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Mirror-like faults and power dissipation during earthquakes
Author(s)
Language
English
Obiettivo Specifico
4T. Fisica dei terremoti e scenari cosismici
Status
Published
JCR Journal
JCR Journal
Peer review journal
Yes
Title of the book
Issue/vol(year)
11/41(2013)
ISSN
0091-7613
Electronic ISSN
1943-2682
Publisher
Geological Society of America
Pages (printed)
1175-1178
Issued date
September 2013
Subjects
Abstract
Earthquakes occur along faults in response to plate tectonic movements, but paradoxically, are not widely recognized in the geological record, severely limiting our knowledge of earthquake physics and hampering accurate assessments of seismic hazard. Light-reflective (so-called mirror like) fault surfaces are widely observed geological features, especially in carbonate-bearing rocks of the shallow crust. Here we report on the occurrence of mirror-like fault surfaces cutting dolostone gouges in the Italian Alps. Using friction experiments, we demonstrate that the mirror-like surfaces develop only at seismic slip rates (∼1 m/s) and for applied normal stresses and sliding displacements consistent with those estimated on the natural faults. Under these experimental conditions, the frictional power density dissipated in the samples is comparable to that estimated for natural earthquakes (1–10 MW/m2). Our results indicate that mirror-like surfaces in dolostone gouges are a signature of seismic faulting, and can be used to estimate power dissipation during ancient earthquake ruptures.
Type
article
File(s)
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Name
Geology-2013-Fondriest-1175-8.pdf
Description
Paper
Size
1.04 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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