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Strike-slip faulting in a bi-directionally varying crust

DEPARTMENT OF MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS 60201

Abstract

Most static fault models have the limitation of simulating crustal rigidity variation in one direction only. Improving on these, the model presented here is a static, two-dimensional strike-slip model which generates elastic deformation data in a bi-directionally varying crust. Specifically, the Earth is modeled as a homogeneous elastic surface layer plus a horizontally varying elastic substrata. The cumulative effects of bi-directional rigidity variations on surface deformation data were examined for a number of rigidity profiles. For those rigidity schemes containing a compliant, fault zone, the amplitude of surface data could either be amplified or reduced depending on the rigidity and thickness of the surface layer. For rigidity schemes containing a buried, long, narrow, vertical heterogeneity in the substrata, the surface layer tended to mask or reduce any perturbations to the data caused by the heterogeneity. As has been established for uni-directional models and is affirmed for bi-directionally varying models, rigidity contrasts or heterogeneities in the vicinity of crustal deformation measuring devices will profoundly affect the data taken by these devices.