Analogue earthquakes and seismic cycles: Experimental modelling across timescales

Abstract

Abstract. Since the formulation of Reid’s elastic rebound theory 100 years ago laboratory mechanical models combining frictional and elastic elements have joined the forefront of the research on the dynamics of earthquakes. In the last decade, with the advent of high resolution monitoring techniques and new rock analogue materials, laboratory earthquake experiments kept developing from simple spring-slider models to more sophisticated scaled analogue models. This evolution was accomplished by advances in seismology and geodesy which, along with a culmination of large earthquakes, have significantly increased the quality and quantity of relevant observations in nature. We here review the cornerstones of analogue earthquake model developments with a focus on scale models which are directly comparable to observational data on short to long timescales. We revisit the basics of analogue modelling, namely scaling, materials and monitoring, as applied in earthquake modelling. An overview of applications highlights the contributions of analogue earthquake models in bridging timescales of observations including earthquake statistics, rupture dynamics, ground motion and seismic cycle deformation up to seismotectonic evolution. We finally discuss limits, challenges and links to numerical models.

Growing Faults in the Lab: Insights Into the Scale Dependence of the Fault Zone Evolution Process

“…The RST is an industrial standard device (model RST‐01.pc , manufactured by Dr.‐Ing. Dietmar Schulze Schüttgutmesstechnik, Wolfenbüttel , Germany) that has already been used in several other studies in the analog modeling community (e.g., Klinkmüller et al, ; Lohrmann et al, ; Panien et al, ; Ritter et al, ; Rosenau et al, ). It was first introduced by Schulze ().…”

“…This is exactly opposite in the RST, where a constant normal load of 500 Pa is applied on the entire fault surface by the lid, while the slip rate increases outward by a factor of 2, due to constant angular velocity. Although deformation of sand follows a velocity‐independent rheology (Rosenau et al, ), the velocity gradient causes a displacement gradient, which leads to slightly diachronous material failure with a circular failure front moving through the material from the periphery inward. This is likely to flatten the force peak (lowering and widening).…”

Synchronization of Great Subduction Megathrust Earthquakes: Insights From Scale Model Analysis

“…Here we realize similar models by means of seismotectonic scale modeling (Rosenau et al, ) which allows a realistic simulation of comparatively long analogue earthquake sequences with up to 500 events at a rather low experiment and time cost compared to numerical simulation. We simulate a subduction zone megathrust system in an archetypical setup with two square seismogenic patches (asperities) characterized by velocity‐weakening and therefore unstable stick‐slip frictional behavior.…”

Existence of long‐time solutions to dynamic problems of viscoelasticity with rate‐and‐state friction

“…Real‐world models should use bilateral contact of two viscoelastic bodies along an interface (the fault). For notational simplicity and in accordance with the analog experiments in []. More specifically, the friction law on is made up of the friction coefficient μ, the cohesion and a prescribed, constant quantity denoted by , meant to approximate the state‐dependent normal stress σ n .…”