Laboratory earthquakes decipher control and stability of rupture speeds

Peng Dong, Kaiwen Xia (), Ying Xu, Derek Elsworth and Jean-Paul Ampuero
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Peng Dong: Institute of Geosafety, School of Engineering and Technology, China University of Geosciences
Kaiwen Xia: Institute of Geosafety, School of Engineering and Technology, China University of Geosciences
Ying Xu: Tianjin University
Derek Elsworth: G3 Center and EMS Energy Institute, Pennsylvania State University
Jean-Paul Ampuero: Géoazur, Université Côte d’Azur, IRD, CNRS, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur; 250 rue Albert Einstein

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Earthquakes are destructive natural hazards with damage capacity dictated by rupture speeds. Traditional dynamic rupture models predict that earthquake ruptures gradually accelerate to the Rayleigh wave speed with some of them further jumping to stable supershear speeds above the Eshelby speed (~ $$\sqrt{2}$$ 2 times S wave speed). However, the 2018 Mw 7.5 Palu earthquake, among several others, significantly challenges such a viewpoint. Here we generate spontaneous shear ruptures on laboratory faults to confirm that ruptures can indeed attain steady subRayleigh or supershear propagation speeds immediately following nucleation. A self-similar analysis of dynamic rupture confirms our observation, leading to a simple model where the rupture speed is uniquely dependent on a driving load. Our results reproduce and explain a number of enigmatic field observations on earthquake speeds, including the existence of stable subEshelby supershear ruptures, early onset of supershear ruptures, and the correlation between the rupture speed and the driving load.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38137-w

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