[californiadisasters] Large Earthquake Triggering, Clustering and the Synchronization of Faults

Large Earthquake Triggering, Clustering and the Synchronization of Faults

ScienceDaily (June 3, 2010) — The "signature of synchronicity" of large earthquakes -- clusters of ruptures of several faults followed by periods of quiescence -- found in the paleoseismic record also reflects the common observation that large earthquakes can trigger other large earthquakes on nearby faults. In this paper, author Christopher Scholz of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University, examines the mechanism by which the seismic cycles of nearby faults become synchronized.

Changes in stress caused by one earthquake can hasten the failure of neighboring faults. This paper looks at three case studies of large intraplate earthquakes that trigger even larger earthquakes on nearby faults. Because the large earthquakes that rupture these faults produce slip of a few meters, they have seismic cycle periods of several thousand years. The calculated stress transfer between faults suggests that the faults were near the end of their respective seismic cycles.

In the south Iceland seismic zone, the central Nevada seismic belt, and the eastern California shear zone, several synchronous clusters, that apparently act independently, can be recognized. This behavior is the three dimensional equivalent of the phase locking that results in the seismic cycle of individual faults being dominated by large 'characteristic' earthquakes, and for synchronization of fault segments along a given fault.

Rupture patterns of repeated individual earthquakes or earthquake clusters are not identical in either the two or three dimensional cases. The state of this system, which exhibits strong indications of synchrony without exact repetition, may be called fuzzy synchrony.

This research was recently published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (BSSA)

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Seismological Society of America, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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Journal Reference:

1. Scholz et al. Large Earthquake Triggering, Clustering, and the Synchronization of Faults. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 2010; 100 (3): 901 DOI: 10.1785/0120090309

Seismological Society of America. "Large Earthquake Triggering, Clustering and the Synchronization of Faults." ScienceDaily 3 June 2010. 3 June 2010 <http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2010/06/100602193429.htm>.

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