The wrinkle-like slip pulse is not important in earthquake dynamics

A particular solution for slip on an interface between different elastic materials, the wrinkle-like slip pulse, propagates in only one direction with reduced normal compressive stress. More general solutions, and natural earthquakes, need not share those properties. In a 3D dynamic model with a drop in friction and heterogeneous initial stress, the wrinkle-like slip pulse is only a small part of the solution. Rupture propagation is determined primarily by the potential stress drop, not by the wrinkle-like slip pulse. A 2D calculation with much finer resolution shows that energy loss to friction might not be significantly reduced in the wrinkle-like slip pulse. Copyright 2005 by the American Geophysical Union.