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Minimum Earthquake Magnitude Associated with Coseismic Surface Faulting

1988; Geological Society of America; Volume: xxv; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2113/gseegeosci.xxv.1.17

1558-9161

Manuel G. Bonilla,

High-pressure geophysics and materials

Research Article| February 01, 1988 Minimum Earthquake Magnitude Associated with Coseismic Surface Faulting MANUEL G. BONILLA MANUEL G. BONILLA U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, MS 977, Menlo Park, CA 94025 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information MANUEL G. BONILLA U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, MS 977, Menlo Park, CA 94025 Publisher: Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1558-9161 Print ISSN: 1078-7275 © 1988 Association of Engineering Geologists Environmental & Engineering Geoscience (1988) xxv (1): 17–29. https://doi.org/10.2113/gseegeosci.xxv.1.17 Article history First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation MANUEL G. BONILLA; Minimum Earthquake Magnitude Associated with Coseismic Surface Faulting. Environmental & Engineering Geoscience 1988;; xxv (1): 17–29. doi: https://doi.org/10.2113/gseegeosci.xxv.1.17 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyEnvironmental & Engineering Geoscience Search Advanced Search Abstract Rupture of the ground surface by faulting associated with shallow earthquakes is an important element to consider in the evaluation of fault activity. Observational data compiled in this report indicate that the minimum earthquake magnitude associated with reported sudden surface faulting is about ML 5. Considering that the epicentral areas of many earthquakes of ML 5 or less were not searched for evidence of surface faulting, the actual minimum magnitude may be smaller. A combined empirical and theoretical analysis suggests that under ideal conditions, coseismic surface faulting of a few millimeters associated with earthquakes having moment magnitudes as small as 3 could be recognized by simple field methods. Several factors such as dimensions, depth, and orientation of the rupture surface together with observational conditions affect the development and subsequent recognition of surface faulting.Surface displacements ranging from a few millimeters to several decimeters have accompanied earthquakes having magnitudes between 5 and 6. The larger fault displacements and the earthquakes can damage structures, and that possibility should be considered in regions where shallow earthquakes of that size can occur. The generally small and short surface ruptures associated with such earthquakes may leave very little evidence in the topography, stratigraphy, or near-surface structure, especially if the displacements are consistently small and the recurrence intervals for earthquakes are long. Such conditions may explain why so few active faults have been recognized in some regions of infrequent shallow earthquakes, such as eastern North America. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.