Distributions of cumulative displacement and seismic slip on a single normal fault surface

Abstract

Displacement profiles (normalized displacement vs normalized distance from the point of maximum displacement) have been plotted for 34 horizontal radii from 25 normal faults with maximum displacements ranging from 1.0 to 37.5 m. The composite displacement profile for these faults, when corrected for systematic inaccuracies of the data, is significantly different from the theoretical slip profile for a single seismic slip event. The integration of slip displacement profiles of many slip events on a growing fault shows that a steady-state displacement profile will be established. This theoretical displacement profile is similar to the composite profile derived from the fault data. Analysis of displacement data from 488 fault traces, which do not necessarily pass through the point of maximum displacement of their respective faults, shows that although displacement measurements are strongly influenced by ductile drag the theoretical distribution can still be identified in the data. Although the slip distribution on a fault during a single slip event, or during a period of stable sliding, is not simply related to the distribution of cumulative displacement on the fault, a knowledge of both characteristics places firm constraints on fault growth models.