Seismic cycle on a strike-slip fault with rate- and state-dependent strength in an elastic layer overlying a viscoelastic half-space

Abstract

A numerical simulation of seismic cycles is performed using a two-dimensional model with a vertical strike-slip fault in an elastic layer overlying a Maxwellian viscoelastic half-space, where the frictional stress on the fault is assumed to obey a rate- and state-dependent friction law. Simulated seismic cycles in the viscoelastic Earth model are nearly the same as those in a uniform elastic half-space model. The simulated postseismic deformation on the Earth's surface due to viscoelastic relaxation is significant for time duration comparable to the viscoelastic relaxation time following the occurrence of an earthquake, and after that the deformation due to aseismic sliding of the fault dominates over that due to viscoelastic relaxation. Copyright © The Society of Geomagnetism and Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences (SGEPSS); The Seismological Society of Japan; The Volcanological Society of Japan; The Geodetic Society of Japan; The Japanese Society for Planetary Sciences.