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Similar scaling laws for earthquakes and Cascadia slow-slip events

Author

Listed:
  • Sylvain Michel

    (California Institute of Technology, Department of Geology and Planetary Sciences
    University of Cambridge, Department of Earth Sciences, Bullard Laboratories
    Laboratoire de Géologie, Ecole Normale Supérieure)

  • Adriano Gualandi

    (California Institute of Technology, Department of Geology and Planetary Sciences
    Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology)

  • Jean-Philippe Avouac

    (California Institute of Technology, Department of Geology and Planetary Sciences
    Ecole Polytechnique)

Abstract

Faults can slip not only episodically during earthquakes but also during transient aseismic slip events1–5, often called slow-slip events. Previous studies based on observations compiled from various tectonic settings6–8 have suggested that the moment of slow-slip events is proportional to their duration, instead of following the duration-cubed scaling found for earthquakes9. This finding has spurred efforts to unravel the cause of the difference in scaling6,10–14. Thanks to a new catalogue of slow-slip events on the Cascadia megathrust based on the inversion of surface deformation measurements between 2007 and 201715, we find that a cubic moment–duration scaling law is more likely. Like regular earthquakes, slow-slip events also have a moment that is proportional to A3/2, where A is the rupture area, and obey the Gutenberg–Richter relationship between frequency and magnitude. Finally, these slow-slip events show pulse-like ruptures similar to seismic ruptures. The scaling properties of slow-slip events are thus strikingly similar to those of regular earthquakes, suggesting that they are governed by similar dynamic properties.

Suggested Citation

  • Sylvain Michel & Adriano Gualandi & Jean-Philippe Avouac, 2019. "Similar scaling laws for earthquakes and Cascadia slow-slip events," Nature, Nature, vol. 574(7779), pages 522-526, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:574:y:2019:i:7779:d:10.1038_s41586-019-1673-6
    DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1673-6
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Muir, Callum & Cortez, Jordan & Grigolini, Paolo, 2020. "Interacting faults in california and hindu kush," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    2. Prabhav Borate & Jacques Rivière & Chris Marone & Ankur Mali & Daniel Kifer & Parisa Shokouhi, 2023. "Using a physics-informed neural network and fault zone acoustic monitoring to predict lab earthquakes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    3. F. Corbi & J. Bedford & P. Poli & F. Funiciello & Z. Deng, 2022. "Probing the seismic cycle timing with coseismic twisting of subduction margins," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-8, December.
    4. Zhao, Chengxing & Liu, Jianfeng & Dai, Hangyu & Huang, Haoyong & Shi, Xiangchao, 2024. "Frictional evolution process and stability properties of Longmaxi shale under fluid injection," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    5. Huihui Weng & Jean-Paul Ampuero, 2022. "Integrated rupture mechanics for slow slip events and earthquakes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
    6. Hui Huang & Jessica C. Hawthorne, 2022. "Linking the scaling of tremor and slow slip near Parkfield, CA," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    7. Hongyu Yu & Rebecca M. Harrington & Honn Kao & Yajing Liu & Bei Wang, 2021. "Fluid-injection-induced earthquakes characterized by hybrid-frequency waveforms manifest the transition from aseismic to seismic slip," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-11, December.

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