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Tidal tilt modification along an active fault

  • Tidally Induced Phenomena
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Tidal Phenomena

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences ((LNEARTH,volume 66))

Abstract

Inhomogeneous deformation in the vicinity of a lateral contrast between different poroelastic structures in the crust causes local tidal tilt disturbances. A number of model approaches have been published since more than 20 years in order to give a quantitative estimation of this effect which is known as ‘geologic effect’. Most of them correctly predict the general behaviour of tidal tilt modification near an elastic contrast but underestimate the large disturbances that have been observed experimentally. In principle, the geologic effect can be used to infer changes in the state of deformation with increasing tectonic stress. Several experiments have been conducted in earthquake prone areas in order to detect temporal variations of tidal tilt parameters related to seismotectonic events; the results, however, so far are inconclusive.

Tidal tilt observations along a western strand of the North-Anatolian Fault Zone, integrated within an interdisciplinary earthquake research project, reveal considerable deviations of the tidal tilt parameters from the response of a laterally homogeneous Earth. The most prominent temporal phenomenon during the years 1988 to 1994 are seasonal variations of the order of 8% with respect to the tidal tilt residual amplitudes. They are superimposed on a secular drift of the order of 5%, which starts or intensifies in the beginning of 1991. Both classes of signals are correlated with similar changes in independent observables like microseismic activity, the traveltimes of longitudinal waves, the accumulation of tectonic strain and the temperature of ground water. They are interpreted as being caused by changes of effective stress due to fluctuations of internal pore fluid pressure and/or the ambient stress level.

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  1. GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Bereich 2.1 Telegrafenberg A31, D-14473, Potsdam

    Malte Westerhaus

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  1. Malte Westerhaus
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Helmut Wilhelm Walter Zürn Hans-Georg Wenzel

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© 1997 Springer-Verlag

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Westerhaus, M. (1997). Tidal tilt modification along an active fault. In: Wilhelm, H., Zürn, W., Wenzel, HG. (eds) Tidal Phenomena. Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences, vol 66. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0011469

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0011469

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-62833-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-68700-9

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