| Modern crustal deformation measurements of the San Andreas Fault System have had a significant impact on present day tectonic studies. Yet while these measurements reveal a wealth of information about how the Earth is presently deforming, they unfortunately neglect to provide the answers for why. In addition, current measurements alone cannot determine future tectonic behavior of the Earth, nor can they account for deformation of the past. For these reasons, many disciplines of Earth science rely on the use of mathematical, physics-based models. Applied to crustal deformation studies, fault models constrained by geologic, geodetic, and seismic data can provide valuable insights into the characteristics of faults and their behaviors over time. Based on observations of the past, models can also provide estimates of future deformation and seismic hazards, a vital resource for communities living near active fault zones.; This dissertation presents a new and efficient approach to fault modeling that allows for deformation and stress calculations spanning not only large study areas (thousands of kilometers), but also long time periods (thousands of years). Chapter 1 provides background, motivation, and conclusions met by this modeling work when applied to the San Andreas Fault System. Chapter 2 documents the initial derivation of the model and reveals the steady-state behavior of the San Andreas Fault System through use of GPS measurements. Chapter 3 explores the technical details of incorporating time-dependence into the model. Using this model, Chapter 4 revisits the San Andreas Fault System, this time investigating the deformation and stress resulting from earthquakes over the past 1000 years, again constrained by present-day GPS measurements. Lastly, Chapter 5 presents the results of a brief, intermediate study of this thesis work, pertaining to the resolution capabilities of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission data. |
