Standards for documenting finite-fault earthquake rupture models

In this article, we propose standards for documenting and disseminating finite-fault earthquake rupture models, and related data and metadata. A comprehensive documentation of the rupture models, a detailed description of the data processing steps, and facilitating the access to the actual data that went into the earthquake source inversion are required to promote follow-up research and to ensure interoperability, transparency, and reproducibility of the published slip-inversion solutions. We suggest a formatting scheme that describes the kinematic rupture process in an unambiguous way to support subsequent research. We also provide guidelines on how to document the data, metadata, and data processing. The proposed standards and formats represent a first step to establishing best practices for comprehensively documenting input and output of finite-fault earthquake source studies.