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Dynamic 3D simulations of earthquakes on En Echelon Faults
Author(s) -
Harris Ruth A.,
Day Steven M.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/1999gl900377
Subject(s) - seismology , geology , seismic gap , earthquake rupture , remotely triggered earthquakes , earthquake simulation , earthquake magnitude , fault (geology) , san andreas fault , slip (aerodynamics) , echelon formation , intraplate earthquake , tectonics , geometry , engineering , mathematics , aerospace engineering , scaling
One of the mysteries of earthquake mechanics is why earthquakes stop. This process determines the difference between small and devastating ruptures. One possibility is that fault geometry controls earthquake size. We test this hypothesis using a numerical algorithm that simulates spontaneous rupture propagation in a three‐dimensional medium and apply our knowledge to two California fault zones. We find that the size difference between the 1934 and 1966 Parkfield, California, earthquakes may be the product of a stepover at the southern end of the 1934 earthquake and show how the 1992 Landers, California, earthquake followed physically reasonable expectations when it jumped across en echelon faults to become a large event. If there are no linking structures, such as transfer faults, then strike‐slip earthquakes are unlikely to propagate through stepover s >5 km wide.