Normal Fault Growth on Mars

Displacement versus length relationships of faults on Earth and Mars have been used to describe and interpret the evolution of faults and fault systems, infer differences in the relative strengths of strata, and evaluate variations in fault-system response to differences in gravity from planet to planet. In this presentation, we focus on maximum throw versus trace length (Dmax/L) of continuously mappable faults and Dmax/L of individual fault segments. Fault analyses on Mars have the advantage of a planetary surface devoid of vegetation and largely unaffected by weathering and erosion. Areas on the flanks of Alba Patera, Mars, were chosen because they are well imaged by all generations of data coverage, contain fault systems that have a range of developmental characteristics, and formed in a relatively simple tectonic setting dominated by extension. Footwall and hanging wall cutoff traces of more than 300 faults were interpreted using Viking imagery and ArcGIS software. Throw was obtained by calculating the elevation difference between adjacent footwall and hanging wall points using Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter data. Throw versus along-strike trace length plots were constructed for each interpreted fault. Single fault segments are defined as having one well-defined displacement maximum bounded by two near-zero displacement minima. Segments within a multi-segment fault were identified by counting displacement maxima along the fault trace. The number of segments incorporated into multi-segment faults is positively correlated with the fault trace length. In a plot of Dmax versus L, whole faults are distributed approximately along a locus of Dmax = K × Ln, where K = 5 × 10-4 to 5 × 10-2 and n = 1. This is in agreement with previous studies of faults on Mars. Single fault segments form a distinct population whose distribution is described approximately by the same equation but where K = 1.7 × 10-3. Dmax/L ratios for multi-segment faults represent an apparently self-similar evolution (n = 1) resulting from linkage and post- linkage development of single fault segments. In contrast, the distribution of single fault segments indicates that they do not grow by self-similar increments but evolve to higher Dmax/L ratios with successive slip events, a conclusion in accord with recent studies of terrestrial fault systems and coseismic surface ruptures.