Very hot rocks deep in the Earth help explain earthquake patterns

Melting forces of rocks occurring deeper into the ground than previously understood appear to trigger tremors along a notorious portion of the San Andreas Fault in California, according to new research at the University of Southern California that helps explain how earthquakes occur.

From the emerging field of seismic physics, the study looks at the mechanics of earthquakes from the bottom up, rather than from the top to the bottom, with a focus on underground rocks, friction, and fluids. On a section of the San Andreas Fault near Parkfield, California, underground excitement – beyond the depths at which earthquakes are typically monitored – leads to the instability that explodes in an earthquake.

“Most earthquakes in California originate from the first 10 miles of the Earth’s crust, but some of the tremors on the San Andreas fault occur much deeper,” said Sylvan Barbu, assistant professor of earth sciences at UC Dornsife College of Arts, Arts and Sciences. Why and how this happens is largely unknown. We show that a deep part of the San Andreas Fault breaks a lot and melts the host rocks, generating these anomalous seismic waves. “

A newly published study appears in Science Advances. Barbu, the corresponding author, collaborated with Lifeng Wang of the China Earthquake Administration in China.

The results are important because they help achieve the long-term goal of understanding how and where earthquakes are likely to occur, as well as the forces that trigger earthquakes. Better scientific understanding helps guide building codes, public policy, and emergency preparedness in earthquake-stricken regions like California. The results may also be important in engineering applications where the temperature of rocks changes rapidly, such as hydraulic fracturing.

Parkfield – which is located 60 miles north of San Luis Obispo – was chosen because it is one of the most intensely monitored centers in the world. The San Andreas Fault cuts through the town, and it has been torn regularly with large earthquakes. Earthquakes of magnitude 6 shook the Parkfield section of the rift at fairly regular intervals – in 1857, 1881, 1901, 1922, 1934, 1966, and 2004, according to the US Geological Survey. At greater depths, smaller episodes occur every few months.

University of Southern California researchers are seeking to understand rocks beneath the San Andreas Fault

So what is going on deep in the earth to explain the rapid recurrence of earthquakes?

Using mathematical models and laboratory experiments on rocks, the scientists performed simulations based on evidence gathered from the section of the San Andreas Fault which extends up to 36 miles north – and 16 miles below – Parkfield. They simulated the dynamics of deep-Earth fault activity over a period of 300 years to study a wide range of rupture sizes and behaviors.

Researchers note that after a major earthquake ends, the tectonic plates that meet at the fault boundaries settle into the launch and contact phase. For spells, they slide on top of each other, which is a slow slide that causes little to no surface discomfort.

Instead of just anticipating earthquakes, we try to explain all the different types of movement that are appearing on Earth.

Sylvain Barbot

But this harmony belies the problem of fermentation. Gradually, movement through pieces of granite and quartz, the bedrock of the earth, generates heat due to friction. As the heat increases, the blocks of rock begin to change. When friction drives temperatures above 650 degrees Fahrenheit, the rock masses become less solid and fluid-like. They start slipping further, generating more friction, more heat and more fluid so they can creep across each other quickly – thus triggering an earthquake.

“Just like rubbing our hands together in cold weather to warm them up, faults heat up when they slide.” Fault movements can be caused by large changes in temperature. “This can create positive reactions that cause them to slide off faster, which ultimately results in them,” Barbot said. To an earthquake. “

It is a different way of looking at the San Andreas Fault. Scientists usually focus on movement in the upper part of the Earth’s crust, expecting that its motion, in turn, to deeply remodel rocks. In this study, scientists looked at the problem from the bottom up.

“It’s difficult to make predictions, so instead of just predicting earthquakes, we’re trying to explain all the different types of motion that are seen on the ground,” Barbot added.

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