ⒺEffects of Nonplanar Fault Topology and Mechanical Interaction on Fault-Slip Distributions in the Ventura Basin, California

Abstract To assess the control of fault geometry and mechanical interactions on fault-slip distributions in a complex natural system, we present results from three-dimensional mechanical models incorporating both nonplanar and rectangular planar representations of active faults within the Ventura basin region of southern California. We find that the incorporation of geologically constrained nonplanar fault surfaces into numerical models of active deformation results in a better match to available geologic slip-rate data than models utilizing rectangular planar fault surfaces. The model results demonstrate that nonplanar fault geometry and mechanical interactions exert a strong control on resultant slip distributions. Additionally, we find that slip rates at most locations along the surface trace of Ventura faults are not likely to rep-resent average values for the entire fault surface. We propose that results from three-dimensional mechanical models using realistic (i.e., nonplanar) fault geometry can be used to both predict slip rates at specific locations and determine whether existing site-specific slip-rate estimates are representative of average fault-slip rates. Although geo-metric irregularities along-fault surfaces should resist slip, planar faults can have lesser slip than nonplanar faults due to the differing mechanical interactions among nearby faults in the two representations. This suggests that models using simplified or planar fault geometry are likely to inaccurately simulate regional deformation. We assert that detailed knowledge of three-dimensional fault shape as well as the geometry and con-figuration of deep fault intersections is essential for accurate seismic hazard char-acterization of regions of complex faulting such as the Ventura basin of southern California. Online Material: Three-dimensional interactive fault mesh of Ventura region faults