scholarly journals Surface slip distributions and geometric complexity of intraplate reverse-faulting earthquakes

Author(s):  
Haibin Yang ◽  
Mark Quigley ◽  
Tamarah King

Earthquake ground surface ruptures provide insights into faulting mechanics and inform seismic hazard analyses. We analyze surface ruptures for 11 historical (1968−2018) moment magnitude (Mw) 4.7−6.6 reverse earthquakes in Australia using statistical techniques and compare their characteristics with magnetic, gravity, and stress trajectory data sets. Of the total combined (summative) length of all surface ruptures (∼148 km), 133 km (90%) to 145 km (98%) align with the geophysical structure in the host basement rocks. Surface rupture length (SRL), maximum displacement (MD), and probability of surface rupture at a specified Mw are high compared with equivalent Mw earthquakes globally. This is attributed to (1) a steep cratonic crustal strength gradient at shallow depths, promoting shallow hypocenters (∼1−6 km) and limiting downdip rupture widths (∼1−8.5 km), and (2) favorably aligned crustal anisotropies (e.g., bedrock foliations, faults, fault intersections) that enhanced lateral rupture propagation and/or surface displacements. Combined (modeled and observed) MDs are in the middle third of the SRL with 68% probability and either the ≤33rd or ≥66th percentiles of SRL with 16% probability. MD occurrs proximate to or directly within zones of enhanced fault geometric complexity (as evidenced from surface ruptures) in 8 of 11 earthquakes (73%). MD is approximated by 3.3 ± 1.6 (1σ) × AD (average displacement). S-transform analyses indicates that high-frequency slip maxima also coincide with fault geometric complexities, consistent with stress amplifications and enhanced slip variability due to geometric and kinematic interactions with neighboring faults. Rupture slip taper angles exhibite large variations (−90% to +380% with respect to the mean value) toward rupture termini and are steepest where ruptures terminate at obliquely oriented magnetic lineaments and/or lithology changes. Incremental slip approximates AD between the 10th and 90th percentiles of the SRL. The average static stress drop of the studied earthquakes is 4.8 ± 2.8 MPa. A surface rupture classification scheme for cratonic stable regions is presented to describe the prevailing characteristics of intraplate earthquakes across diverse crustal structural-geophysical settings. New scaling relationships and suggestions for logic tree weights are provided to enhance probabilistic fault displacement hazard analyses for bedrock-dominated intraplate continental regions.


Author(s):  
M. Quigley ◽  
R. Van Dissen ◽  
P. Villamor ◽  
N. Litchfield ◽  
D. Barrell ◽  
...  

The Mw 7.1 Darfield (Canterbury) earthquake of 4 September 2010 (NZST) was the first earthquake in New Zealand to produce ground-surface fault rupture since the 1987 Edgecumbe earthquake. Surface rupture of the previously unrecognised Greendale Fault during the Darfield earthquake extends for at least 29.5 km and comprises an en echelon series of east-west striking, left-stepping traces. Displacement is predominantly dextral strike-slip, averaging ~2.5 m, with maxima of ~5 m along the central part of the rupture. Maximum vertical displacement is ~1.5 m, but generally < 0.75 m. The south side of the fault has been uplifted relative to the north for ~80% of the rupture length, except at the eastern end where the north side is up. The zone of surface rupture deformation ranges in width from ~30 to 300 m, and comprises discrete shears, localised bulges and, primarily, horizontal dextral flexure. At least a dozen buildings were affected by surface rupture, but none collapsed, largely because most of the buildings were relatively flexible and robust timber-framed structures and because deformation was distributed over tens to hundreds of metres width. Many linear features, such as roads, fences, power lines, and irrigation ditches were offset or deformed by fault rupture, providing markers for accurate determinations of displacement.



2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (4) ◽  
pp. 1427-1456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Ann Thompson Jobe ◽  
Belle Philibosian ◽  
Colin Chupik ◽  
Timothy Dawson ◽  
Scott E. K. Bennett ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The July 2019 Ridgecrest earthquakes in southeastern California were characterized as surprising by some, because only ∼35% of the rupture occurred on previously mapped faults. Employing more detailed inspection of pre-event high-resolution topography and imagery in combination with field observations, we document evidence of active faulting in the landscape along the entire fault system. Scarps, deflected drainages, and lineaments and contrasts in topography, vegetation, and ground color demonstrate previous slip on a dense network of orthogonal faults, consistent with patterns of ground surface rupture observed in 2019. Not all of these newly mapped fault strands ruptured in 2019. Outcrop-scale field observations additionally reveal tufa lineaments and sheared Quaternary deposits. Neotectonic features are commonly short (&lt;2  km), discontinuous, and display en echelon patterns along both the M 6.4 and M 7.1 ruptures. These features are generally more prominent and better preserved outside the late Pleistocene lake basins. Fault expression may also be related to deformation style: scarps and topographic lineaments are more prevalent in areas where substantial vertical motion occurred in 2019. Where strike-slip displacement dominated in 2019, the faults are mainly expressed by less prominent tonal and vegetation features. Both the northeast- and northwest-trending active-fault systems are subparallel to regional bedrock fabrics that were established as early as ∼150  Ma, and may be reactivating these older structures. Overall, we estimate that 50%–70% (i.e., an additional 15%–35%) of the 2019 surface ruptures could have been recognized as active faults with detailed inspection of pre-earthquake data. Similar detailed mapping of potential neotectonic features could help improve seismic hazard analyses in other regions of eastern California and elsewhere that likely have distributed faulting or incompletely mapped faults. In areas where faults cannot be resolved as single throughgoing structures, we recommend a zone of potential faulting should be used as a hazard model input.



2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matija Vukovski ◽  
Marko Budić ◽  
Marko Špelić ◽  
Josip Barbača ◽  
Nikola Belić ◽  
...  

&lt;p&gt;On December 29th, 2020, a strong Mw 6.4 earthquake hit central Croatia. The epicenter was located approximately 3 km southwest of Petrinja, and the intensity was estimated to VIII-IX EMS. The earthquake led to significant environmental effects related to earthquake magnitude, focal depth, and geological and geotechnical properties of the affected area.&lt;br&gt;The Croatian Geological Survey (HGI-CGS) conducted extensive geological and geodetic surveys starting a few hours following the main shock to measure the earthquake&amp;#8217;s effects,&lt;br&gt;including those on infrastructures. Ten geologists from the Department of Geology carried out surveys from Decmber 31st, 2020 to January 7th, 2021 along the potential seismogenic source (inferred from geological maps and InSAR data) and in the wider epicentral area that suffered significant damage (e.g., Glina and Sisak).&lt;br&gt;During a second phase, researchers from the University of Zagreb (PMF UniZG), Slovenia (GeoZS), Italy (INGV, ISPRA, U. Chieti) and France (CEREGE, IRSN) were mobilized to complete the observations. The collaboration with these geologists allowed to deepen the investigations and to bring further detail to quantify the effects. The surveys were then compiled based on data formats used by the European Community, namely those of the INGV EMERGEO team (Villani et al., 2017; for environmental effects including surface ruptures and liquefaction) and those of the SURE group (Baize et al., 2019 for surface ruptures).&lt;br&gt;These observations revealed that the earthquake triggered a discontinuous, few km-long surface rupture with a maximum displacement of about 20 cm, which is consistent with the lower average of observations made on similar events (Wells and Coppersmith, 1994). Liquefaction spread over several tens of square kilometers mostly in river plains, the most distant being about 20 km from the epicenter (to be confirmed!). Other observed effects include lateral spreading, landslides, groundwater regime changes, rockfalls, and various infrastructure damage.&lt;br&gt;The compilation of the acquired dataset into a unified database, consistent with database of other historical and recent events, is essential for establishing reliable empirical relations between geological effects and physical characteristics of earthquakes (magnitude, depth). This forms the basis for seismic hazard assessments, whether for &amp;#8220;surface rupture&amp;#8221;, &amp;#8220;liquefaction&amp;#8221;, or &amp;#8220;ground-shaking&amp;#8221; potential.&lt;/p&gt;



2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiongnan Huang ◽  
Xiaoping Yang ◽  
Haibo Yang ◽  
Zongkai Hu ◽  
Ling Zhang

The Hexi Corridor is located beyond the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, and it is bounded by a series of active thrusts along the northern margin of the Qilian Shan and the southern piedmont of the Longshou Shan. Historically, five destructive earthquakes have occurred along the Hexi Corridor, which indicates that this region poses high potential seismic risks. The 1609 Hongyapu earthquake occurred along the Fodongmiao-Hongyazi fault in the northern Qilian Shan, China, and it killed more than 840 people and destroyed a large number of buildings. Presently, there are different opinions as to the distribution and length of the surface rupture of this event along the Fudongmiao–Hongyazi fault. Thus, we searched all of the fault scarps on the Holocene surfaces and suspected surface rupture locations related to the 1609 earthquake based on previous studies and developed detailed remote-sensing interpretations along the fault. An abundance of north-facing scarps on the younger fans and terrace faces, slightly higher than the active modern stream bed, were found along the Fodongmiao-Hongyazi fault in the area ranging from the Hongshuiba River (39.52°N, 98.41°E) in the west to the Shuiguan River (39.07°N, 99.37°E) in the east. Based on our research, we estimate a surface rupture length as ∼98 km based on the distribution of the fault scarps on Late Holocene surfaces and constraints provided by age dating. Most of the surface ruptures are preserved as fault scarps and indicate an average vertical surface offset of ∼1.0 m, a value found consistently in three segments of the fault. The surface rupture features indicate that segments of the fault ruptured together coseismically during the 1609 earthquake, i.e., a multisegment rupture. Using the surface fault traces, length of 98 or 90 km (without the Shuiguan River section), dip of 30° inferred from previous reflection profiles, a rigidity of 3.3 × 1010 N/m2, and dip slip average as 1.9 m converted from our observations of the offsets, we computed the magnitude of this event as ca. Mw 7.2–Mw 7.4.





2011 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.J.A. Barrell ◽  
N.J. Litchfield ◽  
D.B. Townsend ◽  
M. Quigley ◽  
R.J. Van Dissen ◽  
...  


Geosciences ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 408 ◽  
Author(s):  
King ◽  
Quigley ◽  
Clark

We digitize surface rupture maps and compile observational data from 67 publications on ten of eleven historical, surface-rupturing earthquakes in Australia in order to analyze the prevailing characteristics of surface ruptures and other environmental effects in this crystalline basement-dominated intraplate environment. The studied earthquakes occurred between 1968 and 2018, and range in moment magnitude (Mw) from 4.7 to 6.6. All earthquakes involved co-seismic reverse faulting (with varying amounts of strike-slip) on single or multiple (1–6) discrete faults of ≥ 1 km length that are distinguished by orientation and kinematic criteria. Nine of ten earthquakes have surface-rupturing fault orientations that align with prevailing linear anomalies in geophysical (gravity and magnetic) data and bedrock structure (foliations and/or quartz veins and/or intrusive boundaries and/or pre-existing faults), indicating strong control of inherited crustal structure on contemporary faulting. Rupture kinematics are consistent with horizontal shortening driven by regional trajectories of horizontal compressive stress. The lack of precision in seismological data prohibits the assessment of whether surface ruptures project to hypocentral locations via contiguous, planar principal slip zones or whether rupture segmentation occurs between seismogenic depths and the surface. Rupture centroids of 1–4 km in depth indicate predominantly shallow seismic moment release. No studied earthquakes have unambiguous geological evidence for preceding surface-rupturing earthquakes on the same faults and five earthquakes contain evidence of absence of preceding ruptures since the late Pleistocene, collectively highlighting the challenge of using mapped active faults to predict future seismic hazards. Estimated maximum fault slip rates are 0.2–9.1 m Myr-1 with at least one order of uncertainty. New estimates for rupture length, fault dip, and coseismic net slip can be used to improve future iterations of earthquake magnitude—source size—displacement scaling equations. Observed environmental effects include primary surface rupture, secondary fracture/cracks, fissures, rock falls, ground-water anomalies, vegetation damage, sand-blows / liquefaction, displaced rock fragments, and holes from collapsible soil failure, at maximum estimated epicentral distances ranging from 0 to ~250 km. ESI-07 intensity-scale estimates range by ± 3 classes in each earthquake, depending on the effect considered. Comparing Mw-ESI relationships across geologically diverse environments is a fruitful avenue for future research.



1988 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
pp. 956-978
Author(s):  
William B. Bull ◽  
Philip A. Pearthree

Abstract Movements along the Pitaycachi fault since the Miocene juxtaposed different alluvial units and created 2- to 45-m-high fault scarps downslope from a pedimented mountain front prior to 1887. In 1887, a major earthquake formed a 75-km-long, 12- to 4-m-high scarp along the trace of prehistoric surface ruptures. Diverse evidence from many study sites indicates that about 200,000 yr elapsed between the prior (youngest Pleistocene) event and the 1887 surface rupture. Cumulative displacements of Pliocene(?) to mid-Pleistocene alluvial fans and stream terraces decrease with decreasing age. The trace of the prior rupture was largely buried by sheets of late Pleistocene and Holocene piedmont alluvium. Late Pleistocene soils are offset about the same amount as the height of the 1887 scarp. Valleys that are as much as 40 m deep and 0.5 to 0.9 km wide have been eroded since the prior event; they contain multiple late Pleistocene and Holocene stream terraces that were not faulted until 1887. Pre-1887 alluvial fault scarps were degraded to 2° to 9° slopes before the 1887 event, even in resistant materials such as clay-rich soil horizons with unweathered rhyolite cobbles and calcrete. Scarp height-maximum slope regressions and diffusion-equation analyses for reconstructed pre-1887 scarp profiles indicate that the prior event occurred more than 100,000 yr ago. Acceleration of scarp degradation rates during the Holocene, and/or relatively resistant materials exposed in the scarps, would increase the age estimates to 200,000 yr or more. Very long recurrence intervals are the characteristic style of movement on the Pitaycachi fault. At one site, six ages of diverse valley fills were inset into pedimented granodiorite upslope from the fault between the prior and 1887 events. Only 3 m of relief remained before the 1887 rupture increased the scarp height from 3 to 6 m. Some hillslopes have triangular talus facets of carbonatecemented colluvium that resulted from infrequent fault movements and intervening periods of erosion. Smooth hillsides of resistant volcanic rocks between the facets show that virtually all of the prior surface-rupture event scarps had been removed by prolonged slope degradation.



Author(s):  
Junming Zhang ◽  
Jinglin Li

Moving objects gathering pattern represents a group events or incidents that involve congregation of moving objects, enabling the analysis of traffic system. However, how to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the gathering pattern discovering method still remains as a challenging issue since the large number of moving objects will generate high volume of trajectory data. In order to address this issue, the authors propose a method to discovering the gathering pattern by analyzing the taxicab demand. This paper first introduces the concept of Taxicab Service Rate (TSR). In this method, they use the KS measures to test the distribution of TSR and calculate the mean value of the TSR of a certain time period. Then, the authors use a neural network based method Neural Network Gathering Discovering (NNGD) to detect the gathering pattern. The neural network is based on the knowledge of historical gathering pattern data. The authors have implemented their method with experiments based on real trajectory data. The results show the both effectiveness and efficiency of their method.



2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 1585-1610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Gori ◽  
Emanuela Falcucci ◽  
Fabrizio Galadini ◽  
Paolo Zimmaro ◽  
Alberto Pizzi ◽  
...  

The three mainshock events (M6.1 24 August, M5.9 26 October, and M6.5 30 October 2016) in the Central Italy earthquake sequence produced surface ruptures on known segments of the Mt. Vettore–Mt. Bove normal fault system. As a result, teams from Italian national research institutions and universities, working collaboratively with the U.S. Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance Association (GEER), were mobilized to collect perishable data. Our reconnaissance approach included field mapping and advanced imaging techniques, both directed towards documenting the location and extent of surface rupture on the main fault exposure and secondary features. Mapping activity occurred after each mainshock (with different levels of detail at different times), which provides data on the progression of locations and amounts of slip between events. Along the full length of the Mt. Vettore–Mt. Bove fault system, vertical offsets ranged from 0–35 cm and 70–200 cm for the 24 August and 30 October events, respectively. Comparisons between observed surface rupture displacements and available empirical models show that the three events fit within expected ranges.



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