDE ≫ (pour Short Duration Event) apparaissent sur les enregistrements : 1) les SDE se produisant à raison de quelques dizaines de SDE/jour, en réponse à des causes locales (i.e. bioturbation, activité biologique, micro-bullage de fond de mer, mouvements à l’interface eau/sédiment), etc ; 2) lesSDE se produisant par ≪paquets≫, dont certains sont enregistrés sur les 4 composantes (y compris l’hydrophone) et apparaissent de manière périodique, toutes les 1.8 s environ, en réponse à diverses causes qui restent à déterminer (parmi lesquelles : les mammifères marins ; l’activité humaine ; la sismicité ; le dégazage ; les ≪trémors≫ sismiques ; etc). / Since the devastating earthquakes of 1999, east of Istanbul, the submerged section of the North Anatolian Fault (NAF), in the Sea of Marmara (SoM) has been intensively monitored, mainly using land stations. Still, the micro-seismicity remains poorly understood. In addition, although the connection of the SoM with the hydrocarbon gas system from the Thrace Basin is now well established, along with the presence of widespread gas within the sedimentary layers, the role of gas on seismicity is still not recognized.Here, we have analyzed Ocean Bottom Seismometer (OBS) data from two deployments (April-July 2011 and September-November 2014) in the western SoM. Based on a high-resolution, 3D-velocity model, and on non-linear methods (NonLinLoc), our location results show that a large part of the micro-seismicity occurs at shallow depths (< 6 a 8 km): along secondary faults, inherited from the complex history of the North-Anatolian shear zone; or within the uppermost (< 1 km), gas-rich, sediment layers. Part of this ultra-shallow seismicity is likely triggered by the deep earthquakes of intermediate magnitude (Ml > 4.5) that frequently occur along the western segments of the MMF.In addition, OBSs also record at least two families of short duration (<1 sec) events (SDEs): 1) “background SDEs” occurring on a permanent, at a rate of a few tens of SDEs/day, resulting from many possible, local causes, e. g.: degassing from the seafloor, biological activity near the seabed, bioturbation, etc; 2) “swarmed SDEs”, among which some are recorded also on the hydrophone, and characterized by a periodicity of ~ 1.8 seconds. The causes of these SDEs still remain to be determined (among which: anthropogenic causes, marine mammals, gas emissions, regional seismicity, tremors from the MMF, etc).

At the northern extent of the Cascadia subduction zone, the subducting Explorer and Juan de Fuca plates interact across a translational deformation zone, known as the Nootka fault zone. The Seafloor Earthquake Array Japan-Canada Cascadia Experiment (SeaJade) was designed to study this region. In two parts (SeaJade I and II, deployed from July – September 2010 and January – September 2014), seismic data from the SeaJade project has led to several important discoveries. Hypocenter distributions from SeaJade I and II indicate primary and secondary conjugate faults within the Nootka fault zone. Converted phase analysis and jointly determined seismic tomography with double-difference relocated hypocenters provide evidence to several velocity-contrasting interfaces seaward of the Cascadia subduction front at depths of ~4-6 km, ~6-9 km, ~11-14 km, and ~14-18 km, which have been interpreted as the top of the oceanic crust, upper/lower crust boundary, oceanic Moho, and the base of the highly fractured and seawater/mineral enriched veins within oceanic mantle. During SeaJade II, a MW 6.4 mainshock and subsequent aftershocks, known as the Nootka Sequence, highlighted a previously unidentified fault within the subducted Explorer plate. This fault reflects the geometry of the subducting plate, showing downward bending of the plate toward the northwest. This plate bend can be attributed to negative buoyancy from margin parallel mantle flow induced by intraslab tearing further northwest. Seismic tomography reinforces the conclusions drawn from the Nootka Sequence hypocenter distribution. Earthquakes from the entire SeaJade II catalogue reveal possible rotated paleo-faults, identifying the former extent of the Nootka fault zone from ~3.5 Ma. / Graduate