Using Temperature to Measure Fault Stress: Analysis of Data from the Fault Zone of the Mw 7.9 Wenchuan Earthquake

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The devastating 1999 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan thrust earthquake generated a 300 kilometers-long surface rupture with an average offset of about 5 meters. If the resisting stress of faults is controlled by Byerlee?s friction law, this slip should have resulted in significant energy dissipated as heat. The Wenchuan Fault Zone Scientific Drilling Project has successfully measured multiple temperature profiles within 2 years after the earthquake. In a pilot hole intersecting the major fault zone at 589 m depth, 13 high-quality repeated temperature logs were taken over a 1.5 year period. In addition, temperature logs were performed before casing completion and continuous measurements were made at a few points between profile runs. Preliminary inspection and modeling of the data indicates that any transient temperature anomaly over the fault is less than 0.05 degrees C, which suggests that the equivalent coefficient of friction during the earthquake is less than 0.05 and, by implication, that the earthquake completely relieved the stress stored up from plate motion. However, the preliminary modeling did not account for several important effects such as advection and fault structure. The goal of this project is to determine the actual value of the stress on the fault during the earthquake by: (1) employing a more sophisticated numerical model that includes the cooling effect of water flow along the fault in order to better interpret the borehole data; and (2) by collection and analysis of new temperature and pressure data in a second borehole that intersects the most prominent fault zone at 1247-1250 meters and extends to 1400 meters total depth and in a third borehole planned for completion in 2013.Earthquakes are the result of motions of the tectonic plates and the driving forces are well understood. However, the resisting force impeding the motion on the faults is much more poorly constrained. This frictional stress during an earthquake is one of the major unknown parameters in earthquake mechanics. The processes controlling friction at high slip velocities are vigorously debated with many theoretical possibilities. Field measurements are needed to constrain the dominant processes on actual faults. This project would take advantage of new and planned temperature measurements in boreholes that penetrate the fault that generated the Wenchuan earthquake that would allow determination of the coefficient of friction during the earthquake.