Physics of Megathrust Earthquakes

The dynamics of the seismic cycle at megathrusts is rich in various types of earthquakes, many of which  only recently discovered. Our early understanding of the earthquake phenomenon was a type of stick-slip motion, where the fault is loaded by tectonic forces for an extended period, followed by rapid failure. Extensive seismic and geodetic monitoring of subduction zones has revealed a much more varied seismic behavior, where episodic fault slip can occur at any slip velocity between the background loading rate, of the order of a few atoms per second, and the fast seismic range, about a meter per second. Events that fill the gap between slow creep and fast ruptures include a host of slow earthquakes. Subduction zones therefore provide a natural laboratory to better understand the physics of earthquakes and faulting. 
 

Previously published in Pure and Applied Geophysics, Volume 176, Issue 9, 2019

The chapters “Interseismic Coupling and Slow Slip Events on the Cascadia Megathrust”, “Effect of Slip-Weakening Distance on Seismic–Aseismic Slip Patterns”, “Physics-Based Scenario of Earthquake Cycles on the Ventura Thrust System, California: The Effect of Variable Friction and Fault Geometry”, and “A Secondary Zone of Uplift Due to Megathrust Earthquakes” are available as open access articles under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com  

Physics of Megathrust Earthquakes: Introduction

Energy and Magnitude: A Historical Perspective

A Damped Dynamic Finite Difference Approach for Modeling Static Stress–Strain Fields

Interseismic Coupling and Slow Slip Events on the Cascadia Megathrust

Interseismic Coupling in the Central Nepalese Himalaya: Spatial Correlation with the 2015 Mw 7.9 Gorkha Earthquake

Role of Lower Crust in the Postseismic Deformation of the 2010 Maule Earthquake: Insights from a Model with Power-Law Rheology

Green’s Functions for Post-seismic Strain Changes in a Realistic Earth Model and Their Application to the Tohoku-Oki Mw 9.0 Earthquake

Quasi-Dynamic 3D Modeling of the Generation and Afterslip of a Tohoku-oki Earthquake Considering Thermal Pressurization and Frictional Properties of the Shallow Plate Boundary

Effect of Slip-Weakening Distance on Seismic–Aseismic Slip Patterns

Physics-Based Scenario of Earthquake Cycles on the Ventura Thrust System, California: The Effect of Variable Friction and Fault Geometry

Fully Coupled Simulations of Megathrust Earthquakes and Tsunamis in the Japan Trench, Nankai Trough, and Cascadia Subduction Zone

 A Secondary Zone of Uplift Due to Megathrust Earthquakes