ABSTRACT

Continuum mechanics-based numerical simulations are potential methods for evaluating surface fault displacements. We developed a parallel finite element method to evaluate these displacements. In this study, we applied a numerical method to the simulation of the 2014 Nagano-ken-hokubu Earthquake, in which surface faulting was observed. We modeled a 5 km × 5 km × 1 km domain around the northernmost region of the surface faults, which included secondary faults. We applied forced displacements on the bottom surface of the model based on the slip distribution on the primary fault and the elastic theory of dislocations. As the input slip increased, surface slips appeared on the primary fault and a secondary fault. The calculated surface slips were in good agreement with the measured values.