Mechanism of Propagation of Deformations and Stresses in the Earth’s Crust

Abstract—Transient creep, which occurs during small deformations, leads to a small thickness of the upper elastic crust and low viscosity of the underlying layer. The solution to the problem of the distribution of strains and stresses in the upper layers of the Earth is obtained using a thin elastic plate as a model of the upper elastic crust and a viscous half-space as a model of the underlying layer. It is shown that stress waves attenuate very quickly and cannot propagate over long distances.