Any videos of rock ground rupture of deep major faults?

  • Thread starter Thread starter snorkack
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Ground Rock
Click For Summary
SUMMARY

This discussion centers on the challenges of capturing videos of ground rupture along deep major faults during earthquakes, particularly in hard rock. Participants highlight that deep-seated earthquakes, typically occurring at depths greater than 30-50 km, rarely rupture the surface, making video evidence scarce. The consensus is that amateur photographers often fail to capture useful footage due to panic during seismic events, while surveillance drones may offer a better solution for recording these phenomena. The conversation also touches on the complexities of fault expression in hard rock and the influence of weathering on surface visibility.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of seismic activity and earthquake mechanics
  • Familiarity with geological fault types and classifications
  • Knowledge of video recording techniques during dynamic events
  • Awareness of the limitations of amateur photography in high-stress situations
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the capabilities of surveillance drones for geological monitoring
  • Study the characteristics of deep faults and their seismic behavior
  • Explore case studies of significant earthquakes and their surface expressions
  • Examine techniques for capturing high-stress event footage effectively
USEFUL FOR

Geologists, seismologists, videographers interested in natural phenomena, and anyone studying earthquake dynamics and fault mechanics will benefit from this discussion.

snorkack
Messages
2,388
Reaction score
536
TL;DR
Have any videos been captured of earthquake ground rupture in rock, along the main fault?
With recent abundance of security and cellphone cameras a lot of interesting and rare phenomena have been filmed.
There are many videos of local landslides and rockfalls.
Earthquakes commonly display shaking of buildings. Ground ruptures often happen in soft ground, in multiple places. Earthquake shaking may trigger rockfalls, along local faults unrelated to the main earthquake faults. Even when a ground rupture can be identified as the main earthquake fault, it is often in soft soil.
Have there been any occasions where a section of a deep fault reaching surface in hard rock has been filmed in coseismic motion?
 
Earth sciences news on Phys.org
snorkack said:
Have there been any occasions where a section of a deep fault reaching surface in hard rock has been filmed in coseismic motion?
The release of energy by the physical rupture of hard rock nearby, will be sufficient to destroy the camera mountings. The camera will shake so much due to the broadband step displacement, that there will be no useful pictures.

Amateur photographers lack the discipline and presence of mind to hold a camera steady during an unexpected event, they panic, point the camera at the ground and run, just when they need to stand their ground to maintain the record.

Maybe, if there was a surveillance drone flying nearby, the camera would be sufficiently isolated, to capture the step change in ground position, along with the following oscillatory movements.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: snorkack
snorkack said:
TL;DR Summary: Have any videos been captured of earthquake ground rupture in rock, along the main fault?

Have there been any occasions where a section of a deep fault reaching surface in hard rock has been filmed in coseismic motion?

The issue is, that deep seated quakes, even major ones, dont rupture the surface. That is, quakes deeper than around 30-50km.
In the 40 years I have been doing geology/seismology, I, personally, dont know of any quake deeper than around 15-25km that has ruptured the surface. .... If anyone has data on one that had, feel free to speak up 😊

So I guess you need to define your definition of "a deep fault"
A quake of 5 - 15km deep is a shallow crustal event.

cheers
Dave
 
  • Informative
Likes   Reactions: berkeman and BillTre
What was the recent Sagaing Fault earthquake like? It is said that over 500 km of the fault moved, displacement was up to 6 m and over long distances 4-5 m, and over long distances it was a surface rupture.
Was the surface rupture exclusively through alluvial valley fills through all these hundreds of km, or were any rock outcrops ruptured?
 
snorkack said:
Was the surface rupture exclusively through alluvial valley fills through all these hundreds of km, or were any rock outcrops ruptured?
When clamped by the hydrostatic pressure of the rock above, hard rock will shear cleanly. That evidence of faulting is seen in deep hard-rock mines, where differential weathering and erosion have not yet been applied.

Previous fractures, now exposed nearer the surface, will be selectively weathered and eroded by streams, hiding the expression of the fault zone, preventing the formation of a clear fracture line on the surface.

Future fractures, near the surface, will avoid solid blocks of hard rock that may be exposed, instead it will take a path of least resistance, through the weaker weathered zones, around those blocks.

At the surface, without the confining forces, the fault expression will be different. There will be thick slabs of solid rock, that slide, tilt and rotate, and there will be slumps and landslides, that will bury the observers with the evidence.

Take a look at the YouTube videos of landslides in Pakistan, India, and China, to see how the bigger surface blocks move, to hide the surface expression of the fault.
 
There is an image elsewhere on this forum, that appears at first sight to be the surface expression of an earthquake fault.
dlgoff said:
This image ... blows my mind:
It is actually the head, or sidewall, of a massive landslide, triggered by the nearby earthquake movement.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
12K
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
10K