Fault-network geometry influences earthquake frictional behaviour.

Autor: Lee J; Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA., Tsai VC; Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA. victor_tsai@brown.edu., Hirth G; Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA., Chatterjee A; Nevada Seismological Laboratory, University of Nevada, Reno, NY, USA., Trugman DT; Nevada Seismological Laboratory, University of Nevada, Reno, NY, USA.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Nature [Nature] 2024 Jul; Vol. 631 (8019), pp. 106-110. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jun 05.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07518-6
Abstrakt: Understanding the factors governing the stability of fault slip is a crucial problem in fault mechanics 1-3 . The importance of fault geometry and roughness on fault-slip behaviour has been highlighted in recent lab experiments 4-7 and numerical models 8-11 , and emerging evidence suggests that large-scale complexities in fault networks have a vital role in the fault-rupture process 12-18 . Here we present a new perspective on fault creep by investigating the link between fault-network geometry and surface creep rates in California, USA. Our analysis reveals that fault groups exhibiting creeping behaviour show smaller misalignment in their fault-network geometry. The observation indicates that the surface fault traces of creeping regions tend to be simple, whereas locked regions tend to be more complex. We propose that the presence of complex fault-network geometries results in geometric locking that promotes stick-slip behaviour characterized by earthquakes, whereas simpler geometries facilitate smooth fault creep. Our findings challenge traditional hypotheses on the physical origins of fault creep explained primarily in terms of fault friction 19-21 and demonstrate the potential for a new framework in which large-scale earthquake frictional behaviour is determined by a combination of geometric factors and rheological yielding properties.
(© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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