We present a mechanical analysis of the problem of slip partitioning between the major thrust systems in a collisional range. We focus on two structures in the Himalayas of central Nepal : the Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT) and the Main Central Thrust (MCT). We use finite-element modeling to test the influence of various parameters, such as friction coefficients and surface processes, and we inves...

the study area locates between an active fault system of north anatolian in turkey and active alborz and zagros mountain ranges in iran. the total shortening concluded from arabia-eurasia collision with a rate of 22 mm/year across the ne persia is partitioned  into  two  fault  systems,  right-lateral  strike slip  movements  in  the  turkish-iranian  plateau  like  north tabriz fault system an...

[1] The Mw 6.6, 26 December 2003 Bam (Iran) earthquake was one of the first earthquakes for which Envisat advanced synthetic aperture radar (ASAR) data were available. Using interferograms and azimuth offsets from ascending and descending tracks, we construct a three-dimensional displacement field of the deformation due to the earthquake. Elastic dislocation modeling shows that the observed def...

Two-dimensional, numerical models of a linear fault embedded within a linear elastic medium show the generation of off-fault tensile failure that results from inelastic slip along the fault. We explore quasistatic models with slip-weakening friction to assess the effects of spatially and temporally variable friction on the damage patterns. Tensile fractures form where tangential normal stresses...

[1] We perform two-dimensional dynamic models of strike-slip faults with a change in strike (a bend) over multiple earthquake cycles to examine the long-term effects of nonplanar fault geometry. A viscoelastic model (a proxy for off-fault deformation and tectonic loading) is introduced for the interseismic process to avoid pathological stress buildup around the bend. A finite element method wit...

[1] We argue that key features of thrust earthquake triggering, inhibition, and clustering can be explained by Coulomb stress changes, which we illustrate by a suite of representative models and by detailed examples. Whereas slip on surface-cutting thrust faults drops the stress in most of the adjacent crust, slip on blind thrust faults increases the stress on some nearby zones, particularly ab...

The Atlantic segment of the Africa-Europe plate boundary has usually been interpreted as a transform boundary on the basis of the bathymetric expression of the Gloria fault and dextral strike-slip first-motion mechanisms aligned along the Azores-Gibraltar line of seismicity. The 1975 May 26 earthquake (Ms=7.9) was assumed to fit into this framework because it occurred in the general area of thi...

The 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake (MW 7.6) (20 September 1999, 17:47:15.9 UTC) (located at 23.853 N, 120.816 E, and depth of 7.5 km) inflicted severe regional scale damage to Taiwan. The strong-motion wavefield was captured by a dense network of stations (with average station spacing of 5 km), which represents the most complete strong-motion dataset to date to use to study the kinematic source proces...

In this study, we develop stochastic random-field slip models for the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and conduct a rigorous sensitivity analysis of tsunami hazards with respect to the uncertainty of earthquake slip and fault geometry. Synthetic earthquake slip distributions generated from the modified Mai-Beroza method captured key features of inversion-based source representations of the mega-thrust e...

the nnw-trending dena fault, with 140 km length, cuts the major structures of zagros fold-thrust belt in borujen region. the fault has divided the region in two zones, in which different structural, andmorphological features as well assedimentation and seismtectonic characteristics have developed. this study presents a new interpretation for the kinematics of dena fault based on field evidence....