Dating Quaternary Fault Scarps Formed in Alluvium Using Morphologic Parameters

Ages of fault scarps, as well as those other types of transport-limited slopes, can be estimated by comparing their morphology with the morphology of scarps of known age. Age estimates are derived by fitting the scarp profiles to synthetic profiles generated using a diffusion equation or, alternatively, by classification using a linear discriminant function. The usefulness of morphology-derived age estimates depends on the relative importance of non-age-related morphologic variation. Data from more than 200 scarp profiles demonstrate that morphologic variation not related to scarp age can introduce significant uncertainties into morphology-derived age estimates.