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Fault Displacement and Ground Tilt During Small Earthquakes

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Part of the book series: NATO Advanced Study Institutes Series ((ASIC,volume 12))

Abstract

A program of repeated precision leveling at selected locations in Iceland over a period of seven years shows an annual rate of tilting of less than one microradian per year on the flanks of the active rift zones. Earthquakes of magnitude 5 to 6 are associated with measurable fault displacement at distances up to 25 kilometers from the epicenters and the area around the active fault is abnormally deformed during the earthquakes. During a period of one or two years after an earthquake the rate of ground deformation is higher than normal. This is explained by plastic flow at depth which tends to restore the surface to the position before the sudden deformation.

This work has been supported by grants GP-5365, GA-987, GA-4112, GA-24152 from the National Science Foundation, Washington.

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© 1974 D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht-Holland

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Tryggvason, E. (1974). Fault Displacement and Ground Tilt During Small Earthquakes. In: Thoft-Christensen, P. (eds) Continuum Mechanics Aspects of Geodynamics and Rock Fracture Mechanics. NATO Advanced Study Institutes Series, vol 12. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-2268-2_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-2268-2_15

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-2270-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-010-2268-2

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