The Burst-Like Behavior of Aseismic Slip on a Rough Fault: The Creeping Section of the Haiyuan Fault, China

Recent observations suggesting the influence of creep on earthquakes nucleation and arrest are strong incentives to investigate the physical mechanisms controlling how active faults slip. We focus here on deriving generic characteristics of shallow creep along the Haiyuan fault, a major strike‐slip fault in China, by investigating the relationship between fault slip and geometry. We use optical images and time series of Synthetic Aperture Radar data to map the surface fault trace and the spatiotemporal distribution of surface slip along the creeping section of the Haiyuan fault. The fault trace roughness shows a power‐law behavior similar to that of the aseismic slip distribution, with a 0.8 roughness exponent, typical of a self‐affine regime. One possible interpretation is that fault geometry controls to some extent the distribution of aseismic slip, as it has been shown previously for coseismic slip along active faults. Creep is characterized by local fluctuations in rates that we define as creep bursts. The potency of creep bursts follows a power‐law behavior similar to the Gutenberg–Richter earthquake distribution, whereas the distribution of bursts velocity is non‐Gaussian, suggesting an avalanche‐like behavior of these slip events. Such similarities with earthquakes and lab experiments lead us to interpret the rich dynamics of creep bursts observed along the Haiyuan fault as resulting from long‐range elastic interactions within the heterogeneous Earth’s crust

New Radar Interferometric Time Series Analysis Toolbox Released

Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) has become an important geodetic tool for measuring deformation of Earth’s surface due to various geophysical phenomena, including slip on earthquake faults, subsurface migration of magma, slow‐moving landslides, movement of shallow crustal fluids (e.g., water and oil), and glacier flow. Airborne and spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instruments transmit microwaves toward Earth’s surface and detect the returning reflected waves. The phase of the returned wave depends on the distance between the satellite and the surface, but it is also altered by atmospheric and other effects. InSAR provides measurements of surface deformation by combining amplitude and phase information from two SAR images of the same location taken at different times to create an interferogram. Several existing open‐source analysis tools [Rosen et al., 2004; Rosen et al., 2011; Kampes et al., 2003 ; Sandwell et al., 2011] enable scientists to exploit observations from radar satellites acquired at two different epochs to produce a surface displacement map

Modeling Deep Rooted Thrust Mechanism of Crustal Thickening in Eastern Tibet

To test Eastern Tibet crustal thickening modes, we compare 2-D numerical models of two emblematic end-member models, with either an obstacle in the low viscosity lower crust or a thrust embedded in the high viscosity one. We show that the obstacle halts the viscous lower crustal flow potentially initiated by the weight of the high Central Tibet, generating a smooth exhumation gradient at the edge of the plateau, not observed in Eastern Tibet. On the contrary, including a low viscosity discontinuity in the upper crust, mimicking a shallow steep listric fault as inferred in the region, reproduces a sharper exhumation profile, as constrained from thermo-kinematic inversions of thermochronological data, and the lack of foreland basin, as observed in the field. Moreover, such fault drives deformation throughout the entire crust, suggesting a deep crustal ductile shear zone limiting the more ductile deformation in the lower crust although no discontinuity is imposed

Constant slip‐rate on the Doruneh strike‐slip fault, Iran, averaged over Late Pleistocene, Holocene, and decadal timescales

Varying estimates of both present‐day strain accumulation and long‐term slip‐rate on the Doruneh left‐lateral strike‐slip fault, NE Iran, have led to suggestions that it exhibits large along‐strike and/or temporal changes in activity. In this paper, we make and compare estimates of slip‐rate measured using both geodesy and geomorphology, and spanning time periods ranging from decadal to 100 ka. To image the present‐day accumulation of strain we process seven years (2003‐2010) of data from six ENVISAT tracks covering the fault, with interferograms produced for 400 km‐long strips of data in order to image the long‐wavelength signals associated with interseismic strain accumulation across the locked fault. Our analysis shows that less than 4 mm/yr – and likely only 1‐3 mm/yr ‐ of slip accumulates across the fault. Using high‐resolution optical satellite imagery we make reconstructions of displacement across six alluvial fans whose surfaces cross the fault, in four separate river catchments. We determine the ages of these fans using infra‐red‐stimulated luminescence dating combined with U‐series dating of pedogenic carbonates. The six fans vary in age from ∼10‐100 kyr, and a regression line fitted to four of these yields a slip rate of 2.5 ± 0.3 mm/yr. We conclude that within the uncertainty of our measurements the slip‐rate has remained constant over the last ∼100 ka and is representative of the strain accumulation at the present‐day. The slip‐rate that we measure is consistent with the E‐W left‐lateral Doruneh fault accommodating N‐S right‐lateral faulting by 'bookshelf' faulting, with clockwise rotation about a vertical axis

Modeling of craton stability using a viscoelastic rheology

Archean cratons belong to the most remarkable features of our planet since they represent continental crust that has avoided reworking for several billions of years. Even more, it has become evident from both geophysical and petrological studies that cratons exhibit deep lithospheric keels which equally remained stable ever since the formation of the cratons in the Archean. Dating of inclusions in diamonds from kimberlite pipes gives Archean ages, suggesting that the Archean lithosphere must have been cold soon after its formation in the Archean (in order to allow for the existence of diamonds) and must have stayed in that state ever since. Yet, although strong evidence for the thermal stability of Archean cratonic lithosphere for billions of years is provided by diamond dating, the long-term thermal stability of cratonic keels was questioned on the basis of numerical modeling results. We devised a viscoelastic mantle convection model for exploring cratonic stability in the stagnant lid regime. Our modeling results indicate that within the limitations of the stagnant lid approach, the application of a sufficiently high temperature-dependent viscosity ratio can provide for thermal craton stability for billions of years. The comparison between simulations with viscous and viscoelastic rheology indicates no significant influence of elasticity on craton stability. Yet, a viscoelastic rheology provides a physical transition from viscously to elastically dominated regimes within the keel, thus rendering introduction of arbitrary viscosity cutoffs, as employed in viscous models, unnecessary