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Restraining bends influence topography, strike‐slip evolution, and earthquake rupture dynamics, however the specific factors governing their geometry and development in the crust are not well established. These relationships are challenging to investigate in field examples due to cannibalization and erosion of earlier structures with cumulative strain. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated the structure, morphology, and kinematics of 22 basement‐cored restraining bends on low net‐slip faults (<10 km) within the southern Eastern California shear zone (SECSZ) via mapping, topographic analyses, and 3D numerical modeling. The bends are self‐similar in form with most exhibiting focused relief between high‐angle bounding faults with an arrowhead shape in map view and a "whaleback" longitudinal profile. Slight changes in that form occur with increasing size indicating predictable growth that appears to be primarily controlled by local fault geometries (i.e., bifurcation angle), rather than the influence of fault obliquity relative to far‐field plate motion, due to inefficient slip‐transfer across interconnected irregularly trending closely spaced faults. Modeling results indicate that the self‐similar fault‐bound geometry of SECSZ restraining bends may arise from elevated shear strain at the outer corners of single transpressional fault bends with increasing cumulative slip. This, in turn, promotes growth of a new fault leading to efficient accommodation of local convergent strain via uplift between bounding faults. Finally, our results indicate that the kilometer‐scale restraining bends contribute minimally to regional contraction as they only penetrate the upper third of the seismogenic crust and are therefore also unlikely to impede large earthquake surface ruptures. Key Points: Southern Eastern California shear zone restraining bends exhibit self‐similar forms that change predictably with growthUplift patterns within these bends are influenced more by local fault geometries than by obliquity of fault trend to plate motionPositive flower structures may initially develop due to increased shear strain at bend corners [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Topography along strike‐slip fault restraining bends is theoretically self‐limited by erosion, block translation and the expected abandonment of fault bends. However, Denali (6,194 m) and Foraker (5,304 m) are located within a restraining bend of the dextral Denali Fault system. We reveal the role of bend evolution in mountain building with physical experiments scaled to simulate the Alaska Mount McKinley restraining bend (MMRB). Despite the natural complexity of the MMRB, first‐order patterns (of strike‐slip separation rates, uplift and lateral bend migration) from the geologic data align with patterns from scaled experiments. Thermochronology, seismicity, and slip rate data show that the persistence of a single Denali Fault strand through the ~6 Ma MMRB is facilitated by simultaneous advection of crust through the bend and migration of the eastern vertex of the bend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous field observations suggest that fault slip surface roughness may decrease with slip. However, measurements have yet to confidently isolate the effect of slip from other possible controls, such as lithology or tectonic setting. We describe the evolution of slip surfaces in normal faults in SE Utah that cut well‐sorted, high‐porosity sandstones and accommodated regional extension at 1‐ to 4‐km depth. Tight controls on fault offset and uniform tectonic history allowed us to isolate the effect of slip during early stages of faulting (0‐ to 55‐m slip). Slip surfaces progress from rough joints and deformation bands toward smooth, continuous, and mirror‐like surfaces with increasing slip. We collected 123 scans of pristine slip surfaces, which measure surface geometry from micrometers to meters in length scale. Results indicate that slip surface roughness is systematically smoother than joint surfaces and deformation band edges. Over the best resolved length scales (0.1–10 mm), we observe roughness decreases with slip according to a power law with exponent −1 in the slip direction. Slip‐perpendicular profiles, though rougher, exhibit the same smoothing trend. The Hurst scaling exponent does not change with slip. These observations require wear to be multiscale. Boundary element method models suggest that mechanical wear of completely mated surfaces occurs by asperity failure and that the wear rate depends on the aspect ratio of asperities. These results indicate that at large slip, asperity failure at all length scales can cause slip surfaces to smooth while maintaining the fractal geometry characteristic of faults. Plain Language Summary: Earthquakes occur on faults. It is known that fault geometry is a key factor to understanding earthquakes. This raises the following question: does fault geometry change from one fault to the other? It will likely be intuitive to the reader that the geometry may change as a fault accumulates displacement and rub past each other. However, measurements have yet to show that this is definitely the case for faults. This is because this measurement is difficult to obtain. In fact, laboratory experiments struggle to reproduce realistic conditions. We instead shift our attention to a natural laboratory, the San Rafael Desert, SE Utah, United States. In the study area, hundreds of dead faults, which were once active millions of years ago kilometers underground, can be found at the surface and cracked open using a chisel and hammer. Since all the faults are hosted in a geological context that is relatively consistent, we can isolate the effect of displacement on fault geometry. We measure their geometry with scanners. As expected, we find that faults that have experienced more displacement are smoother. Moreover, we see a clear transition from what are essentially cracks to faults so smooth that they have mirror‐like surfaces. Key Points: Fault slip surfaces smooth with slipWear on fault slip surfaces is scale invariantMultiscale asperity failure is the predominant wear mechanism [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We employ work optimization to predict the geometry of frontal thrusts at two stages of an evolving physical accretion experiment. Faults that produce the largest gains in efficiency, or change in external work per new fault area, Δ Wext/Δ A, are considered most likely to develop. The predicted thrust geometry matches within 1 mm of the observed position and within a few degrees of the observed fault dip, for both the first forethrust and backthrust when the observed forethrust is active. The positions of the second backthrust and forethrust that produce >90% of the maximum Δ Wext /Δ A also overlap the observed thrusts. The work optimal fault dips are within a few degrees of the fault dips that maximize the average Coulomb stress. Slip gradients along the detachment produce local elevated shear stresses and high strain energy density regions that promote thrust initiation near the detachment. The mechanical efficiency ( Wext) of the system decreases at each of the two simulated stages of faulting and resembles the evolution of experimental force. The higher Δ Wext/Δ A due to the development of the first pair relative to the second pair indicates that the development of new thrusts may lead to diminishing efficiency gains as the wedge evolves. The numerical estimates of work consumed by fault propagation overlap the range calculated from experimental force data and crustal faults. The integration of numerical and physical experiments provides a powerful approach that demonstrates the utility of work optimization to predict the development of faults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present numerical models of faults propagating by work optimization in a homogeneous medium. These simulations allow quantification and comparison of the energy budgets of fault growth by shear versus tensile failure. The energy consumed by growth of a fault, Wgrow, propagating by in-line shearing is 76% of the total energy associated with that growth, while 24% is spent on frictional work during propagation. Wgrow for a fault propagating into intact rock by tensile failure, at an angle to the parent fault, consumes 60% of the work budget, while only 6% is consumed by frictional work associated with propagation. Following the conservation of energy, this leaves 34% of the energy budget available for other activities and suggests that out-of-plane propagation of faults in Earth's crust may release energy for other processes, such as permanent damage zone formation or rupture acceleration. Comparison of these estimates of Wgrow with estimates of the critical energy release rate and earthquake fracture energy at several scales underscores their theoretical similarities and their dependence on stress drop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes an activity program for 8th- through 12th-grade science students which asks them to use a sandbox for building scientific inquiry.

Coseismic ground displacements detected through remote sensing surveys are often used to invert the coseismic slip distribution on geologically reliable fault planes. We analyze a well-known case study (2009 L'Aquila earthquake) to investigate how three-dimensional (3D) slip configuration affects coseismic ground surface deformation. Different coseismic slip surface configurations reconstructed using aftershocks distribution and coseismic cracks, were tested using 3D boundary element method numerical models. The models include two with slip patches that reach the surface and three models of blind normal-slip surfaces with different configurations of slip along shallowly-dipping secondary faults. We test the sensitivity of surface deformation to variations in stress drop and rock stiffness. We compare numerical models' results with line of sight (LOS) surface deformation detected from differential SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) interferometry (DInSAR). The variations in fault configuration, rock stiffness and stress drop associated with the earthquake considerably impact the pattern of surface subsidence. In particular, the models with a coseismic slip patch that does not reach the surface have a better match to the line of sight coseismic surface deformation, as well as better match to the aftershock pattern, than models with rupture that reaches the surface. The coseismic slip along shallowly dipping secondary faults seems to provide a minor contribution toward surface deformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]