Laboratory earthquake experiments provide important observational constraints for our understanding of earthquake physics. Here we leverage continuous waveform data from a network of piezoceramic sensors to study the spatial and temporal evolution of microslip activity during a shear experiment with synthetic fault gouge. We combine machine learning techniques with ray theoretical seismology to detect, associate, and locate tens of thousands of microslip events within the gouge layer. Microslip activity is concentrated near the center of the system but is highly variable in space and time. While microslip activity rate increases as failure approaches, the spatiotemporal evolution can differ substantially between stick-slip cycles. These results illustrate that even within a single, well-constrained laboratory experiment, the dynamics of earthquake nucleation can be highly complex.

The spatiotemporal evolution of granular microslip precursors to laboratory earthquakes / Trugman, D. T.; Mcbrearty, I. W.; Bolton, D. C.; Guyer, R. A.; Marone, C. J.; Johnson, P. A.. - In: GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS. - ISSN 0094-8276. - 47:16(2020). [10.1029/2020GL088404]

The spatiotemporal evolution of granular microslip precursors to laboratory earthquakes

Marone C. J.
Membro del Collaboration Group
;
2020

Abstract

Laboratory earthquake experiments provide important observational constraints for our understanding of earthquake physics. Here we leverage continuous waveform data from a network of piezoceramic sensors to study the spatial and temporal evolution of microslip activity during a shear experiment with synthetic fault gouge. We combine machine learning techniques with ray theoretical seismology to detect, associate, and locate tens of thousands of microslip events within the gouge layer. Microslip activity is concentrated near the center of the system but is highly variable in space and time. While microslip activity rate increases as failure approaches, the spatiotemporal evolution can differ substantially between stick-slip cycles. These results illustrate that even within a single, well-constrained laboratory experiment, the dynamics of earthquake nucleation can be highly complex.
2020
acoustic emission; earthquake nucleation; fault gouge; granular shear; laboratory earthquakes
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
The spatiotemporal evolution of granular microslip precursors to laboratory earthquakes / Trugman, D. T.; Mcbrearty, I. W.; Bolton, D. C.; Guyer, R. A.; Marone, C. J.; Johnson, P. A.. - In: GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS. - ISSN 0094-8276. - 47:16(2020). [10.1029/2020GL088404]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1687651
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