SCEC Award Number 08064 View PDF
Proposal Category Collaborative Proposal (Integration and Theory)
Proposal Title What about the Bends?
Investigator(s)
Name Organization
David Oglesby University of California, Riverside Steven Wesnousky University of Nevada, Reno
Other Participants
SCEC Priorities A9, A10 SCEC Groups FARM, EFP, SHRA
Report Due Date 02/28/2009 Date Report Submitted N/A
Project Abstract
In recent years, researchers have independently applied both observational and modeling approaches to assessing the role of geometrical discontinuities along fault strike on the propagation of earthquake ruptures. Interest has been focused primarily on fault discontinuities, which may be described
as steps in the fault trace. This work has led to both dynamic fault models and observational statistics that place physical and statistical bounds on the likelihood of a rupture propagating through or across a step in fault strike. A question that invariably arises is “what about the bends?” How do bends influence the initiation, stopping, and propagation of earthquake ruptures? Here we propose to combine observational and modeling efforts to quantify the description of bends and examine the influence of bends in fault trace
on propagation of strike-slip ruptures. This proposal is a collaborative one between Steve Wesnousky (UNR) and David Oglesby (UCR), who will have separate budgets but common proposal text.