Relation of the 1992 Landers, California, earthquake sequence to seismic scattering

Measurements of crustal scattering for the area surrounding the 1992 Landers earthquake sequence obtained from regional array recordings of teleseismic events for the 10-year period before the sequence showed that the slip distribution on faults could be deducible from the preshock elastic structure. Scattering intensity correlated strongly with the distribution of aftershocks and slip of the moment magnitude (M_w) 7.3 Landers main shock, M_w 6.1 Joshua Tree, and M_w 6.2 Big Bear events, which implies that aftershocks and slip are structurally controlled and broadly predictable. Scattering within the fault zones was directional and consistent with variable along-strike alignment of stress-induced cracks.