The Nature of Stress Pattern Due to a Sudden Movement Across a Nonplanar Buried Strike-Slip Fault In a Layered Medium

Abstract

A layered model of the lithosphere-asthenosphere system consisting of an elastic layer overlying a viscoelastic half space is considered. A long, buried, inclined strike-slip fault is taken to be situated in the medium with a bending at the surface of separation. The mantle convection induced a constant force on the fault resulting in a sudden movement across it. The movement on the fault changes the stress pattern in the nearby region. A mathematical model incorporating the essential
features of the tectonic forces and the associated fault movement has been developed. Analytical expression for displacements, strains and stresses are obtained using suitable mathematical techniques involving integral transforms, Green’s function etc. Computational work indicates that a sudden movement across the fault has signiï¬cant effect on the stress accumulation in the region. The variation of shearing stress with depth and distance from the fault show some interesting features. It is expected that such features will be useful in understanding the mechanism of earthquakes processes during the aseismic period.