Towards a simple, comprehensive model of regular earthquakes and slow slip events, part II: two-dimensional model

TL;DR

This paper develops a two-dimensional model to better understand the characteristics and scaling laws of earthquakes and slow slip events, revealing new insights into rupture expansion, pulse shapes, and tremor phenomena.

Contribution

It introduces a 2D model that captures features of EQs and SSEs not observable in 1D models, including rupture expansion and pulse dynamics.

Findings

EQ rupture edges are wider in the y-direction

Seismic moment scales with time as M∝T^3 for EQs and M∝T for SSEs

The model explains tremor migration and pulse shapes

Abstract

Although our existing one-dimensional (1D) model provides a successful quantitative description of rupture events, a 1D description is somewhat limited. We therefore derive a two-dimensional (2D) model which allows us to investigate characteristics of earthquakes (EQs) and slow slip events (SSEs) that are only apparent in a second dimension. We find that the leading edge of an EQ rupture in the direction of the global shear stress (x-direction) is wider in the plane of the crustal fault (y-direction) than the trailing edge. The direction of the slip velocity is primarily in the x-direction. EQ ruptures expand in both the x- and y-directions. In SSEs, the rupture also expands in both directions for a short period of time, then, after pulses are formed, there is no further expandsion, i.e., the pulse shape remains practically unchanged. The 2D simulations show the seismic moment (M) versus time (T) scaling law may be expressed by the relation , where . For EQs, is approximately equal to 3, while for SSEs, tends to 1 as the pulses develop and become fully established. The 2D model quantitatively describes the parameters of a seismic pulse in episodic tremor and slip (ETS) phenomena and also explains important features of non-volcanic tremor associated with this pulse, such as reverse tremor migration. The 2D model confirms the basic findings obtained previously by the 1D model: (i) The type of a seismic event, EQ or SSE, and the type of a rupture, crack-like or pulse-like, are determined solely by the fault strength, the ratio of the shear to normal stress, and the gradient in this ratio; (ii) The shape of a rupture and position of the maximum slip is determined by the spatial distribution of the initial stress.