Citation

van der Elst NJ, Delorey AA, Shelly DR, Johnson PA. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 2016; 113(31): 8601-8605.

Affiliation

Geophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545;

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, National Academy of Sciences)

DOI

10.1073/pnas.1524316113

PMID

27432977

Abstract

Earth tides modulate tremor and low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs) on faults in the vicinity of the brittle-ductile (seismic-aseismic) transition. The response to the tidal stress carries otherwise inaccessible information about fault strength and rheology. Here, we analyze the LFE response to the fortnightly tide, which modulates the amplitude of the daily tidal stress over a 14-d cycle. LFE rate is highest during the waxing fortnightly tide, with LFEs most strongly promoted when the daily stress exceeds the previous peak stress by the widest margin. This pattern implies a threshold failure process, with slip initiated when stress exceeds the local fault strength. Variations in sensitivity to the fortnightly modulation may reflect the degree of stress concentration on LFE-producing brittle asperities embedded within an otherwise aseismic fault.

Language: en