A Worldwide and Unified Database of Surface Ruptures (SURE) for Fault Displacement Hazard Analyses
Résumé
Fault displacement hazard assessment is based on empirical relationshipsthat are established using historic earthquake fault ruptures.These relationships evaluate the likelihood of coseismicsurface slip considering on-fault and off-fault ruptures, for givenearthquake magnitude and distance to fault. Moreover, theyallow predicting the amount of fault slip at and close to theactive fault of concern. Applications of this approach includeland use planning, structural design of infrastructure, and criticalfacilities located on or close to an active fault.To date, the current equations are based on sparsely populateddatasets, including a limited number of pre-2000 events. In2015, an international effort started to constitute a worldwideand unified fault displacement database (SUrface Ruptures dueto Earthquakes [SURE]) to improve further hazard estimations.After two workshops, it was decided to unify the existingdatasets (field-based slip measurements) to incorporate recentand future cases, and to include new parameters relevant toproperly describe the rupture.This contribution presents the status of the SURE databaseand delineates some perspectives to improve the surface-faultingassessment. Original data have been compiled and adaptedto the structure. The database encompasses 45 earthquakesfrom magnitude 5–7.9, with more than 15,000 coseismic surfacedeformation observations (including slip measurements)and 56,000 of rupture segments. Twenty earthquake cases arefrom Japan, 15 from United States, two from Mexico, Italy,and New Zealand, one from Kyrgystan, Ecuador, Turkey,and Argentina. Twenty-four earthquakes are strike-slip faultingevents, 11 are normal or normal oblique, and 10 are reversefaulting.To pursue the momentum, the initial and common implementationeffort needs to be continued and coordinated, and themaintenance and longevity of the database must be guaranteed.This effort must remain based on a large and open communityof earthquake geologists to create a free and open accessdatabase.