Showing papers on "Fault (geology) published in 2006"

Slip on 'weak' faults by the rotation of regional stress in the fracture damage zone.

Abstract: Slip on unfavourably oriented faults with respect to a remotely applied stress is well documented and implies that faults such as the San Andreas fault and low-angle normal faults are weak when compared to laboratory-measured frictional strength. If high pore pressure within fault zones is the cause of such weakness, then stress reorientation within or close to a fault is necessary to allow sufficient fault weakening without the occurrence of hydrofracture. From field observations of a major tectonic fault, and using laboratory experiments and numerical modelling, here we show that stress rotation occurs within the fractured damage zone surrounding faults. In particular, we find that stress rotation is considerable for unfavourably oriented 'weak' faults. In the 'weak' fault case, the damage-induced change in elastic properties provides the necessary stress rotation to allow high pore pressure faulting without inducing hydrofracture.

Natural and Experimental Evidence of Melt Lubrication of Faults During Earthquakes

Abstract: Melt produced by friction during earthquakes may act either as a coseismic fault lubricant or as a viscous brake. Here we estimate the dynamic shear resistance (τ f ) in the presence of friction-induced melts from both exhumed faults and high-velocity (1.28 meters per second) frictional experiments. Exhumed faults within granitoids (tonalites) indicate low τ f at 10 kilometers in depth. Friction experiments on tonalite samples show that τ f depends weakly on normal stress. Extrapolation of experimental data yields τ f values consistent with the field estimates and well below the Byerlee strength. We conclude that friction-induced melts can lubricate faults at intermediate crustal depths.

Role of the Red River Shear zone, Yunnan and Vietnam, in the continental extrusion of SE Asia

Abstract: The 1000 km long NW–SE-striking, left-lateral Ailao Shan–Red River shear zone runs from the southeastern corner of Tibet to the Gulf of Tonkin and the South China Sea. It has been used as the prime example of a lithospheric-scale strike-slip fault that has accommodated between 500 and 1000 km of southeastwards extrusion of Indo-China away from the Indian plate indentor. Central to the model of continental extrusion is that such faults cut through the entire lithosphere, that shear heating resulted in high-grade metamorphism and local anatexis, and that the ages of sheared granites along the fault also date the timing of strike-slip shearing. However, structural data from the Red River shear zone clearly show that vertical strike-slip faulting post-dated metamorphism and granite emplacement. Most granites along the shear zone are mantle-related granodiorites or within-plate alkali granites formed prior to shearing along the Red River shear zone. Left-lateral kinematic indicators are ubiquitous within the Red River mylonites, but they are always lower-temperature fabrics, formed after peak sillimanite metamorphism and after granite crystallization. It is suggested that left-lateral strike-slip shearing along the Red River shear zone started after 21 Ma, not at 35 Ma as previously thought, and the fault was purely a crustal structure. None of the geological features used to propose the 500–1000 km offsets are robust, and the total finite offset remains unknown.

Imaging the transition from Aleutian subduction to Yakutat collision in central Alaska, with local earthquakes and active source data

Abstract: [1] In southern and central Alaska the subduction and active volcanism of the Aleutian subduction zone give way to a broad plate boundary zone with mountain building and strike-slip faulting, where the Yakutat terrane joins the subducting Pacific plate. The interplay of these tectonic elements can be best understood by considering the entire region in three dimensions. We image three-dimensional seismic velocity using abundant local earthquakes, supplemented by active source data. Crustal low-velocity correlates with basins. The Denali fault zone is a dominant feature with a change in crustal thickness across the fault. A relatively high-velocity subducted slab and a low-velocity mantle wedge are observed, and high Vp/Vs beneath the active volcanic systems, which indicates focusing of partial melt. North of Cook Inlet, the subducted Yakutat slab is characterized by a thick low-velocity, high-Vp/Vs crust. High-velocity material above the Yakutat slab may represent a residual older slab, which inhibits vertical flow of Yakutat subduction fluids. Alternate lateral flow allows Yakutat subduction fluids to contribute to Cook Inlet volcanism and the Wrangell volcanic field. The apparent northeast edge of the subducted Yakutat slab is southwest of the Wrangell volcanics, which have adakitic composition consistent with melting of this Yakutat slab edge. In the mantle, the Yakutat slab is subducting with the Pacific plate, while at shallower depths the Yakutat slab overthrusts the shallow Pacific plate along the Transition fault. This region of crustal doubling within the shallow slab is associated with extremely strong plate coupling and the primary asperity of the Mw 9.2 great 1964 earthquake.

A thinned lithospheric image of the Tanlu Fault Zone, eastern China: Constructed from wave equation based receiver function migration

Abstract: [1] We apply the newly proposed wave equation-based receiver function poststack migration method to the Northern China Interior Structure Project broadband data to image the lithospheric structure of the Tanlu Fault Zone area in eastern China. Our migration result reveals a 60- to 80-km-thick present-day lithosphere beneath the study region, significantly thinned from the Paleozoic lithosphere of >180 km. The lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) is coherently imaged along the ∼300-km east-west profile, displaying an arc-like shape with its apex roughly coincident with the transverse location of the Tanlu Fault Zone on the surface. An obvious uplift from ∼36 km to ∼32 km of the Moho is also clearly detected right below this fault zone. The coincidence of the imaged Moho uplift and the LAB apex with the surface location of the Tanlu Fault Zone provides seismological evidence for the steep geometry and deep penetration of the fault system, and indicates that the Tanlu Fault Zone might have acted as a major channel for anthenosphere upwelling during the Mesozoic-Cenozoic continental extension and lithospheric thinning in eastern China. Frequency analysis and synthetic modeling suggest that both the Moho and the LAB are sharp and strong. The latter, in particular, is constrained to have a 3-7% drop in S wave velocity over a depth range of 10 km or less. Such a rapid velocity change at the base of the lithosphere in the study region cannot be solely explained by thermal variation, but likely reflects the presence of volatiles or melt in the asthenosphere, or is partially attributed to the compositional contrast between the preserved depleted and dehydrated cratonic lithospheric veneer and the uplifted hydrated and fertile asthenospheric materials.

Temporal Changes of Shallow Seismic Velocity Around the Karadere-Düzce Branch of the North Anatolian Fault and Strong Ground Motion

Abstract: We analyze temporal variations of seismic velocity along the Karadere-Duzce branch of the north Anatolian fault using seismograms generated by repeating earthquake clusters in the aftershock zones of the 1999 Mw7.4 Izmit and Mw7.1 Duzce earthquakes. The analysis employs 36 sets of highly repeating earthquakes, each containing 4–18 events. The events in each cluster are relocated by detailed multi-step analysis and are likely to rupture approximately the same fault patch at different times. The decay rates of the repeating events in individual clusters are compatible with the Omori's law for the decay rate of regional aftershocks. A sliding window waveform cross-correlation technique is used to measure travel time differences and evolving decorrelation in waveforms generated by each set of the repeating events. We find clear step-like delays in the direct S and early S-coda waves (sharp seismic velocity reduction) immediately after the Duzce main shock, followed by gradual logarithmic-type recoveries. A gradual increase of seismic velocities is also observed before the Duzce main shock, probably reflecting post-seismic recovery from the earlier Izmit main shock. The temporal behavior is similar at each station for clusters at various source locations, indicating that the temporal changes of material properties occur in the top most portion of the crust. The effects are most prominent at stations situated in the immediate vicinity of the recently ruptured fault zones, and generally decrease with normal distance from the fault. A strong correlation between the co-seismic delays and intensities of the strong ground motion generated by the Duzce main shock implies that the radiated seismic waves produced the velocity reductions in the shallow material.

Three-Dimensional Compressional Wavespeed Model, Earthquake Relocations, and Focal Mechanisms for the Parkfield, California, Region

Abstract: We present a new three-dimensional (3D) compressional wavespeed ( V p) model for the Parkfield region, taking advantage of the recent seismicity associated with the 2003 San Simeon and 2004 Parkfield earthquake sequences to provide increased model resolution compared to the work of Eberhart-Phillips and Michael (1993) (epm93). Taking the epm93 3D model as our starting model, we invert the arrival-time data from about 2100 earthquakes and 250 shots recorded on both permanent network and temporary stations in a region 130 km northeast–southwest by 120 km northwest–southeast. We include catalog picks and cross-correlation and catalog differential times in the inversion, using the double-difference tomography method of Zhang and Thurber (2003). The principal V p features reported by epm93 and Michelini and McEvilly (1991) are recovered, but with locally improved resolution along the San Andreas Fault (saf) and near the active-source profiles. We image the previously identified strong wavespeed contrast (faster on the southwest side) across most of the length of the saf, and we also improve the image of a high V p body on the northeast side of the fault reported by epm93. This narrow body is at about 5- to 12-km depth and extends approximately from the locked section of the saf to the town of Parkfield. The footwall of the thrust fault responsible for the 1983 Coalinga earthquake is imaged as a northeast-dipping high wavespeed body. In between, relatively low wavespeeds (<5 km/sec) extend to as much as 10-km depth. We use this model to derive absolute locations for about 16,000 earthquakes from 1966 to 2005 and high-precision double-difference locations for 9,000 earthquakes from 1984 to 2005, and also to determine focal mechanisms for 446 earthquakes. These earthquake locations and mechanisms show that the seismogenic fault is a simple planar structure. The aftershock sequence of the 2004 mainshock concentrates into the same structures defined by the pre-2004 seismicity, confirming earlier observations (Waldhauser et al. , 2004) that the seismicity pattern at Parkfield is long lived and persists through multiple cycles of mainshocks. Online material : 3D V p model and earthquake relocations.

Mineralogical characterization of protolith and fault rocks from the SAFOD Main Hole

Abstract: [1] Washed cuttings provide a continuous record of the rocks encountered during drilling of the main hole of the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD). Both protolith and fault rocks exhibit a wide variety of mineral assemblages that reflect variations in some combination of lithology, P-T conditions, deformation mechanisms, and fluid composition and abundance. Regions of distinct neomineralization bounded by faults may record alteration associated with fluid reservoirs confined by faults. In addition, both smectites occurring as mixed-layer phases and serpentine minerals are found in association with active strands of the San Andreas Fault that were intersected during drilling, although their rheological influence is not yet fully known. Faults containing these mineralogical phases are prime candidates for continuous coring during Phase 3 of SAFOD drilling in the summer of 2007.

Crustal flow in Tibet: geophysical evidence for the physical state of Tibetan lithosphere, and inferred patterns of active flow

Abstract: Many seismic and magnetotelluric experiments within Tibet provide proxies for lithospheric temperature and lithology, and hence rheology. Most data have been collected between c. 888E and 958E in a corridor around the Lhasa–Golmud highway, but newer experiments in western Tibet, and inversions of seismic data utilizing wave-paths transiting the Tibetan Plateau, support a substantial uniformity of properties broadly parallel to the principal Cenozoic and Mesozoic sutures, and perpendicular to the modern NNE convergence direction. These data require unusually weak zones in the crust at different depths throughout Tibet at the present day. In southern Tibet these weak zones are in the upper crust of the Tethyan Himalaya, the middle crust in the southern Lhasa terrane, and the middle and lower crust in the northern Lhasa terrane. In northern Tibet, north of the Banggong–Nujiang suture, the middle and probably the lower crust of both the Qiangtang and Songpan–Ganzi terranes are unusually weak. The Indian uppermost mantle is cold and seismogenic beneath the Tethyan Himalaya and the southernmost Lhasa terrane, but is probably overlain by a northward thickening zone of Asian mantle beneath the northern Lhasa terrane. Beneath northern Tibet the upper mantle has not been replaced by subducting Indian and Asian lithospheres, and is warmer than to the south. These inferred vertical strength profiles all have minima in the crust, thereby permitting, though not actually requiring, some form of channelized flow at the present day. Using the simplest parameterization of channel-flow models, I infer that a Poiseuille-type flow (flow between stationary boundaries) parallel to India–Asia convergence is occurring throughout much of southern Tibet, and a combination of Couette (top-driven, between moving boundaries) and Poiseuille lithospheric flow, perpendicular to lithospheric shortening, is active in northern Tibet. Explicit channel-flow models that successfully replicate much of the large-scale geophysical behaviour of Tibet need refinement and additional model complexity to capture the full details of the temporal and spatial variation of the India–Asia collision. ‘Only fools, or unusually insightful individuals not yet recognized to be ahead of their time, would doubt that the warmth of the lower crust in regions of extension makes decoupling of upper crust and upper mantle more likely there than in other settings. Thus, the real challenge to understanding how such decoupling or coupling occurs will require study of regions of intracontinental crustal shortening’ (Molnar 2000). Lateral strain variations, and vertical strain and strength profiles in Tibet Tibet forms the largest and highest plateau on Earth today. Two extreme and opposed views of the mechanism(s) responsible for regional uplift and accommodation of shortening are that: (1) discrete tectonic blocks, internally relatively undeformed, are being expelled eastward between lithospheric strike-slip faults (e.g. Tapponnier et al. 1982, 2001); and (2) deformation is essentially continuous, with diffuse deformation of the crust and upper mantle over broad areas (e.g. Dewey & Burke 1973; England & Houseman 1986; England & Molnar 1997; Shen et al. 2001), in addition to the convergence taken up at the plateau margins. With the increasing availability of global-positioning data from Tibet and adjacent regions, both in number of sites (now exceeding 500: Zhang et al. 2004) and length of their time series (up to nine years: Chen et al. 2004), the extreme model of coherent blocks separated by narrow fault zones along which most deformation is localized seems a less plausible description of the active deformation of Tibet. At the Earth’s surface there is a continuously varying surface strain field across Tibet when observed at scales of 100 km (Wang et al. 2001; Zhang et al. 2004). The major active strike-slip faults such as the Kunlun and Jiali faults (Fig. 1) have motions c. 10 mm a and separate internally deforming blocks in which about two-thirds of the total 25 mm a eastward extrusion of Tibet is accommodated by smaller normal faults and conjugate strike-slip faults (Taylor et al. 2003; Chen et al. 2004; Zhang et al. 2004). In contrast, vertical strength and strain profiles in Tibetan lithosphere cannot be directly measured, and so remain less certain and more contentious. From: LAW, R. D., SEARLE, M. P. & GODIN, L. (eds) Channel Flow, Ductile Extrusion and Exhumation in Continental Collision Zones. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 268, 39–70. 0305-8719/06/$15.00 # The Geological Society of London 2006. Opposing views are that the entire lithosphere deforms homogeneously (‘vertical coherent deformation’) (e.g. England & Houseman 1986; England & Molnar 1997; Flesch et al. 2005), or that deformation is dominated by a more rapid ductile flow in the middle and/or lower crust above a stronger upper mantle (‘channel flow’) (e.g. Zhao & Morgan 1987; Bird 1991; Shen et al. 2001; Beaumont et al. 2004). The depth extent of such channelized flow – middle crust, lower crust, or both – depends critically on the actual strength profile. These opposing views have recently been conflated with a new controversy about vertical strength profiles for the continental lithosphere. Laboratory experiments have long been used to infer a combined frictional plus ductile behaviour of the lithosphere, with a quartz-dominated strength maximum in the uppermiddle crust, and an olivine-dominated strength maximum at the top of the upper mantle (Brace & Kohlstedt 1980). It is also widely held that the greater part of lithospheric strength is in the upper Fig. 1. Location map of main geophysical experiments referred to in this paper. Heavy black lines and upper-case italicized names are generalized location of seismic experiments; heavy dotted lines and lower-case italicized names are magnetotelluric profiles; thin lines are major sutures and faults; thin dotted line is the 3000 m contour. Faults: KKF, Karakax fault; ATF, Altyn Tagh fault; QF, Qaidam Border fault; KF, Kunlun fault; JRS, Jinsha River suture; BNS, Banggong–Nujiang suture; JF, Jiali fault; IYS, Indus–Yarlung suture; MCT, Main Central thrust; MBT, Main Boundary thrust. Himalayan syntaxes: Np, Nanga Parbat; Nb, Namche Barwar. Representative geothermal areas: Ybj, Yangbajain graben in Yadong-Gulu rift; Pu, Puga. Representative north Himalayan gneiss domes: Kd, Kangmar dome; Tmc, Tso Morari complex. Profile names (and selected references): seismic, INDEPTH, IN-1 (Zhao et al. 1993; Makovsky et al. 1996), IN-2 (Nelson et al. 1996; Kind et al. 1996; Alsdorf et al. 1998b; Makovsky & Klemperer 1999), IN-3 (Zhao et al. 2001; Ross et al. 2004; Huang et al. 2000; Rapine et al. 2003; Tilmann et al. 2003); Sino-French, SF-1 (Hirn et al. 1984a), SF-2 (Zhang & Klemperer 2005), SF-3 (Hirn et al. 1995; Galve et al. 2002b), SF-4 (Herquel et al. 1995; Vergne et al. 2003), SF-5 (Wittlinger et al. 1998), SF-6 (Galve et al. 2002a; Vergne et al. 2003), SF-7 (Wittlinger et al. 2004); PASSCAL (McNamara et al. 1994, 1995, 1997; Rodgers & Schwartz 1998; Sherrington et al. 2004); WT, West Tibet (Kong et al. 1996); TB, Tarim basin (Gao et al. 2000; Kao et al. 2001); NP, Nanga Parbat (Meltzer et al. 2001); HIMPROBE (Rai et al. 2006); TQ, Tarim-Qaidam (Zhao et al. 2006); HIMNT, Himalaya– Nepal–Tibet experiment (Schulte-Pelkum et al. 2005); NE INDIA (Mitra et al. 2005). Near-vertical reflection profiles are IN-1, IN-2 and locally along IN-3, TB and HIMPROBE; controlled-source wide-angle profiles are SF-1, SF-2, SF-3, SF-6, IN-1, IN-2, IN-3, WT and TQ; teleseismic recording experiments (typically for tomography, receiverfunction, shear-wave-splitting, and waveform inversions) are PASSCAL, IN-2, IN-3, SF-3, SF-4, SF-5, SF-6, SF-7, TB, NP, HIMPROBE, HIMNT and NE INDIA. Magnetotelluric profiles: INDEPTH, in-100, in-200 (Chen et al. 1996), in-500 (Wei et al. 2001), in-600 (Unsworth et al. 2004), in-700 (Spratt et al. 2005), in-800 (Unsworth et al. 2005); himprobe (Gokarn et al. 2002); nf, Nepal–French (Lemonnier et al. 1999); wt, West Tibet (Kong et al. 1996). S. L. KLEMPERER 40

Late Cenozoic shortening in the west-central Alborz Mountains, northern Iran, by combined conjugate strike-slip and thin-skinned deformation

Abstract: The west-central Alborz Mountains of northern Iran have deformed in response to the Arabia-Eurasia collision since ca. 12 Ma and have accommodated 53 ± 3 km of shortening by a combination of range-parallel, conjugate strike-slip faulting and range-normal thrusting. By our interpretation, ∼17 km of shortening across the Alborz is accommodated by westward relative motion of a crustal wedge bounded by conjugate dextral and sinistral strike-slip fault systems. The Nusha, Barir, and Tang-e-Galu fault zones strike west-northwest, constrain the north side of the wedge, and, prior to ca. 5 Ma, accumulated a total of ∼25 km of dextral slip. The south side of the wedge is bounded by the active sinistral reverse Mosha and Taleghan faults, which merge northwest of Tehran and have a total slip estimate of 30–35 km. A restored cross section across the range indicates a minimum of 36 ± 2 km of fold-and-thrust–related, range-normal shortening. Combined, wedge motion, thrusting, and folding yield a net shortening of 53 ± 3 km across the range, which is within the error of the shortening estimate predicted by assuming that the present-day shortening rate (5 ± 2 mm/yr) has been constant since ca. 12 Ma (∼60 km of predicted shortening). A second restored cross section farther west, which includes the wedge, gives a total shortening of 15–18 km and a long-term shortening rate of 1.25–1.5 mm/yr (constant shortening rate since ca. 12 Ma). These strong along-strike finite-strain and long-term strain-rate gradients are important for our understanding of how long-term strain rates compare with instantaneous strain rates derived from global positioning system (GPS) data, and should be considered when planning mountain belt–scale GPS surveys. Finally, a 60-km-long right-hand bend in the Mosha-Taleghan fault system has driven the development of a transpressional duplex south of the fault. The southern boundary of the duplex is the active Farahzad–Karaj–North Tehran thrust system. The kinematic development of this strike-slip duplex has implications for seismic hazard assessment in the heavily populated Karaj and Tehran areas.

Geological Observations of Damage Asymmetry in the Structure of the San Jacinto, San Andreas and Punchbowl Faults in Southern California: A Possible Indicator for Preferred Rupture Propagation Direction

Abstract: We present new in situ observations of systematic asymmetry in the pattern of damage expressed by fault zone rocks along sections of the San Andreas, San Jacinto, and Punchbowl faults in southern California. The observed structural asymmetry has consistent manifestations at a fault core scale of millimeters to meters, a fault zone scale of meters to tens of meters and related geomorphologic features. The observed asymmetric signals are in agreement with other geological and geophysical observations of structural asymmetry in a damage zone scale of tens to hundreds of meters. In all of those scales, more damage is found on the side of the fault with faster seismic velocities at seismogenic depths. The observed correlation between the damage asymmetry and local seismic velocity structure is compatible with theoretical predictions associated with preferred propagation direction of earthquake ruptures along faults that separate different crustal blocks. The data are consistent with a preferred northwestward propagation direction for ruptures on all three faults. If our results are supported by additional observations, asymmetry of structural properties determined in field studies can be utilized to infer preferred propagation direction of large earthquake ruptures along a given fault section. The property of a preferred rupture direction can explain anomalous behavior of historic rupture events, and may have profound implications for many aspects of earthquake physics on large faults.

Faults as conduit-barrier systems to fluid flow in siliciclastic sedimentary aquifers

Abstract: [1] We argue that the observed conduit-barrier behavior of fault zones in siliciclastic sedimentary aquifer systems can be understood by considering a strongly anisotropic hydraulic structure in the fault. Hydraulic anisotropy in the fault is expected from a variety of mechanisms including clay-smearing, drag of sand, grain re-orientation and vertical segmentation of the fault plane. In this paper, we present an algorithm to predict fault zone width, lithological heterogeneity and hydraulic anisotropy. Estimation of these parameters is based upon the amount of fault throw and the clay-content of the lithologies flanking the fault zone. A suite of steady-state flow models are presented using an idealized stratigraphy consisting of alternating clay and sand-rich layers that are offset by a fault zone. These conceptual simulations show the impact of a fault zone on shallow (<500 m) fluid flow patterns and solute transport for different scenarios of fault throw. Fault width varies along the fault zone and increases from an average width of ~2 m for a throw of 50 m to ~8 m for a throw of 200 m. Hydraulic anisotropy in the fault zone in these scenarios is predicted to range between two to three orders of magnitude. Our results show that faults can form a preferential path way between aquifers at different depths over vertical distances of several hundreds of meters (that are otherwise separated by confining units) when fault permeability is strongly anisotropic. However, in the same scenario anomalously high hydraulic head gradients across the fault would still suggest that they act as an effective barrier to lateral groundwater flow. This has important implications for the assessment of the risk of a spread of contaminated groundwater or the reconstruction of hydrocarbon migration within sedimentary basins.

Seismicity and one-dimensional velocity structure of the Himalayan collision zone: Earthquakes in the crust and upper mantle

Abstract: [1] Earthquakes beneath the Himalayan collision zone occur at depths between near surface and around 100 km below sea level. After relocating earthquakes with two one-dimensional (1-D) velocity models, we found a clear bimodal depth distribution for earthquakes in the Himalayas of eastern Nepal and the southern Tibetan Plateau and evidence that some earthquakes originate at upper mantle depths. Seismicity in Nepal shows an accumulation of earthquakes along the front of the Himalayan arc, with a seismic gap between longitudes 87.3°E and 87.7°E. Although upper crustal seismicity along the topographic front of the High Himalaya is consistent with a region of high strain accumulation associated with convergence on the Main Himalayan thrust fault, microearthquakes do not necessarily occur on this fault. Instead, they concentrate in the hanging wall. Seismic activity in the sub-Himalaya and the Terai Plains is almost exclusively limited to the vicinity of the location of the magnitude 6.5 20 August 1988 Udayapur earthquake, with most of the earthquakes in the lower crust and the upper mantle. Clusters of earthquakes in the Lesser and High Himalayas and south Tibet (Tethyan Himalayas) mark very well defined zones of seismicity at depths between 50 and 100 km, confirming the presence of earthquakes in the upper mantle in the region of continental collision. The occurrence of earthquakes at sub-Moho depths favors the idea that the continental upper mantle deforms by brittle processes.

Implications of deformation following the 2002 Denali, Alaska, earthquake for postseismic relaxation processes and lithospheric rheology

Abstract: [1] During the first 2 years following the 2002 Mw = 7.9 Denali, Alaska, strike-slip earthquake, a large array of Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers recorded rapid postseismic surface motions extending at least 300 km from the rupture and at rates of more than 100 mm/yr in the near field. Here we use three-dimensional (3-D) viscoelastic finite element models to infer the mechanisms responsible for these postseismic observations. We consider afterslip both from an inversion of GPS displacements and from stress-driven forward models, poroelastic rebound, and viscoelastic flow in the lower crust and upper mantle. Several conclusions can be drawn: (1) No single mechanism can explain the postseismic observations. (2) Significant postseismic flow below a depth of 60 km is required to explain observed far-field motions, best explained by a weak upper mantle with a depth-dependent effective viscosity that ranges from >1019 Pa s at the Moho (50 km depth) to 3–4 × 1018 Pa s at 100 km depth. (3) Shallow afterslip within the upper crust occurs adjacent to and beneath the regions of largest coseismic slip. (4) There is a contribution from deformation in the middle and lower crust from either lower crustal flow or stress-driven slip. Afterslip is preferred over broad viscoelastic flow owing to the existence of seismic velocity discontinuities across the fault at depth, though our modeling does not favor either mechanism. If the process is viscoelastic relaxation, the viscosity is a factor of 3 greater than the inferred mantle viscosity. (5) Poroelastic rebound probably contributed to the observed postseismic deformation in the immediate vicinity of the Denali/Totschunda junction. These conclusions lead us to infer an Alaskan mechanical lithosphere that is about 60 km thick, overlying a weak asthenosphere, and a Denali fault that cuts through the entire lithosphere with shear accommodated by faulting in the top ∼20 km and time-dependent aseismic shear below.

How thick is a fault? Fault displacement-thickness scaling revisited

Abstract: Fault zone thickness is an important parameter for many seismological models. We present three new fault thickness datasets from different tectonic settings and host rock types. Individual fault zone components (i.e., principal slip zones, fault core, damage zone) display distinct displacement-thickness scaling relationships. Fault component thickness is dependent on the type of deformation elements (e.g., open fractures, gouge, breccia) that accommodate strain, the host lithology, and the geometry of pre-existing structures. A compilation of published fault displacement-thickness data shows a positive trend over seven orders of magnitude, but with three orders of magnitude scatter at a single displacement value. Rather than applying a single power-law scaling relationship to all fault thickness data, it is more appropriate and useful to seek separate scaling relationships for each fault zone component and to understand the controls on such scaling.

Displacement field and slip distribution of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake from SAR imagery

Abstract: [1] The 8th October 2005 Kashmir Earthquake Mw 7.6 involved primarily thrust motion on a NE-dipping fault. Sub-pixel correlation of ENVISAT SAR images gives the location of the 80 km-long fault trace (within 300–800 m) and a 3D surface displacement field with a sub-metric accuracy covering the whole epicentral area. The slip distribution inverted using elastic dislocation models indicates that slip occurs mainly in the upper 10 km, between the cities of Muzaffarabad and Balakot. The rupture reached the surface in several places. In the hanging wall, horizontal motions show rotation from pure thrust to oblique right-lateral motion that are not observed in the footwall. A segmentation of the fault near Muzaffarabad is also suggested. North of the city of Balakot, slip decreases dramatically, but a diffuse zone of mainly vertical surface displacements, which could be post-seismic, exists further north, where most of the aftershocks occur, aligned along the NW-SE Indus-Kohistan Seismic Zone.

Seismic Evidence for Rock Damage and Healing on the San Andreas Fault Associated with the 2004 M 6.0 Parkfield Earthquake

Abstract: We deployed a dense linear array of 45 seismometers across and along the San Andreas fault near Parkfield a week after the M 6.0 Parkfield earthquake on 28 September 2004 to record fault-zone seismic waves generated by aftershocks and explosions. Seismic stations and explosions were co-sited with our previous exper- iment conducted in 2002. The data from repeated shots detonated in the fall of 2002 and 3 months after the 2004 M 6.0 mainshock show 1.0%-1.5% decreases in seismic-wave velocity within an 200-m-wide zone along the fault strike and smaller changes (0.2%-0.5%) beyond this zone, most likely due to the coseismic damage of rocks during dynamic rupture in the 2004 M 6.0 earthquake. The width of the damage zone characterized by larger velocity changes is consistent with the low-velocity waveguide model on the San Andreas fault, near Parkfield, that we derived from fault-zone trapped waves (Li et al., 2004). The damage zone is not symmetric but extends farther on the southwest side of the main fault trace. Waveform cross- correlations for repeated aftershocks in 21 clusters, with a total of 130 events, located at different depths and distances from the array site show 0.7%-1.1% increases in S-wave velocity within the fault zone in 3 months starting a week after the earthquake. The velocity recovery indicates that the damaged rock has been healing and regaining the strength through rigidity recovery with time, most likely due to the closure of cracks opened during the mainshock. We estimate that the net decrease in seismic velocities within the fault zone was at least 2.5%, caused by the 2004 M 6.0 Parkfield earthquake. The healing rate was largest in the earlier stage of the postmainshock healing process. The magnitude of fault healing varies along the rupture zone, being slightly larger for the healing beneath Middle Mountain, correlating well with an area of large mapped slip. The fault healing is most promi- nent at depths above 7 km.

Kinematic constraints on intra-arc shear and strain partitioning in the southern Andes between 38°S and 42°S latitude

Abstract: [1] On the basis of structural field work, fault kinematic analysis, and the analysis of digital imagery, we describe the northern part of the southern Andean intra-arc Liquine-Ofqui Fault Zone (LOFZ) as an SC-like fault zone system accommodating part of the Nazca–South American plate convergence obliquity. Kinematic modeling suggests that the LOFZ accommodated 124 (+24/−21) km of dextral displacement between 40°S and 42°S and 67 (+13/−11) km between 38°S and 40°S since the Pliocene. Associated vertical axis rotations are 31 ± 4° clockwise and 9 ± 1° counterclockwise along synthetic and antithetic faults, respectively. Mean Pliocene to recent shear rates along the LOFZ decrease northward from 32 ± 6 mm/yr to 13 ± 3 mm/yr compatible with partitioning of half of the convergence obliquity into the intra-arc zone north of 40°S and complete partitioning to the south. The displacement gradient along the intra-arc zone results in margin-parallel shortening of the fore arc.

Flattening without picking

Abstract: We present an efficient full-volume automatic dense-picking method for flattening seismic data. First local dips (stepouts) are calculated over the entire seismic volume. The dips are then resolved into time shifts (or depth shifts) using a nonlinear Gauss-Newton iterative approach that exploits fast Fourier transforms to minimize computation time. To handle faults (discontinuous reflections), we apply a weighted inversion scheme. The weight identifies locations of faults, allowing dips to be summed around the faults to reduce the influence of erroneous dip estimates near the fault. If a fault model is not provided, we can estimate a suitable weight (essentially a fault indicator) within our inversion using an iteratively reweighted least squares (IRLS) method. The method is tested successfully on both synthetic and field data sets of varying degrees of complexity, including salt piercements, angular unconformities, and laterally limited faults.

Dynamic deformation of the accretionary prism excites very low frequency earthquakes

Abstract: [1] We have detected anomalous very-low-frequency earthquakes within the accretionary prism along the Nankai Trough, southwestern Japan. Centroid moment tensor inversion analysis reveals that the earthquake hypocenters are distributed at ∼10 km depth above the upper surface of the subducting Philippine Sea Plate, and within 50–70 km landward of the trough axis. The focal mechanisms indicate reverse faulting. Their hypocenters are distributed beneath a deformation zone of an accretionary prism in sea-floor topography. These observations suggest that the occurrence of very-low-frequency earthquakes is related to numerous reverse fault systems within the accretionary prism, and that the earthquakes reflect the dynamics of deformation within this accretionary prism.

Thermal pressurization and onset of melting in fault zones

Abstract: [1] We examine how frictional heating drives the evolution of temperature, strength, and fracture energy during earthquake slip. For small slip distances, heat and pore fluid are unable to escape the shearing fault core, and the behavior is well approximated by simple analytical models that neglect any transport. Following large slip distances, the finite width of the shear zone is small compared to the thicknesses of the thermal and hydrological boundary layers, and the fault behavior approaches that predicted for the idealized case of slip on a plane. To evaluate the range in which the predictions of these two sets of approximations are valid, we develop a model that describes how frictional dissipation within a finite shear zone drives heat and mass transport through the surrounding static gouge. With realistic parameter values and slips greater than a few centimeters, the subsequent evolution of strength and fracture energy are approximated well by the planar slip model. However, the temperature evolution is much more sensitive to the finite shear zone thickness, and the ultimate temperature rise tends to be intermediate between that predicted for the two simplified cases. We explore the range of conditions necessary for melting to begin and focus in particular on the potential role of fault zone damage in facilitating fluid transport and promoting larger temperature increases. We discuss how the apparent scarcity of exhumed pseudotachylytes places constraints on some of the more uncertain fault zone parameters.

Working models for spatial distribution and level of Mars' seismicity

Abstract: [1] We present synthetic catalogs of Mars quakes, intended to be used for performance assessments of future seismic networks on the planet. We have compiled a new inventory of compressional and extensional tectonic faults for the planet Mars, comprising 8500 faults with a total length of 680,000 km. The faults were mapped on the basis of Mars Orbiting Laser Altimeter (MOLA) shaded relief. Hence we expect to have assembled a homogeneous data set, not biased by illumination and viewing conditions of image data. Updated models of Martian crater statistics and geological maps were used to assign new maximum ages to all faults. On the basis of the fault catalog, spatial distributions of seismicity were simulated, using assumptions on the available annual seismic moment budget, the moment-frequency relationship, and a relation between rupture length and released moment. We have constructed five different models of Martian seismicity, predicting an annual moment release between 3.42 × 1016 Nm and 4.78 × 1018 Nm and up to 572 events with magnitudes greater than 4 per year as upper limit end-member case. Most events are expected on the Tharsis shield, but minor seismic centers are expected south of Hellas and north of Utopia Planitia.