SCEC Award Number 10135 View PDF
Proposal Category Individual Proposal (Integration and Theory)
Proposal Title Study of the origin of shallow slip deficit in strike-slip earthquakes through simulations of earthquake sequences in elasto-plastic media
Investigator(s)
Name Organization
Yuri Fialko University of California, San Diego
Other Participants Yoshi Kaneko, postdoctoral scholar
SCEC Priorities A7, A9, A10 SCEC Groups FARM, Seismology
Report Due Date 02/28/2011 Date Report Submitted N/A
Project Abstract
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Intellectual Merit In this study, we investigate whether inelastic failure in the shallow crust due to dynamic earthquake rupture can explain the inferred deficit of shallow slip. Evidence for such failure is emerging from geologic, seismic, and geodetic
observations. We find that the amount of shallow slip deficit is proportional to the amount of inelastic deformation near the Earth surface. Such deformation occurs under a wide range of parameters that characterize rock strength in the upper crust. Inelastic deformation in the shallow crust tempers coseismic strain near the fault, introducing an additional artificial deficit of up to 10% of the maximum slip in inversions of geodetic data that are based on purely elastic models. Detarmining the origin of the deficit of shallow slip is important both for understanding physics of seismic events and estimating seismic hazard, as suppression of shallow rupture could greatly influence strong ground motion in the vicinity of active faults.
Broader Impacts The project provided support for an early career scientist (postdoctoral fellow Yoshi Kaneko).
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