Jean-Paul Ampuero

The 2011 Magnitude 9.0 Tohoku-Oki Earthquake: Mosaicking the Megathrust from Seconds to Centuries

Detailed geophysical measurements reveal features of the 2011 Tohoku-Oki megathrust earthquake. Geophysical observations from the 2011 moment magnitude (Mw) 9.0 Tohoku-Oki, Japan earthquake allow exploration of a rare large event along a subduction megathrust. Models for this event indicate that the distribution of coseismic fault slip exceeded 50 meters in places. Sources of high-frequency seismic waves delineate the edges of the deepest portions of coseismic slip and do not simply correlate with the locations of peak slip. Relative to the Mw 8.8 2010 Maule, Chile earthquake, the Tohoku-Oki earthquake was deficient in high-frequency seismic radiation—a difference that we attribute to its relatively shallow depth. Estimates of total fault slip and surface secular strain accumulation on millennial time scales suggest the need to consider the potential for a future large earthquake just south of this event.

Earthquake nucleation on (aging) rate and state faults

We obtain quasi-static, two-dimensional solutions for earthquake nucleation on faults obeying Dieterichs “aging” version of the rate and state friction equations. Two distinct nucleation regimes are found, separated by roughly a/b ∼ 0.5, where a and b are the constitutive parameters relating changes in slip rate V and state θ to frictional strength. When fault healing is unimportant (Vθ/D_c ≫ 1, where D_c is the characteristic slip distance for the evolution of θ), the nucleation zone spontaneously evolves toward a state of accelerating slip on a patch of fixed half length L_ν ≈ 1.3774(μ′D_c /bσ), where μ′ is the intrinsic stiffness of the medium and σ is the normal stress. This is the fixed length solution for which the stress intensity factor K = 0. Although this solution does not depend upon a/b explicitly, only for a/b < 0.3781 does healing remain unimportant as instability is approached. For a/b ≳ 0.5 and a wide range of slow loading conditions, Vθ/D_c ultimately approaches a quasi-constant value near 1, and the nucleation zone takes on the appearance of an expanding slip-weakening crack. A fracture energy balance indicates that in this regime the nucleation length asymptotically approaches π−1[b/(b − a)]2(μ′D_c /bσ), a result that is consistent with the numerical simulations despite considerable complexity asa approaches b. This suggests that nucleation lengths can sometimes be much larger than those found by Dieterich (e.g., by a factor of 100 for a/b = 0.95). For surfaces this close to velocity neutral, nucleation might produce signals detectable by surface seismometers for values of D_c at the upper end of the lab range (100 μm). However, the attributes of the aging law that give rise to such large nucleation lengths may be nonphysical; additional laboratory experiments are needed to address this issue.

Earthquake nucleation on rate and state faults - Aging and slip laws

We compare 2-D, quasi-static earthquake nucleation on rate-and-state faults under both “aging” and “slip” versions of the state evolution law. For both versions mature nucleation zones exhibit 2 primary regimes of growth: Well above and slightly above steady state, corresponding respectively to larger and smaller fault weakening rates. Well above steady state, aging-law nucleation takes the form of accelerating slip on a patch of fixed length. This length is proportional to b^−1 and independent of a, where a and b are the constitutive parameters relating changes in slip speed and state to frictional strength. Under the slip law the nucleation zone is smaller and continually shrinks as slip accelerates. The nucleation zone is guaranteed to remain well above steady state only for values of a/b that are low by laboratory standards. Near steady state, for both laws the nucleation zone expands. The propagating front remains well above steady state, giving rise to a simple expression for its effective fracture energy G c . This fracture energy controls the propagation style. For the aging law G c increases approximately as the square of the logarithm of the velocity jump. This causes the nucleation zone to undergo quasi-static crack-like expansion, to a size asymptotically proportional to b/(b−a)^2. For the slip law G c increases only as the logarithm of the velocity jump, and crack-like expansion is not an option. Instead, the nucleation zone grows as an accelerating unidirectional slip pulse. Under both laws the nucleation front propagates at a velocity larger than the slip speed by roughly μ′/bσ divided by the logarithm of the velocity jump, where μ′ is the effective elastic shear modulus. For this prediction to be consistent with observed propagation speeds of slow slip events in subduction zones appears to require effective normal stresses as low as 1 MPa.

A window into the complexity of the dynamic rupture of the 2011 Mw 9 Tohoku‐Oki earthquake

The 2011 Mw 9 Tohoku-Oki earthquake, recorded by over 1000 near-field stations and multiple large-aperture arrays, is by far the best recorded earthquake in the history of seismology and provides unique opportunities to address fundamental issues in earthquake source dynamics. Here we conduct a high resolution array analysis based on recordings from the USarray and the European network. The mutually consistent results from both arrays reveal rupture complexity with unprecedented resolution, involving phases of diverse rupture speed and intermittent high frequency bursts within slow speed phases, which suggests spatially heterogeneous material properties. The earthquake initially propagates down-dip, with a slow initiation phase followed by sustained propagation at speeds of 3 km/s. The rupture then slows down to 1.5 km/s for 60 seconds. A rich sequence of bursts is generated along the down-dip rim of this slow and roughly circular rupture front. Before the end of the slow phase an extremely fast rupture front detaches at about 5 km/s towards the North. Finally a rupture front propagates towards the south running at about 2.5 km/s for over 100 km. Key features of the rupture process are confirmed by the strong motion data recorded by K-net and KIK-net. The energetic high frequency radiation episodes within a slow rupture phase suggests a patchy image of the brittle-ductile transition zone, composed of discrete brittle asperities within a ductile matrix. The high frequency is generated mainly at the down-dip edge of the principal slip regions constrained by geodesy, suggesting a variation along dip of the mechanical properties of the mega thrust fault or their spatial heterogeneity that affects rise time.

Earthquake in a Maze: Compressional Rupture Branching During the 2012 Mw 8.6 Sumatra Earthquake

Earthquake in a Maze The 11 April 2012 magnitude 8.6 earthquake offshore of Sumatra was the largest measured earthquake along a strike-slip boundary that modern seismological instruments have ever recorded. Despite its size and proximity to a large population, there was no subsequent tsunami and there were no reported fatalities. Meng et al. (p. 724, published online 19 July) used teleseismic data from seismological networks in Japan and Europe to image the source of high-frequency radiation generated by the earthquake to understand the mechanics of this unique event. The resultant back projections showed that the earthquake slowly ruptured along a complex series of faults. The deeper-than-usual rupture path and large stress drop are both features that may not be unique to this earthquake, suggesting that regions in a similar tectonic environment may have the potential for more complex—or larger—intraplate earthquakes than might have been expected. The mechanics of the largest strike-slip earthquake ever recorded give clues about how intraplate earthquakes rupture. Seismological observations of the 2012 moment magnitude 8.6 Sumatra earthquake reveal unprecedented complexity of dynamic rupture. The surprisingly large magnitude results from the combination of deep extent, high stress drop, and rupture of multiple faults. Back-projection source imaging indicates that the rupture occurred on distinct planes in an orthogonal conjugate fault system, with relatively slow rupture speed. The east-southeast–west-northwest ruptures add a new dimension to the seismotectonics of the Wharton Basin, which was previously thought to be controlled by north-south strike-slip faulting. The rupture turned twice into the compressive quadrant, against the preferred branching direction predicted by dynamic Coulomb stress calculations. Orthogonal faulting and compressional branching indicate that rupture was controlled by a pressure-insensitive strength of the deep oceanic lithosphere.

Dynamics of a velocity strengthening fault region: Implications for slow earthquakes and postseismic slip

We consider the effect of permanent stress changes on a velocity strengthening rate-and-state fault, through numerical simulations and analytical results on 1-D, 2-D, and 3-D models. We show that slip transients can be triggered by perturbations of size roughly larger than Lb = Gdc/bσ, where G is the shear modulus, dc and b are the characteristic slip distance and the coefficient of the evolution effect of rate-and-state friction, respectively, and σ is the effective normal stress. Perturbations that increase the Coulomb stress lead to the strongest transients, but creep bursts can also be triggered by perturbations that decrease the Coulomb stress. In the latter case, peak slip velocity is attained long after the perturbation, so that it may be difficult in practice to identify their origin. The evolution of slip in a creep transient shares many features with the nucleation process of a rate-and-state weakening fault: slip initially localizes over a region of size not smaller than Lb and then accelerates transiently and finally expands as a quasi-static propagating crack. The characteristic size Lb implies a constraint on the grid resolution of numerical models, even on strengthening faults, that is more stringent than classical criteria. In the transition zone between the velocity weakening and strengthening regions, the peak slip velocity may be arbitrarily large and may approach seismic slip velocities. Postseismic slip may represent the response of the creeping parts of the fault to a stress perturbation of large scale (comparable to the extent of the main shock rupture) and high amplitude, while slow earthquakes may represent the response of the creeping zones to a more localized stress perturbation. Our results indicate that superficial afterslip, observed at usually seismogenic depths, is governed by a rate-strengthening rheology and is not likely to correspond to stable weakening zones. The predictions of the full rate-and-state framework reduce to a pure velocity strengthening law on a timescale longer than the duration of the acceleration transient, only when the triggering perturbation extends over length scales much larger than Lb.

Spectral element modeling of spontaneous earthquake rupture on rate and state faults: Effect of velocity-strengthening friction at shallow depths

We develop a spectral-element methodology (SEM) for simulating dynamic rupture on rate and state faults and use it to study how the rupture is affected by a shallow fault region of steady-state velocity-strengthening friction. Our comparison of the developed SEM and a spectral boundary-integral method (BIM) for an anti-plane (two-dimensional) test problem shows that the two methods produce virtually identical solutions for the finest resolution we use and that the convergence with grid reduction of the developed SEM methodology is comparable to that of BIM. We also use the test problem to compare numerical resolution required for different state evolution laws and for linear slip-weakening friction. Using our three-dimensional implementation of the methodology, we find that a shallow velocity-strengthening fault region can significantly alter dynamic rupture and ground motion. The velocity-strengthening region suppresses supershear propagation at the free surface occurring in the absence of such region, which could explain the lack of universally observed supershear rupture near the free surface. In addition, the velocity-strengthening region promotes faster fall-off of slip velocity behind the rupture front and decreases final slip throughout the entire fault, causing a smaller average stress drop. The slip decrease is largest in the shallow parts of the fault, resulting in the depth profile of slip qualitatively consistent with observations of shallow co-seismic slip deficit. The shallow velocity-strengthening region also reduces the amplification of strong ground motion due to a low-velocity bulk structure.

Frictional velocity-weakening in landslides on Earth and on other planetary bodies

One of the ultimate goals in landslide hazard assessment is to predict maximum landslide extension and velocity. Despite much work, the physical processes governing energy dissipation during these natural granular flows remain uncertain. Field observations show that large landslides travel over unexpectedly long distances, suggesting low dissipation. Numerical simulations of landslides require a small friction coefficient to reproduce the extension of their deposits. Here, based on analytical and numerical solutions for granular flows constrained by remote-sensing observations, we develop a consistent method to estimate the effective friction coefficient of landslides. This method uses a constant basal friction coefficient that reproduces the first-order landslide properties. We show that friction decreases with increasing volume or, more fundamentally, with increasing sliding velocity. Inspired by frictional weakening mechanisms thought to operate during earthquakes, we propose an empirical velocity-weakening friction law under a unifying phenomenological framework applicable to small and large landslides observed on Earth and beyond.

A physical model for seismic noise generation from sediment transport in rivers

Measuring sediment flux in rivers remains a significant problem in studies of landscape evolution. Recent studies suggest that observations of seismic noise near rivers can help provide such measurements, but the lack of models linking observed seismic quantities to sediment flux has prevented the method from being used. Here, we develop a forward model to describe the seismic noise induced by the transport of sediment in rivers. The model provides an expression for the power spectral density (PSD) of the Rayleigh waves generated by impulsive impacts from saltating particles which scales linearly with the number of particles of a given size and the square of the linear momentum. After incorporating expressions for the impact velocity and rate of impacts for fluvially transported sediment, we observe that the seismic noise PSD is strongly dependent on the sediment size, such that good constraints on grain size distribution are needed for reliable estimates of sediment flux based on seismic noise observations. The model predictions for the PSD are consistent with recent measurements and, based on these data, a first attempt at inverting seismic noise for the sediment flux is provided.

Aftershock asymmetry on a bimaterial interface

To better understand the asymmetric distribution of microearthquake aftershocks along the central San Andreas fault, we study dynamic models of slip-weakening ruptures on an interface separating differing elastic half-spaces. Subshear ruptures grow as slightly asymmetric bilateral cracks, with larger propagation velocities, slip velocities, and normal stress changes at the rupture front moving in the direction of slip of the medium with the lower shear wave speed (the southeast front, in the context of the San Andreas). When the SE front encounters a stress barrier, the tensile stress perturbation behind the rupture front continues forward and for a wide range of barrier strengths nucleates a dying slip pulse. This slip pulse smooths the stress field and reduces the static stress change beyond the SE front. Furthermore, because the tensile stress that carried the slip pulse into the barrier is a purely dynamic phenomenon, the SE rupture front can be left far below the failure threshold, while the NW front remains quite close to failure. Both mechanisms could contribute to the observed aftershock asymmetry. Formation of a robust slip pulse requires a peak tensile stress perturbation that approaches the nominal strength drop of the slip-weakening law. To achieve this while minimizing off-fault damage requires either substantial velocity contrasts or small reductions in friction. The simulations also show a pronounced asymmetry in the timescales over which barriers to the SE and NW experience increasing stresses, a result that has implications for the asymmetric distribution of subevents in compound earthquakes.