Recent Geodynamics of Tensile Faults

Abstract

The results of the analysis of extensive data about the local anomalies of recent surface displacements in the fault zones estimated from repeated geodetic observations in seismically active and weakly seismic (platform) regions are presented. It is shown that the local, symmetric sags of the Earth’s surface in the vicinity of the faults are the predominant type of anomalies. The simultaneous recording of the vertical and horizontal displacements shows that the local subsidence is accompanied by horizontal deformations of elongation along the lines that are orthogonal to the fault’s strike. Different kinematic types of faults are considered, and it is shown that the revealed anomalies correspond to the recent activation of the local joints within the fault zones resulting in the subsidence of the Earth’s surface. Three variants of the models describing the formation of the joint-type anomalies are considered: the block model, the dislocation model, and the parametric model. The comparison of the calculated distributions of the horizontal and vertical displacements in the vicinity of the fault with the observations shows that the parametric model fits the field data best. The parametric model describes a fault as a zone with varying internal parameters in two variants: as an inhomogeneity with a reduced stiffness or as an inclusion with anomalous strain according to the terminology of John D. Eshelby. By the example of regularly shaped objects, the equivalence of both approaches is demonstrated.