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Earthquake mechanism and predictability shown by a laboratory fault

January 1, 1994

Slip events generated in a laboratory fault model consisting of a circulinear chain of eight spring-connected blocks of approximately equal weight elastically driven to slide on a frictional surface are studied. It is found that most of the input strain energy is released by a relatively few large events, which are approximately time predictable. A large event tends to roughen stress distribution along the fault, whereas the subsequent smaller events tend to smooth the stress distribution and prepare a condition of simultaneous criticality for the occurrence of the next large event. The frequency-size distribution resembles the Gutenberg-Richter relation for earthquakes, except for a falloff for the largest events due to the finite energy-storage capacity of the fault system. Slip distributions, in different events are commonly dissimilar. Stress drop, slip velocity, and rupture velocity all tend to increase with event size. Rupture-initiation locations are usually not close to the maximum-slip locations. ?? 1994 Birkha??user Verlag.

Publication Year 1994
Title Earthquake mechanism and predictability shown by a laboratory fault
DOI 10.1007/BF00874338
Authors C. -Y. King
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Pure and Applied Geophysics PAGEOPH
Index ID 70016987
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse