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Related Experiment Videos

Nonlinear dynamics, granular media and dynamic earthquake triggering.

Paul A Johnson1, Xiaoping Jia

  • 1Geophysics Group EES-11, Los Alamos National Laboratory of the University of California, MS D443, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA. paj@lanl.gov

Nature
|October 7, 2005
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Large earthquakes can trigger smaller ones through dynamic triggering. This occurs when seismic waves cause fault gouge to behave non-linearly, weakening faults near failure.

Area of Science:

  • Earth Sciences
  • Geophysics
  • Seismology

Background:

  • Large earthquakes, such as the 1992 Landers event, have been observed to trigger numerous smaller earthquakes remotely.
  • This phenomenon, known as dynamic triggering, has also been noted after the 1999 Hector Mine and 2002 Denali earthquakes.
  • The precise physical mechanisms underlying dynamic triggering, particularly at remote distances with small strain amplitudes, remain poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the physical origin of dynamic triggering of earthquakes.
  • To explore how small seismic wave strains can initiate fault slip.

Main Methods:

  • Laboratory dynamic experiments were conducted using granular media as a surrogate for fault gouge.
  • The elastic-nonlinear behavior of fault gouge under seismic wave perturbation was analyzed.

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Main Results:

  • Seismic waves can induce dynamic, elastic-nonlinear behavior in fault gouge.
  • This nonlinear behavior can cause an abrupt decrease in fault core modulus, leading to further weakening.
  • If a fault is already close to failure, this process can trigger slip.

Conclusions:

  • The study proposes a mechanism for dynamic triggering involving the nonlinear response of fault gouge to seismic waves.
  • Even very small strain amplitudes from seismic waves can potentially trigger earthquakes on weak faults near failure.