How did the Meers fault scarp form? Paleoearthquake or aseismic creep? A soil mechanical perspective


Cetin H.

ENGINEERING GEOLOGY, vol.47, no.3, pp.289-310, 1997 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 47 Issue: 3
  • Publication Date: 1997
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/s0013-7952(97)00028-8
  • Journal Name: ENGINEERING GEOLOGY
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.289-310
  • Çukurova University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Studies confirm that the Meers fault in southwestern Oklahoma has been active in recent times. The most recent movement occurred about 1100 y ago in late Holocene. There is as much as 5 m vertical and possibly appreciably more left-lateral strike-slip displacements on the fault. During faulting, the Quaternary soils(1) along the fault were folded as well as ruptured. In some places, almost all of the deformation is accommodated by ductile folding of the soils. Having this kind of deformation with no record of an earthquake associated with the Meers fault during historical times raises the question whether the present scarp was formed seismically by earthquake event(s), or aseismically by slow deformation (aseismic fault creep).