Implications of stress concentration on a strike-slip fault in an elastic plate subject to basal shear stress

Summary We consider a long strike-slip fault in a lithosphere modelled as an elastic slab. To the base of the slab a shear stress distribution is applied which simulates the viscous drag exerted by the asthenosphere. The resulant stress on the fault plane may directly fracture the lithosphere in its brittle upper portion; alternatively it may give rise at first to a stable aseismic sliding in the lower portion. In the latter case, stress concentration due to the deep aseismic slip is the relevant feature of the pre-seismic stress acting on the upper section of the lithosphere. The two cases are examined by use of dislocation theory and their observable effects compared. Different depths of the aseismic slip zone and the presence or absence of a uniform friction on the seismic fault are allowed for. If the model is applied to the San Andreas fault region, where a steady sliding condition actually seems to be present at shallow depth, it turns out that the slip amplitudes commonly associated with large earthquakes are consistent with average basal stress values which can be substantially lower than a few bars, a value often quoted as the steady state basal stress due to a velocity gradient in the upper asthenosphere.     

Numerical comparison of different convergent plate contacts: subduction channel and subduction fault

At convergent plate boundaries, the properties of the actual plate contact are important for the overall dynamics. Convergent plate boundaries both mechanically decouple and link tectonic plates and accommodate large amounts of strain. We investigate two fundamental physical states of the subduction contact: one based on a fault and the other based on a subduction channel. Using a finite element method, we determine the specific signatures of both states of the subduction contact. We pay particular attention to the overriding plate. In a tectonic setting of converging plates, where the subducting plate is freely moving, the subduction channel reduces compression relative to the fault model. In a land-locked basin setting, where the relative motion between the far field of the plates is zero, the subduction channel model produces tensile stress regime in the overriding plate, even though the amount of slab roll-back is small. The fault model shows a stronger development of slab roll-back and a compressive stress regime in the upper plate. Based on a consistent comparison of fault and channel numerical models, we find that the nature of the plate contact is one of the controlling factors in developing or not of backarc extension. We conclude that, the type of plate contact plays a decisive role in controlling the backarc state of stress. To obtain backarc extension, roll-back is required as an underling geodynamic process, but it is not always a sufficient condition.     

Geodetic inversion for space–time distribution of fault slip with time-varying smoothing regularization

We have developed a new geodetic inversion method for space–time distribution of fault slip velocity with time-varying smoothing regularization in order to reconstruct accurate time histories of aseismic fault slip transients. We introduce a temporal smoothing regularization on slip and slip velocity through a Bayesian state space approach in which the strength of regularization (temporal smoothness of slip velocity) is controlled by a hyperparameter. The time-varying smoothing regularization is realized by treating the hyperparameter as a time-dependent stochastic variable and adopting a hierarchical Bayesian state space model, in which a prior distribution on the hyperparameter is introduced in addition to a conventional Bayesian state space model. We have tested this inversion method on two synthetic data sets generated by simulated aseismic slip transients. Results show that our method reproduces well both rapid changes of slip velocity and steady-state velocity without significant oversmoothing and undersmoothing, which has been hard to overcome by the conventional Bayesian approach with time-independent smoothing regularization. Application of this method to transient deformation in 2002 caused by a silent earthquake off the Boso peninsula, Japan, also shows similar advantages of this method over the conventional approach.     

Post-seismic reloading and temporal clustering on a single fault

Geological studies show evidence for temporal clustering of large earthquakes on individual fault systems. Since post-seismic deformation due to the inelastic rheology of the lithosphere may result in a variable loading rate on a fault throughout the interseismic period, it is reasonable to expect that the rheology of the non-seismogenic lower crust and mantle lithosphere may play a role in controlling earthquake recurrence times. We study this phenomenon using a 2-D, finite element method continuum model of the lithosphere containing a single strike-slip fault. This model builds on a previous study using a 1-D spring-dashpot-slider analogue of a single fault system to study the role of Maxwell viscoelastic relaxation in producing non-periodic earthquakes. In our 2-D model, the seismogenic portion of the fault slips when a predetermined yield stress is exceeded; stress accumulated on the seismogenic fault is shed to the viscoelastic layers below and recycled back to the seismogenic fault through viscoelastic relaxation. We find that random variation of the fault yield stress from one earthquake to the next can cause the earthquake sequence to be clustered; the amount of clustering depends on a non-dimensional number, W , called the Wallace number defined as the standard deviation of the randomly varied fault yield stress divided by the effective viscosity of the system times the tectonic loading rate. A new clustering metric based on the bimodal distribution of interseismic intervals allows us to investigate clustering behaviour of systems over a wide range of model parameters and those with multiple viscoelastic layers. For models with   W ≥ 1  clustering increases with increasing W , while those with   W ≤ 1  are unclustered, or quasi-periodic.     

Shallow earthquakes in a viscoelastic shear zone with depth-dependent friction and rheology

Summary. Most crustal earthquakes of the world are observed to occur within a seismogenic layer which extends from the Earth's surface to a depth of a few tens of kilometres at most. A model is proposed in which the shear zone along a transcurrent plate margin is represented as a viscoelastic medium with depth-dependent power-law rheology. A frictional resistance linearly increasing with depth is assumed on a vertical transcurrent fault within the shear zone. Such a model is able to reproduce a continuous transition from the brittle behaviour of the upper crust to the ductile behaviour at depth. Assuming that the shear zone is subjected to a constant strain rate from the opposite motions of the two adjacent plates, it is found that there exists a maximum depth H below which tectonic stress can never reach the frictional threshold: this may be identified as the maximum depth of earthquake nucleation. The value of H is consistent with observations for plausible values of the model parameters. The stress evolution in the shear zone is calculated in the linear approximation of the constitutive equation. A change in rigidity with depth, which is also introduced in the model, may reproduce the high vertical gradient of shear stress, which has been measured across the San Andreas fault, and the fact that most earthquakes are nucleated at some depth in the seismogenic layer. A crack which drops the ambient stress to the dynamic frictional level is then introduced in the model. To this aim, a crack solution is employed without a stress singularity at its edges, which is compatible with a frictional stress threshold criterion for fracture. A constraint on the vertical friction gradient is obtained if such cracks are assumed to be entirely confined within the seismogenic layer.     

The role of the Polochic Fault as part of the North American and Caribbean Plate boundary: Insights from the infill of the Lake Izabal Basin

The Lake Izabal Basin in Guatemala is a major pull-apart basin along the sinistral Polochic Fault, which is part of the North American and Caribbean plate boundary. The basin infill contains information about the tectonic and sedimentological processes that have imparted a significant control on its sedimentary section. The inception of the basin has been linked to the relative importance of the Polochic Fault in the tectonic history of the plate boundary; yet, its sedimentological record and its inception age have been poorly documented. This study integrates diverse datasets, including industry reports, well logs and reports, well cuttings, vintage seismic data, outcrop observations and geochronological data to constrain the initial infill and age of inception of the basin. The integrated data show that during the Oligocene–Miocene, a marine carbonate platform was established in the region which was later uplifted and eroded in the early Miocene. The fluvial–lacustrine deposits above this carbonate platform are part of the initial infill of the basin and are constrained with zircon weighted-mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages of 12.060 ± 0.008 from a volcanic tuff ~30 m above the unconformity. Sandstone, mudstone and coal dominate the interval from 12 to 4 Ma, with an increase in conglomerate correlating to the uplift of the Mico Mountains and San Gil Hill at 4 Ma. Fault switch activity between the Polochic and Motagua faults has been hypothesized to explain total offset along the Polochic Fault and the geologic and geodetic slip rates along the two faults. The 12 Ma age determined for the initial infill of the basin confirms this hypothesis. Consequently, our study confirms that at ~12 Ma the Polochic Fault served as the main fault of the plate boundary with inferred slip rates ranging from 13 to 21 mm/yr with a strong possibility that the Polochic Fault was, at some point between 15 Ma and 7 Ma, the only active fault of the plate boundary. The results of this study show that tectonic records preserved in sediments of strike-slip basins improve the understanding of the relative significance of individual faults and the implications with respect to strain partitioning throughout its tectonic history.     

The evolution of the Gulf of Corinth (Greece): an aftershock study of the 1981 earthquakes

Summary. A preliminary study of the aftershocks of three earthquakes that occurred near to Corinth (Greece) in 1981 is combined with observations of the morphology and faulting to understand the evolution of the Eastern Gulf of Corinth. The well located aftershocks form a zone 60km long and 20km wide. They do not lie on the main fault planes and are mostly located between the north-dipping faulting on which the first two earthquakes occurred and the south-dipping faulting associated with the third event. A cluster of aftershocks also lies in the footwall of the eastern end of the south-dipping fault of the third event.
Morphologically, it is observed that in the evolution of the Eastern Gulf of Corinth, antithetic faulting apparently predates the appearance of the main faulting at the surface. This evolution can be explained by motion on a deep seated, shallow angle, aseismic normal fault. A model based on such a fault also accounts for the aftershock distribution of the 1981 earthquakes.     

Deep geoelectric structure over the Lower Brahmaputra valley and Shillong Plateau, NE India using magnetotellurics

Magnetotelluric studies over the Shillong plateau and lower Brahmaputra sediments have delineated the Dauki fault as a NE–SW striking thrust zone with a dip angle of about 30°, along which the low resistivity layer of Bengal sediments and the underlying oceanic crust subduct to the northwest. At present, about 50 km length of these sequences has subducted beneath the Shillong plateau and is traced up to depth of about 40 km. Another thrust zone, sub parallel to the Dauki thrust is observed in the lower Brahmaputra valley, corresponding to the Brahmaputra fault. This is interpreted to be an intracratonic thrust within the Indian plate. These results suggest that a large fraction of the seismicity over the Shillong plateau is associated with the NE–SW striking Dauki thrust, contrary to the earlier belief that this fault zone is relatively aseismic. The present studies also suggest that the Shillong plateau and the adjoining sedimentary layers act as a supracrustal block, not directly participating in the subduction process. However in response to the compressive tectonic forces generated by the Himalayan and Indo-Burman subduction processes the Shillong plateau, together with the Brahmaputra sediments overlying the Indian crust drift eastwards relative to the Bengal sediments along the surface expression of the Dauki fault leading to a dextral strike slip movement. We thus propose that the NE Indian crust responds to the compressive forces differently at different depths, governed by the rheological considerations. At deeper levels the crustal readjustments take place through the subduction along the Dauki and Brahmaputra thrusts where as, at the shallow levels the relative deformability of the supracrustal blocks have a strong influence on the tectonics, leading to the strike slip mechanism along the surface expression of the Dauki fault.     

Slab pull effects from a flexural analysis of the Tonga and Kermadec trenches (Pacific Plate)

Thin-plate flexure models have been frequently used to explain the mechanical behaviour of the lithosphere at oceanic trenches, but little attention has been paid to using them as a way to check the relative importance of different plate-driving mechanisms. A 2-D numerical algorithm accounting for the flexural deflection of the lithosphere controlled by multilayered elastic–plastic rheology (brittle–elastic–ductile) has been applied to the seaward side of the Tonga and Kermadec trenches. This approach gives a better fit to the bathymetry on both trenches than assuming classical homogeneous plate models, and allows the interplate coupling forces and the lithospheric strength profile to be constrained. Our results show that, in order to fit the observed deflection of the lithosphere, a regional tensile horizontal force must act in both regions. This tensile force and its flexural effects are discussed in terms of slab pull as a main plate-driving mechanism. The predicted stress and yielding distributions partially match the outer-rise earthquake hypocentres within the subducting plate, and thus do not invalidate the model.     

旅游发展引导下乡村城市化的驱动力——以云台山景区内乡村为例

除了工业发展的动力之外,旅游作为一种市场动力,已被证明可以有效引导乡村城市化的实现。因此,在旅游发展的引导下,乡村城市化背后的驱动力以及各动力主体之间的作用关系亟待新的探索和突破。文章引入“国家―市场―社会”作为分析城市化驱动力的三元框架,以云台山景区内的乡村为例,通过观察、访谈等定性研究方法,认为在旅游发展所引导乡村城市化的背后,国家、市场、社会这三元动力在动力主体、作用发挥、角色扮演上和原本框架中各个动力的所指相比都已经发生了转变,主要体现在市场动力从市场供给一方转变为市场需求一方,社会动力从村民组织转变为村民个体。通过案例的实证分析,总结出了地方政府、需求市场、村民个体作为旅游发展引导下乡村城市化的三元驱动力,“地方政府―需求市场―村民个体”的分析框架也是对“国家―市场―社会”分析框架针对具体研究问题的有效修正和补充。     

Coseismic deformation revealed by inversion of strong motion and GPS data: the 2003 Chengkung earthquake in eastern Taiwan

A moderate earthquake of   M _w= 6.8  occurred on 2003 December 10. It ruptured the Chihshang Fault in eastern Taiwan which is the most active segment of the Longitudinal fault as a plate suture fault between the Luzon arc of the Philippine Sea plate and the Eurasian plate. The largest coseismic displacements were 13 cm (horizontal) and 26 cm (vertical). We analyse 40 strong motion and 91 GPS data to model the fault geometry and coseismic dislocations. The most realistic shape of the Chihshang fault surface is listric in type. The dipping angle of the seismic zone is steep (about 60°–70°) at depths shallower than 10 km and then gradually decreases to 40°–50° at depths of 20–30 km. Thus the polygonal elements in Poly3D are well suited for modelling complex surfaces with curving boundaries. Using the strong motion data, the displacement reaches 1.2 m dip-slip on the Chihshang Fault and decreases to 0.1 m near surface. The slip averages 0.34 m, releasing a scalar moment of 1.6E26 dyne-cm. For GPS data, our model reveals that the maximal dislocation is 1.8 m dip-slip. The dislocations decrease to 0.1 m near the surface. The average slip is 0.48 m, giving a scalar moment of 2.2E26 dyne-cm. Regarding post-seismic deformation, a displacements of 0.5 m were observed near the Chihshang Fault, indicating the strain had not been totally released, as a probable result of near-surface locking of the fault zone.     

Free-surface formulation of mantle convection—II. Implication for subduction-zone observables

Viscous and viscoelastic models for a subduction zone with a faulted lithosphere and internal buoyancy can self-consistently and simultaneously predict long-wavelength geoid highs over slabs, short-wavelength gravity lows over trenches, trench-forebulge morphology, and explain the high apparent strength of oceanic lithosphere in trench environments. The models use two different free-surface formulations of buoyancy-driven flows (see, for example, Part I): Lagrangian viscoelastic and pseudo-free-surface viscous formulations. The lower mantle must be stronger than the upper in order to obtain geoid highs at long wavelengths. Trenches are a simple consequence of the negative buoyancy of slabs and a large thrust fault, decoupling the overriding from underthrusting plates. The lower oceanic lithosphere must have a viscosity of less than to²⁴ Pa s in order to be consistent with the flexural wavelength of forebulges. Forebulges are dynamically maintained by viscous flow in the lower lithosphere and mantle, and give rise to apparently stiffer oceanic lithosphere at trenches. With purely viscous models using a pseudo-free-surface formulation, we find that viscous relaxation of oceanic lithosphere, in the presence of rapid trench rollback, leads to wider and shallower back-arc basins when compared to cases without viscous relaxation. Moreover, in agreement with earlier studies, the stresses necessary to generate forebulges are small (∼ 100 bars) compared to the unrealistically high stresses needed in classic thin elastic plate models.     

港口城区房地产投资驱动机制分析——以连云港市港口城区为例

房地产投资驱动机制分析是研究房地产业发展规律的重要组成部分,也是调控政策关注的焦点。该文在理论分析的基础上,选取在我国经济发展占有重要地位的沿海港口城区为实证分析对象,通过构建计量模型定量表达我国沿海港口城区房地产投资驱动机制。结果表明:理论上判断,影响港口城区房地产投资驱动机制的因素可以分为经济、社会和行政3种类型,且区域经济发展综合水平、农业发展水平等20项因子对房地产投资有着重要影响;实证结果显示,连云港市港口城区房地产投资的第一驱动力、第二驱动力、第三驱动力分别为政策导向下的港口城区建设、港口城区中的农业成分比重、港口城区的劳动力供给,影响度分别达到0.372、-0.154、0.058。研究结论能够为房地产投资的预测和调控提供科学依据。     

The reflection seismic survey of project TIPTEQ—the inventory of the Chilean subduction zone at 38.2° S

We describe results of an active-source seismology experiment across the Chilean subduction zone at 38.2°S. The seismic sections clearly show the subducted Nazca plate with varying reflectivity. Below the coast the plate interface occurs at 25 km depth as the sharp lower boundary of a 2–5 km thick, highly reflective region, which we interpret as the subduction channel, that is, a zone of subducted material with a velocity gradient with respect to the upper and lower plate. Further downdip along the seismogenic coupling zone the reflectivity decreases in the area of the presumed 1960 Valdivia hypocentre. The plate interface itself can be traced further down to depths of 50–60 km below the Central Valley. We observe strong reflectivity at the plate interface as well as in the continental mantle wedge. The sections also show a segmented forearc crust in the overriding South American plate. Major features in the accretionary wedge, such as the Lanalhue fault zone, can be identified. At the eastern end of the profile a bright west-dipping reflector lies perpendicular to the plate interface and may be linked to the volcanic arc.     

Scaling relations of earthquakes and aseismic deformation in a damage rheology model

We perform analytical and numerical studies of scaling relations of earthquakes and partition of elastic strain energy between seismic and aseismic components using a thermodynamically based continuum damage model. Brittle instabilities occur in the model at critical damage level associated with loss of convexity of the strain energy function. A new procedure is developed for calculating stress drop and plastic strain in regions sustaining brittle instabilities. The formulation connects the damage rheology parameters with dynamic friction of simpler frameworks, and the plastic strain accumulation is governed by a procedure that is equivalent to Drucker–Prager plasticity. The numerical simulations use variable boundary forces proportional to the slip-deficit between the assumed far field plate motion and displacement of the boundary nodes. These boundary conditions account for the evolution of elastic properties and plastic strain in the model region. 3-D simulations of earthquakes in a model with a large strike-slip fault produce scaling relations between the scalar seismic potency, rupture area, and stress drop values that are in good agreement with observations and other theoretical studies. The area and potency of the simulated earthquakes generally follow a linear log–log relation with a slope of 2/3, and are associated with stress drop values between 1 and 10 MPa. A parameter-space study shows that the area-potency scaling is shifted to higher stress drops in simulations with parameters corresponding to lower dynamic friction, more efficient healing, and higher degree of seismic coupling.     

Quaternary landscape evolution in the San Jacinto fault zone,Peninsular Ranges of Southern California: Transient response to strike-slip fault initiation

Well-constrained case studies of transient landscape response to external forcing are needed to improve our understanding of erosion processes in tectonically active mountain belts. The Peninsular Ranges portion of the San Jacinto fault zone (SJFZ) is an excellent location for such a study because it displays pronounced geomorphic disequilibrium resulting from initiation of a major strike-slip fault in the past 1.0 to 2.5 million years. We recognize two geomorphic domains in this region: (1) a relict low-relief upland domain consisting of broad flat valleys and low-gradient streams and (2) very steep, rough topography with deeply incised canyons and retreating erosional knickpoints. Pleistocene sediments exposed along and near the SJFZ include fluvial conglomerate, sandstone, and mudstone, with weak paleosols and west- to NW-directed paleocurrents. These sediments accumulated in a low-gradient stream system (represented by domain 1) during an early phase of slip in the SJFZ, prior to the modern phase of erosion and degradation (domain 2). Late Pliocene or early Pleistocene initiation of the SJFZ triggered a wave of headward erosion and stream capture that is still migrating NW along the fault zone. Using the total distance that capture points have migrated along the fault zone and a range of possible ages for fault initiation, the rate of knickpoint retreat is estimated at ∼ 12 to 44 km/my.To explore the signal of transient geomorphic response to fault initiation, we analyzed 23 tributaries along an ∼ 20-km portion of the main fault valley within domain 2. The analysis reveals three zones with distinctive morphologies: (1) strongly convex longitudinal profiles in the NW, (2) a large (ca. 5–6 km²) landslide in the central zone, and (3) concave tributaries in the SE with profile complexity decreasing and catchment area increasing from NW to SE. The distribution of these zones suggests close spatial and temporal association of active fault slip, bedrock incision, deep-seated landslides, and erosional modification. The fundamental driving force behind these processes is profound geomorphic disequilibrium resulting from initiation of the SJFZ. We suggest that landslides may have played a significant role in shaping the morphology of this fault zone, and that the influence of landslides may be underestimated in areas where characteristic landforms and deposits are obscured by later erosion and faulting.     

Finite-frequency traveltime tomography of San Francisco Bay region crustal velocity structure

Seismic velocity structure of the San Francisco Bay region crust is derived using measurements of finite-frequency traveltimes. A total of 57 801 relative traveltimes are measured by cross-correlation over the frequency range 0.5–1.5 Hz. From these are derived 4862 'summary' traveltimes, which are used to derive 3-D P -wave velocity structure over a 341 × 140 km² area from the surface to 25 km depth. The seismic tomography is based on sensitivity kernels calculated on a spherically symmetric reference model. Robust elements of the derived P -wave velocity structure are: a pronounced velocity contrast across the San Andreas fault in the south Bay region (west side faster); a moderate velocity contrast across the Hayward fault (west side faster); moderately low velocity crust around the Quien Sabe volcanic field and the Sacramento River delta; very low velocity crust around Lake Berryessa. These features are generally explicable with surface rock types being extrapolated to depth ∼10 km in the upper crust. Generally high mid-lower crust velocity and high inferred Poisson's ratio suggest a mafic lower crust.     

Transtensional fault-termination basins: an important basin type illustrated by the Pliocene San Jose Island basin and related basins in the southern Gulf of California, Mexico

Transtensional basins are sparsely described in the literature compared with other basin types. The oblique‐divergent plate boundary in the southern Gulf of California has many transtensional basins: we have studied those on San Jose island and two other transtensional basins in the region. One major type of transtensional basin common in the southern Gulf of California region is a fault‐termination basin formed where normal faults splay off of strike‐slip faults. These basins suggest a model for transtensional fault‐termination basins that includes traits that show a hybrid nature between classic rift and strike‐slip (pull‐apart) basins. The traits include combinations of oblique, strike‐slip and normal faults with common steps and bends, buttress unconformities between the fault steps and beyond the ends of faults, a common facies pattern of terrestrial strata changing upward and away from the faults into marine strata, small fault blocks within the basin that result in complex lateral facies relations, common Gilbert deltas, dramatic termination of the margin of the basin by means of fault reorganization and boundary faults dying and an overall short basin history (few million years). Similar transtensional fault‐termination basins are present in Death Valley and other parts of the Eastern California shear zone of the western United States, northern Aegean Sea and along ancient strike‐slip faults.     

Asthenospheric counterflow: a kinematic model

Summary. Present-day plate motions imply that about 240 km³ of oceanic lithosphere is created by sea-floor spreading and destroyed by subduction per year. A greater volume of asthenosphere will be dragged along by plate motions. Given the fluxes generated at plate boundaries, the horizontal direction and net rate of counterflow required to maintain mass balance is determined globally by a simple analytical model. Time-dependent calculations indicate that the motions are approximately valid in the hotspot reference frame over the past 5 Myr. Under most plates, the model return flow is opposite to the lithospheric motion in the hotspot frame. The counterflow dominates the resisting stresses to plate motion, so driving force models based on plate drag alone are not valid where the directions of plate motion and counterflow differ. The most marked departure of the two directions is under the North American plate. The model counterflow directions indicate that the sources of mantle hotspots are not located within the asthenosphere. Model flux balances demonstrate exchange of material between asthenospheric reservoirs located beneath different plates. Suggestions of southward asthenospheric motion under the North Atlantic, based on physical features around Iceland and strontium isotope geochemistry, are consistent with the direction of flow predicted by the model.     

城市旅游驱动力的转化及其实践意义

本文旨在探索城市旅游驱动力的转化问题,以从一个侧面阐释改革开放以来中国城市旅游目的地相对变化的原因。在一般分析的基础上,着重以大连、深圳和珠海三个较具代表性的城市为例,对城市旅游驱动力的转化过程做个案剖析,并得出了三点结论:第一,每个城市旅游目的地的发展都存在相应的主导驱动机制;第二,城市旅游的主导驱动机制因时因地而不同;第三,城市旅游要实现可持续发展就必须跟随外部环境的变化(主要是需求结构的变化),适时转变自己的主要驱动力。