Seismological evidence of fault weakening due to erosion by fluids from observations of intraplate earthquake swarms

Kód výsledku v IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F67985530%3A_____%2F17%3A00475199" target="_blank" >RIV/67985530:_____/17:00475199 - isvavai.cz</a>

Výsledek na webu

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2017JB013958" target="_blank" >http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2017JB013958</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2017JB013958" target="_blank" >10.1002/2017JB013958</a>

Jazyk výsledku

angličtina

Název v původním jazyce

Seismological evidence of fault weakening due to erosion by fluids from observations of intraplate earthquake swarms

Popis výsledku v původním jazyce

The occurrence and specific properties of earthquake swarms in geothermal areas are usually attributed to a highly fractured rock and/or heterogeneous stress within the rock mass being triggered by magmatic or hydrothermal fluid intrusion. The increase of fluid pressure destabilizes fractures and causes their opening and subsequent shear-tensile rupture. The spreading and evolution of the seismic activity are controlled by fluid flow due to diffusion in a permeable rock (fluid-diffusion model) and/or by redistribution of Coulomb stress (intrusion model). These models, however, are not valid universally. We provide evidence that none of these models is consistent with observations of swarm earthquakes in West Bohemia, Czech Republic. Full seismic moment tensors of microearthquakes in the 2008 swarm in West Bohemia indicate that fracturing at the starting phase of the swarm was not associated with fault openings caused by pressurized fluids but rather with fault compactions. This can physically be explained by a fault-weakening model, when the essential role in the swarm triggering is attributed to degradation of fault strength due to long-lasting chemical and hydrothermal fluid-rock interactions in the focal zone. Since the rock is exposed to circulating hydrothermal, CO2-saturated fluids, the walls of fractures are weakened by dissolving and altering various minerals. The porosity of the fault gauge increases, and the fault weakens. If fault strength lowers to a critical value, the seismicity is triggered. The fractures are compacted during failure, the fault strength recovers, and a new cycle begins.

Název v anglickém jazyce

Seismological evidence of fault weakening due to erosion by fluids from observations of intraplate earthquake swarms

Popis výsledku anglicky

The occurrence and specific properties of earthquake swarms in geothermal areas are usually attributed to a highly fractured rock and/or heterogeneous stress within the rock mass being triggered by magmatic or hydrothermal fluid intrusion. The increase of fluid pressure destabilizes fractures and causes their opening and subsequent shear-tensile rupture. The spreading and evolution of the seismic activity are controlled by fluid flow due to diffusion in a permeable rock (fluid-diffusion model) and/or by redistribution of Coulomb stress (intrusion model). These models, however, are not valid universally. We provide evidence that none of these models is consistent with observations of swarm earthquakes in West Bohemia, Czech Republic. Full seismic moment tensors of microearthquakes in the 2008 swarm in West Bohemia indicate that fracturing at the starting phase of the swarm was not associated with fault openings caused by pressurized fluids but rather with fault compactions. This can physically be explained by a fault-weakening model, when the essential role in the swarm triggering is attributed to degradation of fault strength due to long-lasting chemical and hydrothermal fluid-rock interactions in the focal zone. Since the rock is exposed to circulating hydrothermal, CO2-saturated fluids, the walls of fractures are weakened by dissolving and altering various minerals. The porosity of the fault gauge increases, and the fault weakens. If fault strength lowers to a critical value, the seismicity is triggered. The fractures are compacted during failure, the fault strength recovers, and a new cycle begins.

Druh

J_imp - Článek v periodiku v databázi Web of Science

CEP obor

—

OECD FORD obor

10507 - Volcanology

Projekt

Výsledek vznikl pri realizaci vícero projektů. Více informací v záložce Projekty.

Návaznosti

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Rok uplatnění

2017

Kód důvěrnosti údajů

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Název periodika

Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth

ISSN

2169-9313

e-ISSN

—

Svazek periodika

122

Číslo periodika v rámci svazku

5

Stát vydavatele periodika

US - Spojené státy americké

Počet stran výsledku

18

Strana od-do

3701-3718

Kód UT WoS článku

000403465600026

EID výsledku v databázi Scopus

2-s2.0-85018379667