Quantitative topographic method of fault morphology recognition

A quantitative method for morphology recognition of topographically expressed faults is developed. The method is based on the analysis of digital elevation models (DEMs). Lineaments revealed on horizontal landsurface curvature map indicate faults formed mostly by horizontal tectonic motion (i.e., strike-slip faults). Lineaments recognized by vertical landsurface curvature mapping correspond to faults formed mainly by vertical motion (i.e., dip-slip and reverse faults) and thrusting. Lineaments recorded on both horizontal and vertical curvatures maps indicate, as a rule, oblique-slip and gaping faults. The method is tested by processing the DEMs of an imaginary area with modeled faults and a DEM of a part of the Crimean Peninsula and the adjacent sea bottom. For the imaginary area the results obtained mostly correlate with the theoretical basis of the method. For the real area a comparative analysis of the results obtained and factual geological data demonstrate that the method actually works to identify individual faults in regions where both topography and tectonic structure are complicated.