These animations show the output from simulations of earthquake ruptures used to understand fault interaction among the San Andreas, San Jacinto, and Sierra Madre-Cucamonga fault systems. Details of the study can be found in the December 12, 2003, issue of Science.
Note: For best viewing, save (download) the animations to your local computer and then open them with your browser or movie player.
Animation of cumulative slip for a rupture beginning on the San Jacinto fault and proceeding northward on the San Andreas fault. In this scenario we assume that the San Jacinto fault extends north of the Cucamonga fault until it meets the San Andreas fault.
Animation of cumulative slip for a rupture beginning on the San Jacinto fault and proceeding westward onto the Cucamonga and Sierra Madre faults. In this scenario we assume that the San Jacinto fault ends at the Cucamonga fault.
The animations begin with a perspective view of the surface traces of the faults against a landsat (satellite) image of the Los Angeles metropolitan region. The landsat image becomes semi-transparent, revealing the three-dimensional model of the fault surfaces. The red box indicates the total extent of the three-dimensional model. The color scale indicates the amount of slip across the fault surface that occurs during the earthquake.
