A Model for Visual Assessment of Fault Plane Solutions and Active Tectonics Analysis Using the Global Centroid Moment Tensor Catalog
- Publication Type:
- Journal Article
- Citation:
- Earth Systems and Environment, 2019
- Issue Date:
- 2019-01-01
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© 2019, King Abdulaziz University and Springer Nature Switzerland AG. In this study, individual fault plane solutions are developed using various methods to improve the understanding of active tectonics on a regional scale. The comparative analysis of a focal mechanism solution (FMS) has not elicited the attention of researchers. Therefore, this study aims (1) to visually analyze the fault plane solution for 20 local faults that are responsible for all the earthquakes that occurred using visualization techniques such as: fault parameters, the linked Bingham method, the ad hoc pressure (P) axis and tension (T) axis method, and the moment tensor method; (2) to identify the best method for FMS; and (3) to understand the active tectonics of a fault population. A comparative analysis of the models is systematically documented to improve the understanding of the methods. An analysis of the overall fault mechanism is conducted for the analytic determination of fault movement using fault population data from the Global Centroid Moment Tensor catalog. The approach used in this work is a newly designed method for analyzing the reliability of various techniques for fault mechanism and overall fault movement research. Findings show that for the fault mechanism analysis, the P and T axes method and the moment tensor method are better than the fault plane solution from the fault parameters and the linked Bingham method based on the input parameters, output information, model outfit, and accuracy. The moment tensor method is one of the best approaches for analyzing fault mechanism because the errors in the nine components used as input data for the modeling are negligible. Meanwhile, the P and T axes method is one of the best techniques for the overall analysis of fault movement. P and T dihedral analysis using Kamb contouring is modeled. It indicates that the overall mechanisms of compression and dilation are features at the NW–SE and E–W directions, respectively. This comprehensive and consistent analysis of the fault mechanism provides an overview of the seismotectonic settings in Sabah, Malaysia.
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