title: Dynamics of the pacific-north american plate boundary in the western united states
abstract: The vertically averaged deviatoric stress tensor field within the western United States was determined with topographic data, geoid data, recent global positioning system observations, and strain rate magnitudes and styles from Quaternary faults. Gravitational potential energy differences control the large fault-normal compression on the California coast. Deformation in the Basin and Range is driven, in part, by gravitational potential energy differences, but extension directions there are modified by plate interaction stresses. The California shear zone has relatively low vertically averaged viscosity of about 10(21) pascal.seconds, whereas the Basin and Range has a higher vertically averaged viscosity of 10(22) pascal.seconds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geoscience, State University of New York-Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794-2100, USA. Bullard Laboratories, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB3 0EZ, UK.
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Flesch
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Holt
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Haines
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shen-Tu