A note on the effects of material discontinuities on spatial variations of surface displacements from static dislocations

• Static ground displacements around faults near or inside sedimentary basins.
• Effects of fault proximity to sedimentary basins on asymmetry of static displacements.
• Calculations are formulated via imaging method relative to the free surface.
• Rotations of permanent displacements around faults in asymmetric geological environment.

Post-earthquake observations show that permanent static and transient dynamic displacements in the near field of shallow faults can be complex and quite different from theoretical predictions for homogeneous half-space. These complexities are associated with many departures from the linear, elastic, homogeneous, and isotropic representations, and include the consequences of complex three-dimensional (3D) geology surrounding faults. In this paper we illustrate these complexities for a two-dimensional (2D) model of shallow strike-slip fault when it is inside, on the border, and outside a sedimentary basin.