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The temporal variation of elastic property of the bulk material surrounding the fault is considered an important contribution to the observed co-seismic velocity reduction and interseismic healing. Paglialunga et al. [2021] found that as fault normal stress increases, co-seismic velocity reduction becomes larger because more cracks reopen with higher stress drops. Larger normal stress can lead to smaller nucleation size and contribute to larger co-seismic slip. By contrast, with larger co-seismic velocity reduction and interseismic healing, more slow slip events can propagate in the seismogenic zone [Thakur and Huang, 2021], because the temporal velocity change related to fault zone damage modulates earthquake nucleation. Hence, fault normal stress and temporal damage zone structure evolution have opposite influences on the spatial distribution and recurrence intervals of earthquakes. We conducted 2-D anti-plane fully-dynamic seismic cycle simulations and explored the effects of fault normal stress on seismic cycle when there is coseismic damage and interseismic healing in the fault damage zone. The normal stress is in a range of 40-70 MPa and the co-seismic rigidity reduction is in a range of 5-8%. We find larger normal stress results in larger co-seismic slip and fewer slow slip events, while more co-seismic velocity reduction and interseismic healing leads to more partial ruptures as well as slow slip events. With the increase of both normal stress and seismic velocity change, more regular earthquakes occur and slow slip events gradually disappear. For the selected parameter space, the influence of seismic velocity change is not as significant as the effect of normal stress. However, fault zone maturity or the initial rigidity of fault damage zones should also affect the competitive relationship between normal stress and seismic velocity change, and we will characterize earthquakes and slow-slip events in immature and mature fault damage zones when both on-fault normal stress and off-fault seismic velocity vary over earthquake cycles.
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The High‐Frequency Signature of Slow and Fast Laboratory Earthquakes
Abstract Tectonic faults fail through a spectrum of slip modes, ranging from slow aseismic creep to rapid slip during earthquakes. Understanding the seismic radiation emitted during these slip modes is key for advancing earthquake science and earthquake hazard assessment. In this work, we use laboratory friction experiments instrumented with ultrasonic sensors to document the seismic radiation properties of slow and fast laboratory earthquakes. Stick‐slip experiments were conducted at a constant loading rate of 8 μm/s and the normal stress was systematically increased from 7 to 15 MPa. We produced a full spectrum of slip modes by modulating the loading stiffness in tandem with the fault zone normal stress. Acoustic emission data were recorded continuously at 5 MHz. We demonstrate that the full continuum of slip modes radiate measurable high‐frequency energy between 100 and 500 kHz, including the slowest events that have peak fault slip rates <100 μm/s. The peak amplitude of the high‐frequency time‐domain signals scales systematically with fault slip velocity. Stable sliding experiments further support the connection between fault slip rate and high‐frequency radiation. Experiments demonstrate that the origin of the high‐frequency energy is fundamentally linked to changes in fault slip rate, shear strain, and breaking of contact junctions within the fault gouge. Our results suggest that having measurements close to the fault zone may be key for documenting seismic radiation properties and fully understanding the connection between different slip modes.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2050006
- PAR ID:
- 10445073
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth
- Volume:
- 127
- Issue:
- 6
- ISSN:
- 2169-9313
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract Machine learning can predict the timing and magnitude of laboratory earthquakes using statistics of acoustic emissions. The evolution of acoustic energy is critical for lab earthquake prediction; however, the connections between acoustic energy and fault zone processes leading to failure are poorly understood. Here, we document in detail the temporal evolution of acoustic energy during the laboratory seismic cycle. We report on friction experiments for a range of shearing velocities, normal stresses, and granular particle sizes. Acoustic emission data are recorded continuously throughout shear using broadband piezo‐ceramic sensors. The coseismic acoustic energy release scales directly with stress drop and is consistent with concepts of frictional contact mechanics and time‐dependent fault healing. Experiments conducted with larger grains (10.5 μm) show that the temporal evolution of acoustic energy scales directly with fault slip rate. In particular, the acoustic energy is low when the fault is locked and increases to a maximum during coseismic failure. Data from traditional slide‐hold‐slide friction tests confirm that acoustic energy release is closely linked to fault slip rate. Furthermore, variations in the true contact area of fault zone particles play a key role in the generation of acoustic energy. Our data show that acoustic radiation is related primarily to breaking/sliding of frictional contact junctions, which suggests that machine learning‐based laboratory earthquake prediction derives from frictional weakening processes that begin very early in the seismic cycle and well before macroscopic failure.more » « less
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