Imaging Shear Strength Along Subduction Faults - Archive ouverte HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue Geophysical Research Letters Année : 2017

Imaging Shear Strength Along Subduction Faults

Quentin Bletery
Amanda Thomas
  • Fonction : Auteur
Alan Rempel
  • Fonction : Auteur
Jeanne Hardebeck
  • Fonction : Auteur

Résumé

Subduction faults accumulate stress during long periods of time and release this stress suddenly, during earthquakes, when it reaches a threshold. This threshold, the shear strength, controls the occurrence and magnitude of earthquakes. We consider a 3-D model to derive an analytical expression for how the shear strength depends on the fault geometry, the convergence obliquity, frictional properties, and the stress field orientation. We then use estimates of these different parameters in Japan to infer the distribution of shear strength along a subduction fault. We show that the 2011 Mw9.0 Tohoku earthquake ruptured a fault portion characterized by unusually small variations in static shear strength. This observation is consistent with the hypothesis that large earthquakes preferentially rupture regions with relatively homogeneous shear strength. With increasing constraints on the different parameters at play, our approach could, in the future, help identify favorable locations for large earthquakes.
Fichier principal
Vignette du fichier
2017GL075501.pdf (1.24 Mo) Télécharger le fichier
Origine : Fichiers éditeurs autorisés sur une archive ouverte

Dates et versions

hal-02383058 , version 1 (18-11-2021)

Licence

Copyright (Tous droits réservés)

Identifiants

Citer

Quentin Bletery, Amanda Thomas, Alan Rempel, Jeanne Hardebeck. Imaging Shear Strength Along Subduction Faults. Geophysical Research Letters, 2017, 44 (22), pp.11,329-11,339. ⟨10.1002/2017gl075501⟩. ⟨hal-02383058⟩
24 Consultations
19 Téléchargements

Altmetric

Partager

Gmail Facebook X LinkedIn More