We have developed a technique to measure seismic attenuation within an active fault-zone at seismogenic depths. Utilizing a pair of stations and pairs of earthquakes, spectral ratios are performed to isolate attenuation produced by wave-propagation within the fault-zone. This empirical approach eliminates common source, propagation, instrument and near-surface site effects. The technique was applied to a cluster of 19 earthquakes recorded by a pair of downhole instruments located within the San Andreas fault-zone, at Parkfield California. Over the 1--40 Hz bandwidth used in this analysis, amplitudes are found to decrease exponentially with frequency. Furthermore, the fault-zone propagation distance correlates with the severity of attenuation. Assuming a constant Q attenuation operator, the S-wave quality factor within the fault-zone at a depth of 5--6 kilometers is 31(+7,-5)

If fault-zones are low-Q environments, then near-source attenuation of high-frequency seismic waves may help to explain phenomenon such as fmax. Fault-zone Q may prove to be a valuable indicator of the mechanical behavior and rheology of fault-zones. Specific asperities can be monitored for precursory changes associated with the evolving stressfield within the fault-zone. The spatial and temporal resolution of the technique is fundamentally limited by the uncertainty in earthquake location and the interval time between earthquakes. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1989