Fault evolution, scaling relationships and hazard

Changes in fault geometry, throw-rates and slip-rates along the length of a fault are crucial for understanding fault evolution and interaction and need to be incorporated in interpretation of fault scaling relationships and earthquake hazard assessments. Normal fault examples from Iceland and Italy provide examples of soft linkage, breach faults, and bends in faults that can be used to investigate fault growth at different stages of fault linkage. We find that at all stages of fault linkage studied, bends in strike along a fault affect throw-rate profiles along the fault. Crucially, for fault-based seismic hazard assessment, we need to consider how we interpret throw-rate and slip-rate profiles along a fault because how we interpret slip-rate profiles will impact moment release calculations and hence recurrence intervals. We therefore need detailed data regarding fault geometry and slip-rates to inform fault-based seismic hazard assessments, uncertainties and where further study is needed.