Abstract. Manual approaches for analyzing fault scarps in the field or with
existing software can be tedious and time-consuming. Here, we
introduce an open-source, semiautomated, Python-based graphical user
interface (GUI) called the Monte Carlo Slip Statistics Toolkit (MCSST)
for estimating dip slip on individual or bulk fault datasets that (1)
makes the analysis of a large number of profiles much faster, (2)
allows users with little or no coding skills to implement the
necessary statistical techniques, (3) and provides geologists with a platform to incorporate their observations or expertise into the
process. Using this toolkit, profiles are defined across fault scarps
in high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs), and then relevant
fault scarp components are interactively identified (e.g., footwall,
hanging wall, and scarp). Displacement statistics are calculated
automatically using Monte Carlo simulation and can be conveniently
visualized in geographic information systems (GISs) for spatial
analysis. Fault slip rates can also be calculated when ages of
footwall and hanging wall surfaces are known, allowing for temporal
analysis. This method allows for the analysis of tens to hundreds of
faults in rapid succession within GIS and a Python coding
environment. Application of this method may contribute to a wide range
of regional and local earthquake geology studies with adequate
high-resolution DEM coverage, enabling both regional fault source
characterization for seismic hazard and/or estimating geologic slip
and strain rates, including creating long-term deformation
maps. ArcGIS versions of these functions are available, as well as
ones that utilize free, open-source Quantum GIS (QGIS) and Jupyter
Notebook Python software.
The Ruby Mountain Detachment Fault (RMDF) is a regionally significant structure responsible for exhumation of the Ruby Mountains-East Humboldt Range (RM-EHR) metamorphic core complex (MCC). Despite numerous thermochronometric studies, many uncertainties remain concerning the rate, style and timing of the on-set of extension. The goal of this study is to use zircon (U-Th)/He thermochronometry to provide new constraints on the timing, rate, and style of exhumation of the Wood Hills and Pequop Mountains, which are part of the RM-EHR MCC. When did exhumation begin? Is the younging direction consistent with direction of tectonic transport? Can trends in effective radiation (eU) and age provide additional insight? Were the Pequop Mountains exhumed along the RMDF?
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.