The Mechanics of Earthquakes and Faulting (2nd Edition)

This revised and thoroughly updated edition maintains and develops the two major themes of the first edition. First is the connection between fault and earthquake mechanics, including fault scaling laws, the nature of fault populations, and how these result from the processes of fault growth and interaction. Second is the central role of the rate-state friction laws in earthquake mechanics, which provide a unifying framework within which a wide range of faulting phenomena can be interpreted. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Preface to the first edition 12 Preface to the second edition 16 Acknowledgments 18 List of symbols 21 1 Brittle fracture of rock 26 1.1 Theoretical concepts 26 1.1.1 Historical 26 1.1.2 Griffith theory 29 1.1.3 Fracture mechanics 34 1.1.4 Crack models 38 1.1.5 Macroscopic fracture criteria 42 1.2 Experimental studies of rock strength 46 1.2.1 Macroscopic strength 47 1.2.2 Fracture energies 53 1.2.3 Discussion of fracture criteria in the light of experimental results 56 1.2.4 Effect of scale on strength 60 1.3 Pore fluid effects on fracture 62 1.3.1 Laws of effective stress 62 1.3.2 Environmental effects on strength 64 1.4 The brittle–plastic transition 68 1.4.1 General principles 69 1.4.2 The transition induced by pressure 71 1.4.3 The transition induced by temperature 73 1.4.4 Extrapolation to geological conditions 75 2 Rock friction 78 2.1 Theoretical concepts 78 2.1.1 Historical 78 2.1.2 The adhesion theory of friction 80 2.1.3 Elastic contact theory of friction 82 2.1.4 Other frictional interactions 88 2.2 Experimental observations of friction 91 2.2.1 General observations 92 2.2.2 Effects of other variables on friction 93 2.2.3 Wear 102 2.3 Stick slip and stable sliding 106 2.3.1 Introduction 106 2.3.2 Rate effects on friction: the rate and state variable friction laws 108 2.3.3 Frictional stability regimes 112 2.3.4 Dynamics of stick slip 119 2.4 Friction under geological conditions 122 3 Mechanics of faulting 126 3.1 Mechanical framework 126 3.1.1 Anderson’s theory of faulting 126 3.1.2 Hubbert–Rubey theory of overthrust faulting 129 3.1.3 Stress in the crust, fault reactivation, and friction 132 3.2 The formation and growth of faults 135 3.2.1 The problem of fault formation 135 3.2.2 Growth and development of faults 140 3.2.3 Fault interactions and fault populations 151 3.3 Fault rocks and structures 160 3.3.1 Fault rocks and deformation mechanisms 161 3.3.2 Fabrics and surfaces 166 3.4 Strength and rheology of faults 170 3.4.1 A synoptic shear zone model 171 3.4.2 Deep ductile shear zones: the downward continuation of faults 179 3.4.3 Thermomechanical effects of faulting 180 3.4.4 The debate on the strength of crustal fault zones 183 3.5 Fault morphology and mechanical effects of heterogeneity 193 3.5.1 Fault topography and morphology 193 3.5.2 Mechanical effects of fault irregularities 198 4 Mechanics of earthquakes 204 4.1 Historical development 204 4.2 Theoretical background 207 4.2.1 The dynamic energy balance 207 4.2.2 Dynamic shear crack propagation 210 4.2.3 Simple applications to earthquake rupture 220 4.3 Earthquake phenomenology 223 4.3.1 Quantification of earthquakes 223 4.3.2 Earthquake scaling relations 235 4.4 Observations of earthquakes 244 4.4.1 Case studies 244 4.4.2 Earthquake sequences 257 4.4.3 Compound earthquakes: Clustering and migration 262 4.5 Mechanics of earthquake interactions 267 4.5.1 Coulomb stress loading 267 4.5.2 Mechanisms for the time delay 270 5 The seismic cycle 277 5.1 Historical 277 5.2 The crustal deformation cycle 280 5.2.1 Geodetic observations of strain accumulation 281 5.2.2 Models of strain accumulation 287 5.2.3 Postseismic phenomena 292 5.3 The earthquake cycle 298 5.3.1 Earthquake recurrence 298 5.3.2 Geological observations of recurrence times 306 5.3.3 Recurrence estimation with insufficient data 316 5.3.4 Seismicity changes during the loading cycle 320 5.3.5 The question of earthquake periodicity 324 5.4 Earthquake recurrence models 327 6 Seismotectonics 333 6.1 Introduction 333 6.2 Seismotectonic analysis 336 6.2.1 Qualitative analysis 336 6.2.2 Quantitative analysis 339 6.3 Comparative seismotectonics 342 6.3.1 Subduction zone seismicity 342 6.3.2 Oceanic earthquakes 351 6.3.3 Continental extensional regimes 356 6.3.4 Intraplate earthquakes 359 6.3.5 Mechanism of deep earthquakes 362 6.3.6 Slow and tsunamigenic earthquakes 364 6.4 The relative role of seismic and aseismic faulting 366 6.4.1 Aseismic slip 367 6.4.2 Seismic coupling of subduction zones 370 6.5 Induced seismicity 374 6.5.1 Some examples 375 6.5.2 Mechanisms of reservoir-induced seismicity 377 6.5.3 Mining-induced seismicity 381 6.5.4 Induced seismicity as a stress gauge 383 7 Earthquake prediction and hazard analysis 384 7.1 Introduction 384 7.1.1 Historical 384 7.1.2 Types of earthquake prediction 385 7.1.3 Is earthquake prediction possible? 389 7.2 Precursory phenomena 391 7.2.1 Preinstrumental observations 391 7.2.2 Intermediate-term precursors 394 7.2.3 Short-term precursors 408 7.3 Mechanisms of precursory phenomena 413 7.3.1 Nucleation models 414 7.3.2 Dilatancy models 417 7.3.3 Lithospheric loading models 423 7.3.4 Critical point theory 426 7.3.5 Comparison of models and observations 427 7.3.6 Earthquake prediction experiments 436 7.4 Earthquake hazard analysis 437 7.4.1 Traditional methods 437 7.4.2 Long-term hazard analysis 439 7.4.3 Analysis of instantaneous hazard 441 7.5 Future prospects and problems 445 References 448 Index 500 Our understanding of earthquakes and faulting processes has developed significantly since publication of the successful first edition of this book in 1990. This revised edition, first published in 2002, was therefore thoroughly up-dated whilst maintaining and developing the two major themes of the first edition. The first of these themes is the connection between fault and earthquake mechanics, including fault scaling laws, the nature of fault populations, and how these result from the processes of fault growth and interaction. The second major theme is the central role of the rate-state friction laws in earthquake mechanics, which provide a unifying framework within which a wide range of faulting phenomena can be interpreted. With the inclusion of two chapters explaining brittle fracture and rock friction from first principles, this book is written at a level which will appeal to graduate students and research scientists in the fields of seismology, physics, geology, geodesy and rock mechanics.

A thoroughly updated second edition, covering all the major advances in fault analysis research.

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The two major themes of this text are the connection between fault and earthquake mechanics, and the central role of the rate-state friction laws in earthquake mechanics. Chapters cover mechanics of faulting, mechanics of earthquakes, the seismic cycle, seismotectonics, and earthquake prediction and hazard analysis. The book is useful for graduate students and research scientists in the fields of seismology, physics, geology, geodesy, and rock mechanics. This second edition contains two new chapters which explain brittle fracture and rock friction from first principles. Scholz teaches earth science and applied mathematics at Columbia University. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)