8,543 research outputs found
Earthquakes: from chemical alteration to mechanical rupture
In the standard rebound theory of earthquakes, elastic deformation energy is
progressively stored in the crust until a threshold is reached at which it is
suddenly released in an earthquake. We review three important paradoxes, the
strain paradox, the stress paradox and the heat flow paradox, that are
difficult to account for in this picture, either individually or when taken
together. Resolutions of these paradoxes usually call for additional
assumptions on the nature of the rupture process (such as novel modes of
deformations and ruptures) prior to and/or during an earthquake, on the nature
of the fault and on the effect of trapped fluids within the crust at
seismogenic depths. We review the evidence for the essential importance of
water and its interaction with the modes of deformations. Water is usually seen
to have mainly the mechanical effect of decreasing the normal lithostatic
stress in the fault core on one hand and to weaken rock materials via
hydrolytic weakening and stress corrosion on the other hand. We also review the
evidences that water plays a major role in the alteration of minerals subjected
to finite strains into other structures in out-of-equilibrium conditions. This
suggests novel exciting routes to understand what is an earthquake, that
requires to develop a truly multidisciplinary approach involving mineral
chemistry, geology, rupture mechanics and statistical physics.Comment: 44 pages, 1 figures, submitted to Physics Report
Electro-Magnetic Earthquake Bursts and Critical Rupture of Peroxy Bond Networks in Rocks
We propose a mechanism for the low frequency electromagnetic emissions and
other electromagnetic phenomena which have been associated with earthquakes.
The mechanism combines the critical earthquake concept and the concept of crust
acting as a charging electric battery under increasing stress. The electric
charges are released by activation of dormant charge carriers in the oxygen
anion sublattice, called peroxy bonds or positive hole pairs (PHP), where a PHP
represents an with ,
i.e. an in a matrix of of silicates. We propose that PHP are
activated by plastic deformations during the slow cooperative build-up of
stress and the increasingly correlated damage culminating in a large
``critical'' earthquake. Recent laboratory experiments indeed show that
stressed rocks form electric batteries which can release their charge when a
conducting path closes the equivalent electric circuit. We conjecture that the
intermittent and erratic occurrences of EM signals are a consequence of the
progressive build-up of the battery charges in the Earth crust and their
erratic release when crack networks are percolating throughout the stressed
rock volumes, providing a conductive pathway for the battery currents to
discharge. EM signals are thus expected close to the rupture, either slightly
before or after, that is, when percolation is most favored.Comment: 17 pages with 3 figures, extended discussion with 1 added figure and
162 references. The new version provides both a synthesis of two theories and
a review of the fiel
The physics of earthquakes
Earthquakes occur as a result of global plate motion. However, this simple picture is far from complete. Some plate boundaries glide past each other smoothly, while others are punctuated by catastrophic failures. Some earthquakes stop after only a few hundred metres while others continue rupturing for a thousand kilometres. Earthquakes are sometimes triggered by other large earthquakes thousands of kilometres away. We address these questions by dissecting the observable phenomena and separating out the quantifiable features for comparison across events. We begin with a discussion of stress in the crust followed by an overview of earthquake phenomenology, focusing on the parameters that are readily measured by current seismic techniques. We briefly discuss how these parameters are related to the amplitude and frequencies of the elastic waves measured by seismometers as well as direct geodetic measurements of the Earth's deformation. We then review the major processes thought to be active during the rupture and discuss their relation to the observable parameters. We then take a longer range view by discussing how earthquakes interact as a complex system. Finally, we combine subjects to approach the key issue of earthquake initiation. This concluding discussion will require using the processes introduced in the study of rupture as well as some novel mechanisms. As our observational database improves, our computational ability accelerates and our laboratories become more refined, the next few decades promise to bring more insights on earthquakes and perhaps some answers
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Location and Felt Reports for the 25 April 2010 mbLg 3.9 Earthquake Near Alice, Texas: Was it Induced by Petroleum Production?
This study examines seismograms and felt reports for the 25 April 2010 Alice, Texas, earthquake and explores its possible relationship with gas and oil production in the Stratton field. We identified P arrivals at seven broadband stations situated within similar to 100 km of the epicentral region and determined a location of 27.72 degrees N, 97.95 degrees W, about 11 km east of the location reported by the National Earthquake Information Center but coincident with the region of highest intensity (modified Mercalli intensity V-VI) felt reports. We compare arrivals for observed secondary P and S arrivals with predictions from a published Gulf Coast velocity model. At nearby stations, the secondary arrivals are much stronger than primary arrivals; the arrival times and the presence of high-amplitude phases traveling at the Love-wave velocity of the uppermost model layer suggest the focal depth was shallow, 3 km or less. This places the 2010 hypocenter approximately along the mapped trace of the Vicksburg fault zone and at the depth of the Frio formation, the principal productive member in the Stratton field, which has produced at least 2.7 trillion cubic feet of gas and about 100 million barrels of oil since production commenced in 1938. We conclude it is plausible, although not proven definitively, that production in the Stratton field contributed to the occurrence of the 2010 Alice earthquake and an earlier similar earthquake that occurred on 24 March 1997.Ewing-Worzel Summer FellowshipU.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Department of the Interior, under USGS G12AP20001Institute for Geophysic
Solar System Processes Underlying Planetary Formation, Geodynamics, and the Georeactor
Only three processes, operant during the formation of the Solar System, are
responsible for the diversity of matter in the Solar System and are directly
responsible for planetary internal-structures, including planetocentric nuclear
fission reactors, and for dynamical processes, including and especially,
geodynamics. These processes are: (i) Low-pressure, low-temperature
condensation from solar matter in the remote reaches of the Solar System or in
the interstellar medium; (ii) High-pressure, high-temperature condensation from
solar matter associated with planetary-formation by raining out from the
interiors of giant-gaseous protoplanets, and; (iii) Stripping of the primordial
volatile components from the inner portion of the Solar System by super-intense
solar wind associated with T-Tauri phase mass-ejections, presumably during the
thermonuclear ignition of the Sun. As described herein, these processes lead
logically, in a causally related manner, to a coherent vision of planetary
formation with profound implications including, but not limited to, (a) Earth
formation as a giant gaseous Jupiter-like planet with vast amounts of stored
energy of protoplanetary compression in its rock-plus-alloy kernel; (b) Removal
of approximately 300 Earth-masses of primordial gases from the Earth, which
began Earth's decompression process, making available the stored energy of
protoplanetary compression for driving geodynamic processes, which I have
described by the new whole-Earth decompression dynamics and which is
responsible for emplacing heat at the mantle-crust-interface at the base of the
crust through the process I have described, called mantle decompression
thermal-tsunami; and, (c)Uranium accumulations at the planetary centers capable
of self-sustained nuclear fission chain reactions.Comment: Invited paper for the Special Issue of Earth, Moon and Planets
entitled Neutrino Geophysics Added final corrections for publicatio
Time-Dependent Seismology
The time variation of crustal velocities in tectonic regions is most reasonably attributed to stress induced variations in crack porosity. The decrease in V_p/V_s before earthquakes is due primarily to a large decrease in V_p. This supports the Nur dilatancy hypothesis but not the effective stress hypothesis. New data from the San Fernando region verify the V_p drop, show that this drop cannot be entirely due to source depth effects, and give strong support to the explanation of material property, or path effect, rather than source effect variations. Calculations show that the crack-widening model works even for mid crustal depths in saturated rock. Narrow cracks of low aspect ratio are required to satisfy the velocity and uplift constraints. The recovery of velocity prior to fracture can be due to fluid flow or crack closure. The t ∼ L^2 relation does not require diffusion. Diffusion of groundwater or crack closure leads to increased pore pressure and rock weakening. Observations of gravity, conductivity, and crustal distortions along with velocities should narrow the choice of models. The crust in regions of thrust tectonics is probably always dilatant to some degree. The aftershock region is smaller than the anomalous velocity region, which in turn must be smaller than the dilatant region. A simple relationship is derived for the relative sizes of the anomalous and aftershock regions
Lessons Learned from Liquefaction and Lifeline Performance During San Francisco Earthquakes
This paper presents information about subsurface conditions, liquefaction-induced ground movements, and lifeline performance during the 1906 and 1989 earthquakes in San Francisco. Three sites of soil liquefaction and pipeline damage during both earthquakes are evaluated, including the Marina, South of Market, and Mission Creek areas. Important lessons are summarized about the effects of transient lateral shear strains on pipeline performance, post liquefaction consolidation, use of submerged fill thickness as a microzonation technique for predicting liquefaction severity and potential pipeline damage, the relationship between surface manifestations of liquefaction and subsurface geometry of deposits, and factors affecting the magnitude of lateral spread
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