Dynamic rupture processes inferred from laboratory microearthquakes

Passelègue, François; Schubnel, Alexandre; Nielsen, S. B.; Bhat, Harsha S.; Deldicque, Damien; Madariaga, Raúl

doi:10.1002/2015jb012694

Cited by 110 publications

(178 citation statements)

References 85 publications

(184 reference statements)

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“…Similar multistages relaxations have been reported in recorded dynamic slip profiles and stresses measured in rock friction experiments (Fig. S2)2426272829.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 86%

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Microscopic Evolution of Laboratory Volcanic Hybrid Earthquakes

Ghaffari

Griffith

Benson

2017

Sci Rep

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Characterizing the interaction between fluids and microscopic defects is one of the long-standing challenges in understanding a broad range of cracking processes, in part because they are so difficult to study experimentally. We address this issue by reexamining records of emitted acoustic phonon events during rock mechanics experiments under wet and dry conditions. The frequency spectrum of these events provides direct information regarding the state of the system. Such events are typically subdivided into high frequency (HF) and low frequency (LF) events, whereas intermediate “Hybrid” events, have HF onsets followed by LF ringing. At a larger scale in volcanic terranes, hybrid events are used empirically to predict eruptions, but their ambiguous physical origin limits their diagnostic use. By studying acoustic phonon emissions from individual microcracking events we show that the onset of a secondary instability–related to the transition from HF to LF–occurs during the fast equilibration phase of the system, leading to sudden increase of fluid pressure in the process zone. As a result of this squeezing process, a secondary instability akin to the LF event occurs. This mechanism is consistent with observations of hybrid earthquakes.

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“…Similar multistages relaxations have been reported in recorded dynamic slip profiles and stresses measured in rock friction experiments (Fig. S2)2426272829.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 86%

“…We can define a similar measure to time-widowed correlation method 2930 where the inner product is replaced with Heaviside function. Let us consider a sequence of nodes in a certain time step and the length of this sequence is L = 2 l and the amplitude of each node is u(x ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microscopic Evolution of Laboratory Volcanic Hybrid Earthquakes

Ghaffari

Griffith

Benson

2017

Sci Rep

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“…Brantut et al, 2016; Hayward et al, 55 2016;Passelègue et al, 2016). Despite these significant scientific advancements on the mechanics 56 of stick-slips along bare rock surfaces, the mechanisms for strain localization and fault weakening 57 during stick-slip frictional instabilities within fault gouge are still poorly understood.…”

Section: ) 44mentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of shear fabric in granular fault gouge from stable sliding to stick slip and implications for fault slip mode

Scuderi

Collettini

Viti

et al. 2017

Geology

133

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12Laboratory and theoretical studies provide insight into the mechanisms that control earthquake 13 nucleation, when fault slip velocity is slow (<0.001 cm/s), and dynamic rupture when fault slip rates 14 exceed cm/s. The application of these results to tectonic faults requires information about fabric 15 evolution with shear and its affect on the mode of faulting. Here we report on laboratory 16 experiments that illuminate the evolution of shear fabric and its role in controlling the transition 17 from stable sliding (v~0.001 cm/s) to dynamic stick-slip (v>1 cm/s). The full range of fault slip 18 modes was achieved by controlling the ratio, K = k/kc, where k is the elastic loading stiffness, and 19 kc is the fault zone critical rheologic stiffness. We show that K controls the transition from slow-20 and-silent slip (K > 0.9) to fast-and-audible (K < 0.7, v = 3 cm/s, slip duration 0.003 s) slip events. 21Microstructural observations show that with accumulated strain, deformation concentrates in shear 22 zones containing sharp shear planes made of nano-scale grains, which favour the development of 23 frictional instabilities. Once this fabric is established, fault fabric does not change significantly with 24 slip velocity, and fault slip behaviour is mainly controlled by the interplay between the rheological 25 properties of the slipping planes and fault zone stiffness. As applied to tectonic faults, our results 26 suggest that a single fault segment can experience a spectrum of fault slip behaviour depending on 27 the evolution of fault rock frictional properties and viscoelastic properties of the wall rock 28 surrounding the fault. 30Manuscript Click here to download Manuscript Text_vf.docx INTRODUCTION 31Understanding the relationship between the evolution of fault fabric and fault slip behaviour 32 is a long-standing problem in fault mechanics. Tchalenko (1970) used shear box experiments to 33 document fault zone evolution, from Riedel shears to boundary parallel shears with increasing 34 strain. The similarities of the experimental fault zone structure with earthquake faulting were 35 interpreted as indicating similarities in the deformation mechanism (Tchalenko, 1970). Several 36 laboratory and field studies have expanded on the kinematic descriptions, with the aim of 37 developing an integrated understanding of the evolution of fault zone microstructure and friction 38 constitutive properties (e.g. Sibson, 1977;Logan et al, 1979;Yund, 1990; Marone and Kilgore, 39 1993;Beeler et al., 1996). For quartzo-feldspatic fault gouge, increasing strain causes an evolution 40 from distributed to localized deformation along fault parallel shear planes. This microstructural 41 evolution is accompanied by a transition from a velocity strengthening (i.e. aseismic creep) to 42 velocity weakening behavior, which is a necessary condition for frictional instability (e.g. Marone, 43 1998). 44In the last decade, high-velocity friction experiments have shown that at earthquake slip 45 velocities (≥10cm/s) significa...

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“…At the same time, Templeton et al (2009) were able to simulate experimental results numerically. The control on rupture velocity in general and super-shear ruptures specifically is a very active field in analogue earthquake studies (e.g Lu et al, 2009;Schubnel et al, 2011;Mello et al, 2010Mello et al, , 2014Mello et al, , 2016Passelègue et al, 2013Passelègue et al, , 2016.…”

Section: Rupture Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analogue earthquakes and seismic cycles: experimental modelling across timescales

2017

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Abstract. Earth deformation is a multi-scale process ranging from seconds (seismic deformation) to millions of years (tectonic deformation). Bridging short-and long-term deformation and developing seismotectonic models has been a challenge in experimental tectonics for more than a century. Since the formulation of Reid's elastic rebound theory 100 years ago, laboratory mechanical models combining frictional and elastic elements have been used to study the dynamics of earthquakes. In the last decade, with the advent of high-resolution monitoring techniques and new rock analogue materials, laboratory earthquake experiments have evolved from simple spring-slider models to scaled analogue models. This evolution was accomplished by advances in seismology and geodesy along with relatively frequent occurrences of large earthquakes in the past decade. This coincidence has significantly increased the quality and quantity of relevant observations in nature and triggered a new understanding of earthquake dynamics. We review here the developments in analogue earthquake modelling with a focus on those seismotectonic scale models that are directly comparable to observational data on short to long timescales. We lay out the basics of analogue modelling, namely scaling, materials and monitoring, as applied in seismotectonic 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.

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Dynamic rupture processes inferred from laboratory microearthquakes

Cited by 110 publications

References 85 publications

Microscopic Evolution of Laboratory Volcanic Hybrid Earthquakes

Microscopic Evolution of Laboratory Volcanic Hybrid Earthquakes

Evolution of shear fabric in granular fault gouge from stable sliding to stick slip and implications for fault slip mode

Analogue earthquakes and seismic cycles: experimental modelling across timescales

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