Seismic Deformation (Elastic Rebound Theory)

When an earthquake fault ruptures, it causes two types of deformation: static; and dynamic. Static deformation is the permanent displacement of the ground due to the earthquake. The earthquake cycle progresses from a fault that is not under stress, to a stressed fault as the plate tectonic motions driving the fault slowly proceed, to rupture during an earthquake and a newly-relaxed but deformed state.

After a earthquake, a formerly straight line is distorted into a shape having increasing displacement near the fault, this process is known as elastic rebound.

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