Numerical models of earthquake mechanism

Abstract

The tectonic creep and its variation after particular earthquakes are studied by the Stokes equation. The stress state of the region is modelled according to a hypothesis of plate tectonics in which the lithosphere of the region is laterally compressed across the Eurasian, Indian, and Arabian plates. The 1966 Tashkent (Uzbekistan) earthquake and the 1976 Gazli (Uzbekistan) earthquake are selected as examples to study different models of earthquake focal mechanisms. Based on the specifics of the geodynamic formulation, the three-dimensional equations of moment elasticity and hydromechanics are reduced to two-dimensional equations for averaged stresses, displacements, and displacement velocities. The two-dimensional equations are solved by boundary integral equations. The stresses can be useful in zoning maps. The vertical velocities obtained from the creep model of the earth's crust can serve as additional data to Central Asia's horizontal velocities from GPS measurements.

Keywords

• Central Asia
• Stress state
• Earthquake mechanism
• Numerical model
• Boundary element method