A hybrid spectral and finite element method for coseismic and postseismic deformation

We investigate the elastic and viscoelastic responses of the Earth to a sudden slip along a fault. Firstly, equations describing the Earth’s infinitesimal deformations for elastic and viscoelastic rheological models are introduced within the weak formulation and the theorems of existence and uniqueness of solutions are demonstrated. Three-dimensional numerical method, which combines the 2D finite element method in a plane perpendicular to the fault with application of the Fourier transform in the direction along the fault, is described. We then discuss several numerical benchmarks. At the end, the coseismic deformation and the Coulomb stress for the August 14, 2003 earthquake on the Lefkada island in Greece are computed incorporating also the influence of topography. We demonstrate that the results are sensitive to both source interpretations and the epicenter area topography.