Figure 1
The three schematic block diagrams are arranged vertically and labeled “a)”, “b)”, and “c)”. Each panel shows a transparent rectangular block representing a volume of the Earth with a curved fault surface drawn inside the block. The fault surface appears as a rectangular mesh composed of closely spaced dots or grid lines following a curved, dipping shape from the upper surface toward the lower interior of the block. In panel “a)”, a dotted rectangular fault surface mesh is embedded inside the transparent block. The mesh follows a curved planar surface that begins near the upper surface of the block and bends downward toward the interior, forming a slightly arched shape along its length. Several labels with arrows identify structural elements. The upper edge of the surface is labeled “Fault Trace”, pointing to the intersection line of the fault surface with the top of the block. The dotted surface itself is labeled “Fault Surface Mesh”. On the left side of the block, two labels mark vertical limits of the fault: “Upper Seismogenic Depth” near the upper portion of the block and “Lower Seismogenic Depth” near the bottom portion. The mesh forms a long curved rectangular sheet extending diagonally across the block from left to right. In panel “b)”, the same transparent block and curved fault surface appear, but only one smaller rectangular section of the fault mesh is highlighted near the left end of the curved surface. This highlighted portion forms a localized rupture patch positioned along the curved plane. The rest of the fault surface remains lightly dotted while the highlighted segment appears darker. A label below the block reads “Single Earthquake Rupture”. The rupture patch occupies a small rectangular portion near the lower-left side of the curved fault surface. In panel “c)”, the entire curved fault surface is filled with a dense grid-like mesh pattern, darker and more uniform than in the previous panels. The mesh extends continuously along the curved plane from one end of the block to the other, covering the full fault surface. A label below the block reads, “Earthquake Ruptures ‘Floated’ along Strike and Dip”. The mesh appears as a continuous set of rectangular cells following the curved geometry of the fault surface across the block.Fault-surface construction and rupture-area floating schematic (a) The fault surface is created by projecting the fault trace from the Earth's surface to the lower seismogenic depth at a dip angle and then discretised into a mesh; (b) An earthquake rupture is defined as a portion of this meshed fault surface; (c) All possible rupture locations are simulated by allowing the rupture patch to “float” both along strike and along dip. Source(s): Edited from Pagani et al. (2014)