A Simulator of Earthquakes and aseismic slip on a Heterogeneous
strike-slip fault (HFQsim) with static/kinetic friction and
temperature-dependent creep
Abstract
We develop an earthquake simulator to study the partitioning of
seismic/aseismic slip and dynamics of Earthquakes on a Heterogeneous
strike-slip Fault (HFQsim) using a generalized model of a discrete fault
governed by static/dynamic friction and creep in an elastic half-space.
Previous versions of the simulator were shown to produce various
realistic seismicity patterns (e.g., frequency-magnitude event
statistics, hypocenter and slip distributions, temporal occurrence)
using friction levels and creep properties that vary in space but are
fixed in time. The new simulator incorporates frictional heat generation
by earthquake slip leading to temperature rises, subsequent diffusion
cooling into the half space, and time-dependent creep on the fault. The
model assumes a power law dependence of creep velocity on the local
shear stress, with temperature-dependent coefficients based on the
Arrhenius equation. Temperature rises due to seismic slip produce
increased aseismic slip, which can lead to further stress
concentrations, aftershocks, and heat generation in a feedback loop. The
partitioning of seismic/aseismic slip and space-time evolution of
seismicity are strongly affected by the temperature changes on the
fault. The results are also affected significantly by the difference
between the static and kinetic friction levels. The model produces
realistic spatio-temporal distribution of seismicity, transient aseismic
slip patterns, foreshock-mainshock-aftershock sequences, and a bimodal
distribution of earthquakes with background and clustered events similar
to observations. The HFQsim may be used to clarify relations between
fault properties and different features of seismicity and aseismic slip,
and to improve the understanding of failure patterns preceding large
earthquakes.