Evolution of the San Andreas Fault System from the lithospheric-scale 3-D thermo-mechanical modelling constrained by geophysical observations

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The aim of this project is to study factors controlling distribution of stress as well as localization and partitioning of strain during lithosphere-scale deformation at the San Andreas Fault System (SAFS) in California during the last 20 My. To accomplish this we will employ a fully internally consistent thermo-mechanical finite-element modelling in 3-D, and will use information on lithospheric structure, stress-field measurements, GPS data and other geophysical (e.g. heat flow) and geological observations as modelling constraints. In particular, the results of the ongoing SAFOD drilling project in Parkfield, California, will provide important information about critical boundary conditions for the modelling. The simplified 3-D numerical technique (so-called 2 ½-D technique), which was recently developed at the GFZ and successfully applied to the modelling of the Dead Sea Transform and SAFS, will be extended to include along-strike variations of structure and displacements.