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Fault (geology)

About: Fault (geology) is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 26732 publications have been published within this topic receiving 744535 citations.


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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The nonuniformity of the occurrence of large slip events producing surface ruptures on seismogenic faults and variations in slip rate probably characterize seismogenic faulting in the Great Basin province, Western United States as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Nonuniformity of the occurrence of large slip events producing surface ruptures on seismogenic faults and variations in slip rate probably characterize seismogenic faulting in the Great Basin province, Western United States. Examples include: the grouping of faulting events along the Lost River fault, Idaho; changes in tilt rates of the East Range and Cortez Mountains, Nevada; extension of slip along a fault on the northwest flank of the Humboldt Range, Nevada; and migration or shifting of slip back and forth from one fault to another along subparallel range-front faults, in Dixie Valley, Nevada.

199 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, an average long-term slip rate of 1? 0.3 cm/yr is inferred assuming that this offset accrued in a time span of 23^34 Ma.

199 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The most reliable of the globally available relative data have been used to derive empirical formulas which relate the subsurface fault length, L, the fault area, S, and fault width, w, with the moment magnitude, M.
Abstract: The most reliable of the globally available relative data have been used to derive empirical formulas which relate the subsurface fault length, L, the fault area, S, and fault width, w, with the moment magnitude, M. Separate such formulas have been derived for earthquakes generated by strike-slip faulting, by dip-slip faulting in continental regions and by dip-slip faulting in lithospheric subduction regions. The formula which relates the fault area with the magnitude is combined with the definition formulas of seismic moment and moment magnitude to derive also relations between the fault slip, u, and the moment magnitude for each of the three seismotectonic regimes. For a certain magnitude, the fault length is larger for strike-slip faults than for dip-slip faults, while the fault width is small for strike-slip faults, larger for dip-slip faults in continental regions and much larger for dip-slip faults in regions of lithospheric subduction. For a certain magnitude, fault slip is about the same for strike-slip faults and dip-slip faults in continental regions and smaller for dip-slip faults in regions of lithospheric subduction.

199 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, 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.
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.

198 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a 3-km horizontal offset is inferred from well-preserved geomorphology, and a total cumulative offset of ∼12 km is identified, which is consistent with evidence from the analysis of seismological, radar and surface rupture data in recent earthquakes.

198 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
20242
20234,903
202210,233
20211,417
2020998
2019966