Crustal deformation due to non‐uniform slip along a long fault

Abstract

The problem of the static deformation of a homogeneous, isotropic, perfectly elastic half‐space caused by non‐uniform slip along vertical strike‐slip and dip‐slip faults of infinite length and finite depth is studied. Four slip profiles are considered: elliptic b=b0(1 −h2/L2)1/2; parabolic b=b0(1 −h2/L2); linear b=b0(1 −h/L); and cubic b=b0(1 −h2/L2)3/2; where b is the slip at depth h, b0 is the surface slip and L is the fault depth. The deformation corresponding to the four non‐uniform slip profiles is compared with the deformation due to a uniform slip, assuming the source potency ∫L0b(h) dh to be the same. The parity in source potency is achieved by varying the fault‐depth L, keeping the surface‐slip b0 constant. Contour maps showing the displacement and stress fields around a long, vertical, strike‐slip fault are also obtained. It is found that the effect of the non‐uniformity of slip on the subsurface deformation is significant in the near field. The surface deformation is affected by the non‐uniformity to a lower extent. Copyright © 1994, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved