EART 118 Seismotectonics

MWF D250 9:30-10:40 am; Th D250 2:00-4:00 pm

Prof.: Thorne Lay, C382 E&MS, Office Hours 11:00-12:00 MWF
TA: Lingling Ye, C332, Office Hours 11:00-12:00 MF

CONCEPTS:

Big Earthquake History

Faulting
Earthquakes
Focal Mechanisms

Supplementary Reading (Optional, for more details/rigor)

Lay and Wallace, Modern Global Seismology, Ch. 8
Stein and Wysession, An Introduction to Seismology,
Earthquakes and Earth Structure.
 Chile
Alaska

Global Broadband Seismic Networks

hr-GPS Networks

DART expansion

after, Ammon et al., SRL, 2010

Last 9.0 yrs - 16 great shallow earthquakes: rate 1.8/yr; rate over preceding century 0.7/yr

1.8/yr !

Great (Mw > 8) shallow events from Dec. 2004-Nov. 2013

 STUDYING EARTHQUAKE FAULTING FROM THE SEISMIC WAVES IT
GENERATES IS AN INVERSE PROBLEM

Arrival time of seismic waves at seismometers at different sites

is first used to find the location and depth of earthquake

Amplitudes and motions of radiated seismic waves used to study

- size of the earthquake

- geometry of the fault on which it occurred
- direction and amount of slip

Seismic waves give an excellent picture of the kinematics of faulting,

needed to understand regional tectonics
 “Rheological” Layering
oceanic crust
continental
crust 150- lithosphere
70 km
300
km

asthenosphere
Lithosphere behaves (ductile layer
that flows)
rigidly over most
timescales - brittle mantle

Temperature and
composition control
mechanical behavior
 1906 San
Francisco
Rupture
This earthquake
was associated
with lateral
displacements
of about 5 m
along ~300 km
Mw = 7.9
How do we describe faults? It started with miners….
Subduction zones have huge thrust faults where plates rub
Normal faults exist in regions of extension/rifting
Strike-slip faults occur where crust is shearing horizontally
Strike-Slip Fault
 APPROXIMATE FAULT AS PLANAR WITH GEOMETRY
REPRESENTED BY
Three angles: strike φ f , dip δ , slip λ

Kanamori and Cipar, 1974

S&W 4.2-2

Coordinate axes chosen with x3 vertical and x1 oriented along the fault
in the plane of the earth's surface, such that the fault dip angle, δ
measured from the -x2 axis, is < 90°.
Slip angle λ is measured between the x1 axis and d in the fault plane.
φf is the strike of the fault measured clockwise from north.
 Strike,
Dip
and
Rake
Strike - Direction of line
formed by intersection of
x1 fault plane and horizontal
plane (defined so dip is to
right of strike)
Dip - downward inclination
of fault plane relative to
horizontal
x2
Rake - Direction of motion
dip x2 on fault measured
anticlockwise on fault plane
from strike direction
 SLIP ANGLE λ CHARACTERIZES FAULT TYPE

Most earthquakes consist of some combination of these motions,

and have slip angles between these values
 Earthquake Explanation
• An Earthquake is the process of sudden,
shearing slip on a fault (or creation of a new
crack) combined with resultant vibrations

• Earthquakes are Frictional Sliding instabilities.

Repeated stick-slip behavior is observed.
Friction depends on pressure, temperature,
fluids, slip velocity, fault history, and material
properties in the fault zone.
Strain accumulates in the volume of rock around the fault called the fault zone.

Sliding between the two rock masses is resisted by friction (static friction)
When the strain in the rock approaches the limiting value of about
1.0 x 10-4, you will either break the rock (form a new fault), or overcome
frictional resistance of the fault, abruptly releasing stored strain energy.

The sudden change in stress/strain in the source volume generates P

and S waves that expand outward from the source volume. Much of the
energy is consumed in heating of the fault surface as it slides.
From Keller
& Pinter
Deformation measured prior to an earthquake
by GPS stations crossing San Andreas fault When the earthquake happens,
the actual change in position
of the ground along the green
line on the left will have a pattern
like this:

The slip on the fault at the

green line intersection will
equal D, the displacement there
indicated by the length of the
red line.
The Fault Does Not Slip all at
Once
 STUDY
EARTHQUAKE
USING SEISMIC
WAVES IT
GENERATES

Stein & Wysession, 2003

Polarity of first P-wave arrival varies between seismic stations in different

directions, depending on fault geometry.

First motion is compression for stations located such that material near the fault
moves ``toward'' the station, or dilatation, where motion is ``away from'' the station.

When a P wave arrives at a seismometer from below, a vertical component

seismogram records up or down first motion, corresponding to either compression
or dilatation.

Method requires understanding effect of earth structure on seismic waves

 P WAVE
FIRST MOTIONS

First motions define four quadrants; two compressional and two dilatational.

Quadrants separated by nodal planes: the fault plane and auxiliary plane
perpendicular to it.

From the nodal planes fault geometry is known.

Because motions from slip on the actual fault plane and from slip on the auxiliary
plane would be the same, first motions alone cannot resolve which is the actual
fault plane.
The four-quadrant pattern of motions toward or away from the
source is imparted to the P wavefront. That expands through the
Earth as a ‘wave’ disturbance, without change (other than by
predictable interactions with the Earth layering). Thus, remote
observations sample the pattern of motions at the source, which
are controlled by the specific fault orientation and sense of slip.
Seismograms recorded at EARTHQUAKE FOCAL
MECHANISM STUDY
various distances and azimuths
used to study geometry of
faulting during an earthquake,
known as the focal mechanism.

Use fact that the pattern of

radiated seismic waves depends
on fault geometry.

Simplest method relies on the

first motion, or polarity, of body
waves.

More sophisticated techniques

use waveforms of body and
surface waves.
SEISMIC RAYS BEND DUE TO VELOCITY INCREASING WITH DEPTH
Snell’s law for ray path in sphere places arrivals recorded at distant
stations where they would be on hemisphere just below earthquake

Ray parameter

Constant along the ray

Stein & Wysession, 2003
Top of focal sphere Stereographic Projection. Every point P on
lower hemisphere of a focal sphere projects
to a unique position P’ on the equatorial plane
defined by a line from the top of the focal
sphere to the point on the focal sphere.
P’ A planar surface intersection with the focal sphere
maps to a curve on the equatorial plane.

P Can map the 3D fault geometry to a 2D

display: this is stereographic projection. Can
conserve angles or area in projection.
PLOT LOWER FOCAL HEMISPHERE USING STEREONET
 PLOT FIRST MOTIONS
Find polarities of the first arrivals at seismic stations.

Station corresponds to a point on the focal sphere with the same azimuth and
an incidence angle corresponding to the ray that emerged there. Az 40°, ih 60°.

Plot stations on the stereonet, and mark whether the first motion is dilatation or
compression

(50°) (50°)
 PLOT NODAL PLANES

Find nodal planes that

separate compressions
from the dilatations.

Ensure the two planes are

orthogonal, with each one
passing through the
pole to the other.

If distribution of stations
on the focal sphere is
adequate, we can find the
nodal planes, which
are the fault plane and the
auxiliary plane.

Stein & Wysession, 2003

Strike 45°, dip 60°

Stein & Wysession, 2003

Perpendicular
planes will go
through the pole
of the plane they
are perpendicular
to. The pole is the
point corresponding
to the normal to a
plane.
Although the focal mechanisms FOCAL MECHANISMS FOR BASIC
look different, they reflect the same FAULTS
four-lobed P-wave radiation pattern

However, because the fault plane

and slip direction are oriented
differently relative to the earth's
surface, the projections of the
radiation pattern lobes on the
lower focal hemisphere differ

To see this, mark the P wave

quadrants on a ball and rotate it.

Stein & Wysession, 2003

 FOCAL MECHANISMS FOR DIFFERENT FAULTS
All have same N-S striking plane, but with slip angles varying
from pure thrust, to pure strike-slip, to pure normal

Stein & Wysession, 2003

Stein & Wysession, 2003
INFER STRESS ORIENTATIONS
FROM FOCAL MECHANISMS

Simple model predicts faulting on

planes 45° from maximum and
minimum compressive stresses

These stress directions are halfway

between nodal planes

Most compressive (P) and

least compressive stress (T) axes
can be found by bisecting the
dilatational and compressional
quadrants

Stein & Wysession, 2003

 Confused?
We will do a lab:
Determining a Focal Mechanisms
Additional Reading
A draft primer on focal mechanism
solutions for geologists by Vince Cronin
http://serc.carleton.edu/files/NAGTWorksh
ops/structure04/Focal_mechanism_pri
mer.pdf
Supplementary Info on Spherical Geometry
Also
Called

Schmidt

Equal
Area
Stereonet
Wulff

Equal
Angle
Stereonet
Wulff Steronet with 2° grid
Horizontal Ray
in NE direction

Plane dipping down at 50° to Vertical Plane

the east (upper hemisphere striking north
projection) or down at 40° to south
west (lower hemisphere
projection)

Vertical Ray

Ray taking-off to
SE and upwards
at 45° (upper
hemisphere
projection) or
downwards at
45° (lower
hemisphere
projection)
 Normal Faulting

Dilatation

Co
m

Co
pr
es

m
sio

pr
es
n

sio
n
Cross Section

Di
lat
at
ion
Cross Section
 Thrust (Reverse) Fault

Compression

Di
lat
a

Di
tio

lat
n

at
ion
Co
Cross Section

m
pr
es
sio
n
Cross Section