Fault Characterization

Imperceptible fault motions may remain unnoticed by professionals for a long time. It is necessary to characterize the fault network in a region to mitigate the risk for nearby exposed infrastructures. A small fault has the potential of causing significant damage to an infrastructure situated right on top of it. Thorough fault analysis is helpful in describing and quantifying the associated risk.

Some communities have been developed near faults and in some cases faults attract residents. Some farming communities extended along fault lines because of the role of faults in water transportation and/or storage. Development of fjords in Norway has been facilitated by tensile faulting. Moreover, the extensive weathering along such faults creates less-steep ways out of fjords through the land. Almost all winding road segments in Norway locate at such places. Their unending need for maintenance reveals the combined effect of faulting and weathering. The effect of faulting on mega-bridges that run across fjords is different and it requires special attention. In such cases, the analysis is not limited to the surroundings of the infrastructure.

SeisAnalysis AS is capable of conducting thorough fault characterization at different scales. These studies are necessary for assessing safety, reliability, risk and life-cycle performance of mega-structures, dams, power plants, nuclear reactors, and mega-bridges.