In geophysics, a fault is a fracture or zone of fractures within Earth’s crust along which measurable displacement has occurred due to tectonic stress. Faults accommodate brittle deformation and are characterized by a fault plane (or surface), a slip direction, and associated structures such as fault gouge and breccia. They are classified by kinematics into normal, reverse (including thrust), and strike-slip types, reflecting the dominant stress regime (extensional, compressional, or shear). Faults influence strain localization, fluid migration, and seismicity, with many earthquakes resulting from sudden slip episodes governed by frictional and elastic properties of the surrounding rocks.
At the Seismological Society of America's Annual Meeting, researchers posed a seemingly simple question: how wide are faults?
Earth Sciences
Apr 18, 2025
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When Julian Lozos visited the site of the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquakes two days after the event, he noticed something strange. Pebble- to boulder-sized rocks had clearly been moved by the earthquakes—but there were no signs ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 17, 2025
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Below California's famed beaches, mountains and metropolitan areas lies a sinister web of earthquake faults—some so infamous that their names are burned into the state's collective consciousness.
Earth Sciences
Apr 16, 2025
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A new analysis of earthquake rupture directivity provides essential insights for seismic hazard and risk assessments in urban areas, particularly concerning the Main Marmara Fault near Istanbul in western Türkiye.
Earth Sciences
Mar 14, 2025
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