A simple graphical method for estimating the components of the fault-slip vector

A simple calculation of the components of the total slip vector (D) on a fault plane allows the relationships between the magnitudes of the three slip components of D, the lateral horizontal displacement (L), the transversal horizontal displacement (T) and the vertical offset (V), to be determined. The contribution of each slip component to the total slip can be plotted jointly in a ternary diagram, assuming a unit length of the vector modulus and a suitable normalization for D. Each component equals the magnitude of D at the vertices of the diagram, hence it is possible to estimate the percentage contribution of each slip component to the total movement of a fault or a set of faults. The dip of the fault surface and the rake of the slickenlines are the input data required for displaying L, T and V relationships in these diagrams. This information may be useful in the analysis of movement geometry for different fault populations and in the determination of D by measuring just one of the fault-slip components, such as vertical slip associated with a fault scarp.