Rupture Interaction with Fault Jogs

Abstract

Propagation of moderate to large earthquake ruptures within major transcurrent fault systems is affected by their large-scale brittle infrastructure, comprising echelon segmentation and curvature of principal slip surfaces (PSS) within typically ∼1 km wide main fault zones. These PSS irregularities are classified into dilational and antidilational fault jogs depending on the tendency for areal increase or reduction, respectively, across the jog structures. High precision microearthquake studies show that the jogs often extend throughout the seismogenic regime to depths of around 10 km. On geomorphic evidence, the larger jogs may persist for periods >105 years. While antidilational jogs form obstacles to both short- and long-term displacements, dilational jogs appear to act as kinetic barriers capable of perturbing or arresting earthquake ruptures, but allowing time-dependent slip transfer. In the case of antidilational jogs slip transfer is accommodated by widespread subsidiary faulting, but for dilational jogs it additionally involves extensional fracture opening localized in the echelon stepover. In fluid-saturated crust, the rapid opening of linking extensional fracture systems to allow passage of earthquake ruptures is opposed by induced suctions which scale with the width of the jog. Rupture arrest at dilational jogs may then be followed by delayed slip transfer as fluid pressures reequilibrate by diffusion. Aftershock distributions associated with the different fault jogs reflect these contrasts in their internal structure and mechanical response.