Preprints
Search for earthquake (650 results)
Does a damaged fault zone mitigate the near-field landslide risk during supershear earthquakes?—Application to the 2018 magnitude 7.5 Palu earthquake.
Published: 2019-10-03
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The impact of earthquakes can be severely aggravated by cascading secondary hazards. The 2018 Mw 7.5 Palu, Indonesia earthquake led to devastating tsunamis and landslides, while triggered submarine landslides possibly contributed substantially to generate the tsunami. The rupture was supershear over most of its length, but its speed was unexpectedly low, between the S-wave velocity Vs and [...]
The fingerprints of flexure in slab seismicity
Published: 2019-10-01
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Earthquake moment tensors in east Pacific (ePac) slabs typically show downdip tensional axes (DT), whereas in the west Pacific (wPac) they typically show downdip compressional axes (DC) or have mixed orientations indicative of unbending. Prevailing conceptual models emphasise uniform stress/deformation modes, i.e. bulk stretching or shortening, as the dominant control on intermediate depth [...]
The Community Code Verification Exercise for Simulating Sequences of Earthquakes and Aseismic Slip (SEAS)
Published: 2019-09-21
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Numerical simulations of Sequences of Earthquakes and Aseismic Slip (SEAS) have made great progress over the past decades to address important questions in earthquake physics and fault mechanics. However, significant challenges in SEAS modeling remain in resolving multiscale interactions between aseismic fault slip, earthquake nucleation, and dynamic rupture; and understanding physical factors [...]
Possible Tectonic Impact of Biosphere
Published: 2019-09-19
Subjects: Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Life Sciences, Life Sciences, Microbiology
This paper explores the possibility of existence of ultra-deep biosphere (deeper than 10 km under the surface) and the biogenic earthquake hypothesis -- the idea that subsurface microorganisms might be directly related to earthquake activity. The importance of electroautotrophic type of metabolism is underlined, and the role of telluric currents in this process is explored in some detail, as well [...]
Weak phases production and heat generation controls fault friction during seismic slip
Published: 2019-09-15
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The triggering and magnitude of earthquakes is determined by the friction evolution along faults. Experimental results have revealed a drastic decrease of the friction coefficient for velocities close to the maximum seismic one, independently of the material studied. Due to the extreme loading conditions during seismic slip, many competing physical phenomena are occurring (like mineral [...]
Coseismic or Landslide? The source of the 2018 Palu Tsunami
Published: 2019-09-10
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
On 28 September, 2018, Indonesia was struck by a MW 7.5 strike-slip earthquake. An unexpected tsunami followed, inundating nearby coastlines leading to extensive damage. Given the traditionally non-tsunamigenic mechanism, it is important to ascertain if the source of the tsunami is indeed from coseismic deformation, or something else, such as shaking induced landsliding. Here we determine the [...]
Investigating global correlations between tsunami, earthquake, and subduction zone characteristics
Published: 2019-09-09
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Tsunamigenic earthquakes pose a large hazard in subduction zones, but it is currently unclear in which - if any - tectonic setting they preferentially occur. Here, we compile the global Subduction Nature & Interconnected Tsunamigenic earthquake Characteristics (SNITCH) database with parameters on subduction geometry and tectonics, megathrust seismicity, and tsunami characteristics of tsunamis [...]
Methods and Test Cases for Linking Physics-Based Earthquake and Tsunami Models
Published: 2019-09-06
Subjects: Computer Sciences, Earth Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Other Computer Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Despite the inter-dependence of long term deformation, earthquakes and tsunamis, few modelling approaches bridge these processes. To advance the understanding of tsunami generation and earthquake-tsunami interactions, we present new methods for linking physics-based models of subduction zone geodynamics and seismic cycling, three-dimensional dynamic earthquake rupture, and tsunami generation, [...]
The 1987 to 2019 Tennant Creek, Australia, earthquake sequence: a protracted intraplate multi-mainshock sequence
Published: 2019-09-06
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
The 1987 to 2019 Tennant Creek earthquake sequence comprises three 1988 surface-rupturing mainshocks (moment magnitude (Mw 6.2, 6.3, and 6.5) that occurred within a 12-hour period, a preceding foreshock sequence commencing in 1987, and a prolonged aftershock sequence including a Mw 5.0 earthquake on the 1st August 2019. Each surface rupturing event produced a distinct scarp; the south-dipping [...]
On seismicity and structural style of oceanic transform faults: a field geological perspective from the Troodos ophiolite, Cyprus
Published: 2019-09-06
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Aseismic creep accommodates the majority of displacement along active oceanic transform faults, also within their thermally defined seismogenic zone. The significant earthquakes that do occur are near periodic, and repeat in nearly constant locations. Neither of these observations is explained by current models that infer an olivine-dominated rheology and a thermally controlled seismogenic zone. [...]
Frictional heterogeneities can promote disordered slip evolution on faults
Published: 2019-09-03
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
We consider that a slip instability nucleates an earthquake. Past studies found blow-up solutions for diverging slip velocities. Prior stability analyses, considering heterogeneous frictional properties revealed that stable blow-up solutions can predictably dictate earthquake-nucleating instabilities. In this prior analysis, the focus remained mainly on the attraction to stable blow-up [...]
Review paper: The 2nd June 1979 Mw 6.1 Cadoux surface rupturing earthquake, Australia
Published: 2019-08-17
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
The 2nd June 1979 moment magnitude (Mw) 6.1 Cadoux earthquake caused a complex, multi-fault surface rupture consisting of six mapped scarps: (from south to north) the 8 km long west dipping Robb scarp, 3 km long south dipping Cumming scarp, the Lone Tree, Carter and Tank scarps (which together define an east-dipping arcuate rupture) and the 2.5 km long southwest-dipping Kalajzic scarp. Surface [...]
Review paper: The 10th March 1970 Mw 5.0 Calingiri surface rupturing earthquake, Australia
Published: 2019-08-17
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
The 10th March 1970 moment magnitude (Mw) 5.0 Calingiri earthquake surface rupture is 3.3 km long with a maximum vertical displacement of 0.4 m. The fault as defined by surface measurements is a shallow-dipping reverse fault (~ 20° east) with a probable shallow hypocentre (< 1 km). This is consistent with published hypocentral depths, though large uncertainties exist within the seismological [...]
Review paper: The 30th March 1986 Mw 5.7 Marryat Creek surface rupturing earthquake, Australia
Published: 2019-08-17
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
The 30th March 1986 Mw 5.7 Marryat Creek earthquake produced a highly arcuate 13 km long surface rupture with maximum vertical displacement of 0.9 m. Sinistral displacement on the NE-SW limb, dextral displacement on the NNE-SSW limb, and maximum vertical displacement in the central apex of rupture supports SW over NE movement of a hanging-wall block. Epicentre locations are poorly constrained and [...]
Review paper: The 14th October 1968 Mw 6.6 Meckering surface rupturing earthquake, Australia
Published: 2019-08-17
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
The 14th October 1968 MW 6.6 Meckering earthquake surface rupture is comprised of a main 37 km long concave Meckering scarp (with a 1.5 km wide dextral step-over along the Burges en-echelon rupture complex) and a minor 9 km long rupture on the Meckering scarp foot-wall (the Splinter scarp, also with a 1.5 km dextral step-over). We recommend a total surface rupture length of 44.4 km for [...]