Dynamic Rupture Propagation in the Presence of Thermally Driven Fluid Flow and Melting Due to Fault Slip: a Modeling Study

虽然地震学家早就知道摩擦是地震破裂和滑动过程中的基本过程之一，但我们认为在地震中看到的摩擦行为背后的实际物理机制仍然难以捉摸。 有强有力的物理论据表明，在地震中看到的高滑动速率下，孔隙流体的摩擦加热可以动态地降低摩擦应力，大大增加应力降。 在更极端的条件下，断层带的摩擦熔融可能会进一步影响摩擦环境。 我们建议通过耦合一个1-D热液/孔隙弹性模型的热流和流体行为与3-D动态断裂模型的破裂和滑动行为来研究这些过程。 使用这种组合方法，我们将能够调查热流体加压和岩石熔融对断层应力的影响，并确定对断层运动和辐射地震波的影响。 我们的模型预测的行为可以与地震数据进行比较，以进行验证。

EAR-0229391While Seismologists have long known that friction is one of the fundamental processes operating during earthquake rupture and slip, the actual physical mechanism behind the frictional behavior we believe we see in earthquakes remains elusive. There are strong physical arguments that at the high slip rates seen in earthquakes, frictional heating of pore fluids could dynamically reduce the frictional stress, greatly increasing the stress drop. Under even more extreme conditions, frictional melting of the fault zone may further affect the frictional environment. We propose to investigate these processes by coupling a 1-D hydrothermal/poroelastic model for heat flow and fluid behavior with a 3-D dynamic faulting model for rupture and slip behavior. Using this combined method, we will be able to investigate the effects of thermal fluid pressurization and rock melting on fault stress, and determine the resulting effects on fault motion and radiated seismic waves. Behaviors predicted by our models can be compared with seismic data for verification.