Deformation in continents is not restricted to narrow bands but is spread over great distances within their interiors. A number of lines of evidence, including the distribution of earthquakes, reveal that the strength of different continental regions varies markedly. While it is relatively easy to qualitatively map out these variations, little progress has been made in quantifying the range of strength in the continents and identifying the physical mechanisms that control these variations. I investigate crustal deformation associated with the earthquake cycle, inflation of magma chambers beneath volcanoes, and changes in surface loads. Results of these models has important implications for our understanding of large-scale continental deformation and mountain building, in addition to both seismic and volcanic hazard assessment. Novel analytic solutions for simple shear with depth-dependent linear and non-linear viscoelastic rheologies are derived, in addition to analytical solutions for imposed harmonic tractions and displacements on an elastic layer over a Maxwell viscoelastic half space.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:658490 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Moore, James D. P. |
| Contributors | Parsons, Barry |
| Publisher | University of Oxford |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:6e73f2e2-a8f7-4790-8f13-f562d50302a9 |
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