Conjugate, or bimodal, fault patterns dominate the geological literature on shear failure. Based on Anderson's (1905) application of the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion, these patterns have been interpreted from all tectonic regimes, including normal, strike-slip and thrust (reverse) faulting. However, a fundamental limitation of the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion e and others that assume faults...

Following the 2010 Maule and 2011 Tohoku earthquakes, many studies have examined the relation between megathrust earthquakes and subsequent deformation. Here, we apply simple models based on mode II shear cracks, including approximated effects of the free surface to study induced deformation during coseismic and early postseismic stages. We distinguish between buried and surface ruptures repres...

Tsunami generation by an earthquake is generally modeled by water surface displacement identical to the vertical deformation of ocean bottom due to faulting. The effect of horizontal deformation is usually neglected. However, when the tsunami source is on a steep slope and the horizontal displacement is large relative to the vertical displacement, the effect becomes significant. We show this fo...

The October, 1995 Mw 8.0 Jalisco subduction earthquake has provided a thorough geodetic observation of the coseismic subduction process. An 11 station regional GPS network located directly onshore of the rupture demonstrates consistent vertical subsidence verified by tide gauge data and southwest-directed extension, with measured displacements reaching I meter. Unusually shallow and non-uniform...

Seismological observations of the 2012 moment magnitude 8.6 Sumatra earthquake reveal unprecedented complexity of dynamic rupture. The surprisingly large magnitude results from the combination of deep extent, high stress drop, and rupture of multiple faults. Back-projection source imaging indicates that the rupture occurred on distinct planes in an orthogonal conjugate fault system, with relati...