The three-dimensional pattern of crustal deformation associated with active normal fault systems observed using continuous GPS geodesy

Geological examples of shallow dipping normal faults with large displacements are exposed at numerous locations throughout the world and it is widely recognized that extensional deformation at brittle crustal levels is most efficiently accomplished by slip across such structures. It has previously been shown that lower dip angles reduce the regional stresses required to drive large horizontal displacements. Nevertheless, the traditional theory of fault mechanics—based on Anderson’s classification of stress regimes, the Coulomb failure criterion, and Byerlee’s friction law—precludes such faults from slipping at low angle. Observational support for this traditional theory includes the absence of large unequivocally low-angle normal fault earthquakes in the global catalog; all well-determined normal fault earthquakes appear to have occurred on moderate to steeply dipping planes. However, precise measurements of 3D crustal motions based on continuous GPS in central Italy and Utah reveal deformation patterns across active normal fault systems that are inconsistent with active slip across steeply dipping planes. Instead, the combination of observed horizontal and vertical surface motions are consistent with slip across low angle surfaces independently imaged in the subsurface by seismic reflection and other geophysical data. For the Alto Tiberina fault in central Italy, active aseismic creep occurs at shallow crustal levels, most likely within the brittle-frictional regime at which Andersonian-Byerlee fault mechanics should be applicable. The actively creeping portion of the fault inferred using GPS geodesy correlates well with the observed pattern of micro-seismicity, which concentrates along the inferred subsurface fault plane. GPS measurements across the greater Wasatch fault zone in the vicinity of Salt Lake City, Utah, reveal crustal motions consistent with aseismic displacement across a shallow dipping fault or sub-horizontal shear zone at mid-crustal depths. The inferred slip rates are very similar for both the Italy and Utah fault systems, 2-3 mm/yr. For both of these examples, active displacement across a shallow dipping structure appears to be accompanied by episodic seismic slip on steeply dipping hanging wall normal faults that root into the shallow structures. These active fault systems may represent different stages in a general model describing the evolution of large magnitude extensional deformation through time, wherein active displacement across a mid-crustal detachment climbs to shallower levels as mid-crustal rocks and fluids are brought to the surface.