van den Ende M. P. A., Chen J., Niemeijer A. R., Ampuero Jean-Paul. (2020). Rheological transitions facilitate fault-spanning ruptures on seismically active and creeping faults. Journal of Geophysical Research : Solid Earth, 125 (8), e2019JB019328 [27 p.]. ISSN 2169-9313.
Titre du document
Rheological transitions facilitate fault-spanning ruptures on seismically active and creeping faults
van den Ende M. P. A., Chen J., Niemeijer A. R., Ampuero Jean-Paul
Source
Journal of Geophysical Research : Solid Earth, 2020,
125 (8), e2019JB019328 [27 p.] ISSN 2169-9313
Physical constraints on the seismogenic potential of major fault zones may aid in improving seismic hazard assessments, but the mechanics of earthquake nucleation and rupture are obscured by the complexity that faults display. In this work, we investigate the mechanisms behind giant earthquakes by employing a microphysically based seismic cycle simulator. This microphysical approach is directly based on the mechanics of friction as inferred from laboratory tests and can explain a broad spectrum of fault slip behavior. We show that regular earthquakes are controlled by the size and distribution of (nominally) frictionally unstable asperities, whereas fault-spanning earthquakes are governed by a rheological transition occurring in creeping fault segments. Moreover, this facilitates the nucleation of giant earthquakes on faults that are weakly seismically coupled (i.e., creeping). This microphysically based approach offers opportunities for investigating long-term seismic cycle behavior of natural faults.
Plan de classement
Sciences fondamentales / Techniques d'analyse et de recherche [020]
;
Géophysique interne [066]
