Ground motion hazard from supershear rupture

An idealized rupture, propagating smoothly near a terminal rupture velocity, radiates energy that is focused into a beam. For rupture velocity less than the S-wave speed, radiated energy is concentrated in a beam of intense fault-normal velocity near the projection of the rupture trace. Although confined to a narrow range of azimuths, this beam diverges and attenuates. For rupture velocity greater than the S-wave speed, radiated energy is concentrated in Mach waves forming a pair of beams propagating obliquely away from the fault. These beams do not attenuate until diffraction becomes effective at large distance. Events with supershear and sub-Rayleigh rupture velocity are compared in 2D plane-strain calculations with equal stress drop, fracture energy, and rupture length; only static friction is changed to determine the rupture velocity. Peak velocity in the sub-Rayleigh case near the termination of rupture is larger than peak velocity in the Mach wave in the supershear case. The occurrence of supershear rupture propagation reduces the most intense peak ground velocity near the fault, but it increases peak velocity within a beam at greater distances.