Displacement field for an edge dislocation in a layered half‐space

Abstract

The displacement field for an edge dislocation in an Earth model consisting of a layer welded to a half‐space of different material is found in the form of a Fourier integral following the method given by Weeks et al. [1968]. There are four elementary solutions to be considered: the dislocation is either in the half‐space or the layer and the Burgers vector is either parallel or perpendicular to the layer. A general two‐dimensional solution for a dip‐slip faulting or dike injection (arbitrary dip) can be constructed from a superposition of these elementary solutions. Surface deformations have been calculated for an edge dislocation located at the interface with Burgers vector inclined 0°, 30°, 60°, and 90° to the interface for the case where the rigidity of the layer is half of that of the half‐space and the Poisson ratios are the same. Those displacement fields have been compared to the displacement fields generated by similarly situated edge dislocations in a uniform half‐space. The surface displacement field produced by the edge dislocation in the layered half‐space is very similar to that produced by an edge dislocation at a different depth in a uniform half‐space. In general, a low‐modulus (high‐modulus) layer causes the half‐space equivalent dislocation to appear shallower (deeper) than the actual dislocation in the layered half‐space.