Abstract In order to understand fault structure, there is a need to first understand fault complexity. Images of faults at depth and near surface reveal complexities that characterize properties such as geometry, composition and stress states of that fault’s structure. While this is true for both passive and induced imaging, a true passive source image is without the changes in fault structure due to any induced mechanism. This is something to consider when discussing fault complexity at near surface versus depth, as it is already difficult to distinguish the direction of complexity within a fault already. Current seismic research has been unable to understand if fault complexity is derived from a point at depth, or expands from surface complexity into depth. It is critical to understand the relationship between shallow and deep complexity in order to predict where that origin may have been and what caused its expansion. Passive source imaging has been able to help describe the factors that attribute to this complexity by providing a way to visually see subsurface data, but has not yet fully answered the complexity question.
Introduction
Fault structure is the aftermath of a slipping event in the lithosphere that produces high velocity compression waves that can be imaged as they travel through and across the surface of the lithosphere. These waves affect and change, or in other words add complexity to the structure of the lithosphere within the fault zone. This
Plate Tectonics is a scientific theory which study how the Earth’s plates are driven and shaped by geological forces to keep them in constant movement. The theory explains the present-day tectonic behavior of the Earth, particularly the global distribution of mountain building, earthquake activity, and volcanism in a series of linear belt. (Pitman, W.C., 2007)
According to Townend and Zoback (2004) the San Andreas Fault (SAF) region has been noted for its possession of stress orientations in addition to the lack of a distinct heat flow anomaly at the trace of the fault. These findings indicate that there are average shear tractions that are less than 20-25 MPa in the seismogenic upper crust. Oftentimes, shear tractions measure approximately 5 times greater than in the SAF. Due to the presence of high
Structural Geology – When large bodies of rocks are formed these did not happen in one day. They have history within that can be studied. Structural Geology discovers this history to be able to tell what happened before, what kind of tectonic plate occurred. Structural Geology supports other Geology areas such as Petrology to discover natural gas or petroleum to say the least.
• This earthquake may not have released all of the strain stored in its rocks next to the fault this reveals a potential earthquake in the Santa Cruz Mountains in the near future. The occurrence of the earthquake showed that the Earth did not exhaust all its strain and hence other earthquakes could be expected. However, the dates could not be predicted. The extent of the damage could have been much more devastating for the region, but with the earthquake occurring near the coast this made half of the felt area westward in the Pacific Ocean. The occurrence of aftershocks ten days later reinforces the unpredictability nature and hence makes Geology to be a study that is always evolving. In conclusion, the Earth and the study of cannot be exhausted as every natural occurrence provides a new puzzle to be solved.
Stretching forces generated in the lithosphere immediately above the rising portion of a convection cell result in rifting of the lithosphere and ultimate formation of what type of plate boundary?
Over more than 50 decades there has been multiple earthquakes that have been caused by the activity that takes place beneath and above the surface of the earth. For every earthquake there are various effects and consequences, these are generally not preventable but teachable moments. As we study and explore landforms we learn and better understand how today 's structures came about, what took place decades ago and where do we go from here. Thanks to the technology and inquiring minds we are able to study past events like the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the 1964 Alaska earthquake. In comparing these two events we can get an overview of what happened and better prepare ourselves for something like that in the future.
To fully understand the SAF, let’s look at what a fault actually is. A fault is a rupture where two blocks of the Earth 's crust have moved past one another. (Lange, 2016) “Faults are classified based on the direction of the slip between the blocks of earth. The faults in the San Andreas system are called strike-slip faults. Faults can occur anywhere on the Earth 's surface. The San Andreas Fault system is not just a simple strike-slip fault. It is actually a transform boundary separating the Pacific and North American tectonic plates.” (Lynch, 2013) “By definition, an earthquake is the shaking of the ground cause by seismic waves. Almost all earthquakes occur when unreleased stress in rocks along large, active faults (like the SAF) as the rock breaks it releases
One of the major things noticeable from the cross section is that quite a few of the rock layers are over turned, where the older rock layers are above the newer rock layers. This is seen in the contact between the Quartz Monzonite of Papoose Flat and the Campito Formation which is also a disconformity. Next there is some fault zones separating the Camptio, Poleta, and Harkless formations. We then see some more overturned layers with the contacts between Saline Spring Valley Formation (lower and upper members) above the Mule Spring Formation along with some inferred folding. With a normal fault separating the inferred folding event, we see where the overturning occurs. In between the Cambrian layers we see Tertiary Basalt nonconformities also being folded, thus with that we know that the folding event was more recent than the formation of the Basalt. Next there is a large Basalt field with a spot of the Harkless formation. Again we see over tuning as the Basalt field ends there are the Devonian and Mississippian rock Layers on top of the basalt. Separating these overturned layers from the Harkless Formation and the Saline valley Formation (upper member), which are not overturned, is a thrust fault. From this information, there was a major stress event sometime after the Tertiary period causing the rock layers to fold and overturn. And from this stress event and from the folding, normal and thrust faults are formed. Finally we see that there were alluvial and landslide deposits from the Quaternary after the folding, faulting, and over
In recorded history, there have been 151 earthquakes in Nevada that were a magnitude of 3.5 or higher. As previously mentioned, the mountain ranges of Nevada are typically bound on one side or the other by a fault. There are quaternary faults that range in ages from less than 150 years to around 1.8 million years in existence. The property damage in Nevada from earthquakes was .2 million dollars between 1196 and 2014 based on information from department of energy for the state. As we studied in our textbook, earthquakes can by a number of things, such as shifting faults, or volcanic
water fractures within the earth. Causing certain areas of the land to have an earthquake effect
Neotectonic frames show comparable arrangements. Therefore, with respect to any given region the peaks of A-tents indicate comparable directions. New fault scarps have a tendency to be correlated with the territorial lineament
Initially, earthquakes shape the Earth’s surface by creating mountains and geysers. In the article “Historic Earthquakes,” it reads, “High intensities were observed in the northwest section of Yellowstone National Park. Here, new geysers erupted, and massive slumping caused large cracks in the ground from which steam emitted” (Stover 3). Consequently, when the geo-process of earthquakes occurs, it molds and changes the earth by creating new geothermal
began to flow along weak layers that define the folds and faults and carved the resistant
Moving on to Block Mountain, this mapping area has four main folds and six significant faulting components, all resulting from continued compressional tectonics. The oldest structure, which is the Sandy Hollow anticline, is a northward-plunging anticline that is similar in age to the eastern syncline underlying the
The earthquakes above give a brief glimpse into the importance of analyzing past and present fault configurations. If scientists could make a breakthrough in this area perhaps we could better predict earthquake activity and better prepare ourselves if it is deemed a potential disaster is looming.