[1] Slip rates across active faults and folds show that late Quaternary faulting is distributed across the central Tien Shan, not concentrated at its margins. Nearly every intermontane basin contains Neogene and Quaternary syntectonic strata deformed by Holocene north-south shortening on thrust or reverse faults. In a region that spans two thirds of the north-south width of the central Tien Sha...

[1] Geologic investigations of how the Tibetan plateau is currently deforming have focused primarily on its boundary faults. Consequently, how the interior of the plateau deforms remains poorly understood. To fill this gap in knowledge, we conducted field mapping, analysis of remote sensing and digital topographic data, and reinterpretation of existing geologic maps in central Tibet. This study...

A number of observations indicate that an upper stability transition occurs along well-developed faults, such as the San Andreas, as a result of unconsolidated gouge within shallow regions of these faults. These observations include the depth distribution of seismicity along faults with and without well-developed gouge zones, correlations between seismicity and shallow crustal structure, and mo...

[1] The tectonic evolution of Mars has been driven primarily by the interaction of Tharsisinduced loading stresses with a uniform contractional stress field, leading to global assemblages of graben and wrinkle ridges. Until recently, strike-slip faults have appeared to be largely absent from the tectonic record. We here present evidence for a new set of Noachian to Early Hesperian strike-slip f...

Abundant geological, seismological and experimental evidence of the heterogeneous structure of natural faults motivates the theoretical and computational study of the mechanical behavior of heterogeneous frictional interfaces. Fault zones are composed of a mixture of materials with contrasting strength, which may affect the spatial variability of seismic coupling, the location of high-frequency...

Variations in diurnal tidal stress due to Europa’s eccentric orbit have been considered as the driver of strike-slip motion along pre-existing faults, but obliquity and physical libration have not been taken into account. The first objective of this work is to examine the effects of obliquity on the predicted global pattern of fault slip directions based on a tidal-tectonic formation model. Our...

[1] The majority of crustal faults host earthquakes when the ratio of average background shear stress b to effective normal stress eff is b/ eff 0.6. In contrast, mature plate-boundary faults like the San Andreas Fault (SAF) operate at b/ eff 0.2. Dynamic weakening, the dramatic reduction in frictional resistance at coseismic slip velocities that is commonly observed in laboratory experiments, ...

fault zones and fault-related fracture systems control the mechanical behaviors and fluid-flow properties of the earth’s crust. furthermore, nowadays, modeling is being increasingly used in order to understand the behavior of rock masses, and to determine their characteristics. in this work, fault zones and fracture patterns are reviewed, and also comprehensive studies are carried out on the fr...

Strike-slip faults may be traced along thousands of kilometers, e.g., the San Andreas Fault (USA) or the North Anatolian Fault (Turkey). A closer look at such continental-scale strike faults reveals localized complexities in fault geometry, associated with fault segmentation, secondary faults and a change of related hazards. The North Anatolian Fault displays such complexities nearby the mega c...

Numerical models based on linear elasticity theory predict asymmetric slip distribution with a steep slip gradient near the line of intersection of intersecting normal faults. They also predict a discrepancy between the direction of slip on the fault plane and the direction of resolved shear stress. Both variations in slip magnitude and direction are due to mechanical interaction between the fa...