Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Cai, Yongen
• Wang, Chi-Yuen

Titel

Testing fault models with numerical simulation: example from central California

Ist Teil von

• Tectonophysics, 2001-12, Vol.343 (3), p.233-238

Ort / Verlag

Elsevier B.V

Erscheinungsjahr

2001

Quelle

Elsevier Journal Backfiles on ScienceDirect (DFG Nationallizenzen)

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Stress distribution in faulted areas is often calculated and used to assess the potential of regional seismic hazard. Yet, the result of the calculation may strongly depend on the modeled fault configuration. Thus, it is important to assess the accuracy of the assumed fault configuration for a specific faulted area. Two distinct tectonic models have been proposed for central California. In one model, a master detachment is assumed to be present below the seismogenic layer, which connects the San Andreas fault and the other faults in the system. In another, no basal detachment is assumed. How significant are the different models in predicting seismic hazards in California? To what extent are geodetic data useful in distinguishing these models? In this paper, we report the results from a 3D finite-element analysis of stress and deformation in a crust containing a straight transform fault bordered by two thrust faults, which is intended to simulate a segment of the San Andreas fault system in central California. Significant results are: (1) the different models predict notably different states of stresses, thus, notably different seismic potentials; and (2) the differences in the predicted surface deformation between the two models are smaller than the current GPS resolution.