Contact: Brian Bell
bpbell@caltech.edu
626-395-5832
California Institute of Technology

Faulty Behavior

Caption: Numerical simulations illustrate that fault segments can move slowly and stably over long periods of time and later host large earthquakes. Dashed lines represent slow slip every 50 years along a cross-section of the fault, with the numbers indicating the simulated time in years. Earthquakes are shown by solid lines plotted every second. The area marked patch B can both slip slowly (e.g., dashed lines above the 4,500 year mark) and participate in large earthquakes (e.g., yellow event).

Credit: Nadia Lapusta/Caltech

Usage Restrictions: Okay with credit

Related news release: Faulty behavior