The Mechanics of Slow Slip on Faults and Fractures: conditions of origination and possibility of transformations. Consequences and importance for seismic hazard reduction.
Annotation
In the last 20 years intensive development of observational technologies in the Earth sciences allowed to detect and classify different deformation modes by which the energy accumulated in the Earth’s crust is released. The phenomenon of episodic tremor that often accompanies sliding in some subduction zones is breakthrough of geophysics for the last decade.
Spatial and temporal variations of deformation modes at different segments of crustal faults are poorly investigated. For zones with similar stress state and fault structure different modes may be realized – from aseismic creep to dynamic events (earthquakes and rock bursts). Understanding the laws of origination of different deformation modes will be a breakthrough in seismology, fault mechanics and seismotectonics.
