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Three-dimensional records of surface displacement on the Superstition Hills fault zone associated with the earthquakes of 24 November 1987

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, 345 MIDDLEFIELD ROAD, MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA 94025

Abstract

Seven quadrilaterals, constructed at broadly distributed points on surface breaks within the Superstition Hills fault zone, were repeatedly remeasured after the pair of 24 November 1987 earthquakes to monitor the growing surface displacement. Changes in the dimensions of the quadrilaterals are recalculated to right-lateral and extensional components at millimeter resolution, and vertical components of change are resolved at 0.2 mm precision. The displacement component data for four of the seven quadrilaterals record the complete fault movement with respect to an October 1986 base. These data fit with remarkable agreement the power law

where U(t) is a displacement component at time t after the second main shock and U_f, B, and c are constants. This power law permits estimation of the final displacement, U_f, from the data obtained within the period of observation. Data from one quadrilateral, located near the epicenter of the second main shock and northeast-trending conjugate faults, allow that about 5 cm of right-lateral slip may have been associated with the first main shock there. Data from the other quadrilaterals confirm that the surface faulting on most of the Superstition Hills fault zone did initiate at the time of the second main shock of the 1987 earthquakes.

The three-dimensional motion vectors all describe nearly linear trajectories throughout the observation period, and they indicate smooth shearing on their respective fault surfaces. The inclination of the shear surfaces is generally nearly vertical, except near the south end of the Superstition Hills fault zone where two strands dip northeastward at about 70°. Surface displacement on these strands is right reverse.

Another kind of deformation, superimposed on the fault displacements, has been recorded at all quadrilateral sites. It consists of a northwest-southeast contraction or component of contraction that ranged from 0 to 0.1 per cent of the quadrilateral lengths between November 1987 and April 1988.

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