Palaeoseismology studies the footprints of ancient earthquakes to improve the knowledge about the modern seismicity of the territory. A ground‐penetrating radar (GPR), among other geophysical methods, is used for quick determination of shallow stratigraphy – displaced, oblique layers within the fault zone. GPR data interpretation from diverse and complex reflection patterns of the fault zone heavily depends on the interpreter's experience. The range of different fault zone parameters in which this method can be successfully applied has not yet been investigated. We used a numerical simulation of GPR data to determine how GPR images the elements of faults (fault plane, hanging wall, footwall) in comparison with other reflections. Furthermore, we studied which parameters have the most significant impact on GPR wave patterns. We performed a series of numerical models of a fault, changing its geometry with increasing complexity from elementary models to realistic ones. The resulting synthetic profiles allowed finding specific GPR signatures from the fault plane, the hanging wall and the footwall. We collected field GPR data from two different fault zones and examined them for verification.

中文翻译：

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用于研究断层带几何特征的探地雷达数据的数值模拟

古地震学研究古代地震的足迹，以提高对该地区现代地震活动性的了解。除其他地球物理方法外，探地雷达（GPR）用于快速确定断层带内的浅层地层–位移的倾斜层。来自断层带的各种复杂反射模式的GPR数据解释在很大程度上取决于解释者的经验。可以成功应用此方法的不同断层带参数的范围尚未进行研究。我们使用GPR数据的数值模拟来确定GPR与其他反射相比如何成像断层要素（断层平面，悬壁，下盘）。此外，我们研究了哪些参数对GPR波形有最大影响。我们执行了一系列故障的数值模型，将其几何形状随着复杂性的增加而从基本模型更改为现实模型。由此产生的合成轮廓可以从断层平面，上盘壁和下盘壁中找到特定的GPR签名。我们从两个不同的断层带收集了现场GPR数据，并对其进行了检查以进行验证。