DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.16799109
title: Active fault database for the northern Western Branch of the East African Rift System

description: Data Format

The Active Fault Database for the northern Western (NW) Branch of the East African Rift System (EARS) is a geospatial database containing a collection of active fault traces in the Northwestern Branch of the EARS. Each fault is mapped as a single GIS trace feature with corresponding metadata that describes the fault geometry, kinematics and characteristics. 

These attributes are based on the Global Earthquake Model Global Active Faults Database (GEM-GAFD; Styron and Pagani, 2020) 

Data Table








Active Fault Database for the northern Western Branch of the EARS Attributes





Fault Attribute



Data Type



Description



Key Information





id



integer



Sequential fault number in database

 






NW_EARS_ID



integer



Unique Fault Identification number assigned to each fault trace



 





Fault Name



string



Name of Fault



Assigned using local features such as rivers, hot springs, or towns





Strike Dir



string



Compass quadrant of strike direction

 




Dip Dir



string



Compass quadrant of fault dip direction



 





Slip type



string



kinematic type of fault



e.g. normal, reverse and strike-slip





Length(km)



decimal



Straight-line distance between fault tips (measured in kilometers)



 





Notes



string



Fault geometry, geomorphic expression of active fault along trace



e.g. dominant fault geometry, prominent scarp, stream deflection, truncation, linear vegetation, etc.





Confidence



integer



Confidence of neotectonic activity



Ranges from 1-5, 5 if high certainty, 1 if low certainty





Exposure



integer



Fault exposure on the earth’s surface



3 if high, 1 if low, 0 – observed on seismic





Quality



integer



Epistemic quality of whether a fault exists there



2 if high, 1 if low





Location



integer



Reflects the prominence of the fault's geomorphic expression in terms of identity and existence



3 – Accurate, 2 – Approximate, 1 - Inferred





References



string



Previous literature, geological maps, offshore seismic data where the fault is described



 






 

Fault Descriptions

Active faults are defined as faults that are considered capable of generating moderate to large magnitude earthquakes under the present-day tectonic conditions (Styron & Pagani, 2020). Active faults are also classified as faults that have the potential to undergo future movement or slip (Zelenin et al., 2022). More precisely, a fault is considered active if there is evidence of slip during the contemporary, historical, or Holocene period typically within the last ~10,000 years (Machette, 2000).

Rift-bounding or rift border faults are large, laterally continuous normal faults forming prominent escarpments that separate the rift depression and the surrounding elevated terrain, typically widely spaced with substantial vertical offsets and serving as the main structures accommodating rift extension (Corti, 2009).

An intrabasin fault is a synthetic or antithetic normal fault that develops within the hanging-wall block of a rift-bounding fault, cutting through and displacing rift basin sediments (Taylor et al., 2011).

File Formats

This database is originally designed using ESRI shapefile and any changes will be made in this version, before they are converted to other digital file formats. Additional digital formats include KML and GeoJSON digital formats to enhance accessibility and intengration with various mapping applications such as Google Earth and Generic Mapping Tools (GMT). 

Version Control

This version of the database is v1.0 and is associated with data release for submission of the manuscript “Active fault database for the northern Western Branch of the East African Rift System”