Application of GIS to spatial analysis of mesofault populations

This paper presents a GIS approach to spatial analysis of fault populations. Coherence between fault moment tensors, a concept borrowed from the geophysical works of Kagan and Knopoff [1985a. Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 81(2), 429-444; 1985b. Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 83(3), 637-656], is the parameter used for quantifying the degree of similarity between faults. Fault datasets from various structural sites can be imported into a GIS software such as ArcView®; using a series of customized GIS tools, data can then be checked and their spatial dependence may be investigated. This customization may be used to investigate the distribution of coherence values based on fault types (i.e. normal, left-lateral, etc.) and/or on the distance between faults. The analysis of a natural dataset reveals that, depending on the movement type, faults can display different coherence distributions with increasing distance ranges, and in some cases also a cyclic behavior. These findings can help reconstruct the history and understand the kinematic significance of fault populations.