Numerical simulation of influences of the earth medium's lateral heterogeneity on co- and post-seismic deformation

Many studies revealed that the Earth medium's lateral heterogeneity can cause considerable effects on the co- and post-seismic deformation field. In this study, the three-dimensional finite element numerical method are adopted to quantify the effects of lateral heterogeneity caused by material parameters and fault dip angle on the co- and post-seismic deformation in the near- and far-field. Our results show that: 1) the medium's lateral heterogeneity does affect the co-seismic deformation, with the effects increasing with the medium's lateral heterogeneity caused by material parameters; 2) the Lame parameters play a more dominant role than density in the effects caused by lateral heterogeneity; 3) when a fault's dip angle is smaller than 90°, the effects of the medium's lateral heterogeneity on the hanging wall are greater than on the footwall; 4) the impact of lateral heterogeneity caused by the viscosity coefficient on the post-seismic deformation can affect a large area, including the near- and far-field.