English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Zendy Open

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Insights

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Zendy Tools

Zendy Plus

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Earthquake size-frequency distributions commonly follow a power law, with theb value often used to quantify the relative proportion of small and largeevents. Laboratory experiments have found that the b value of microfracturesdecreases with increasing stress. Studies have inferred that this relationshipalso holds for earthquakes based on observations of earthquake b values varyingsystematically with faulting style, depth, and for subduction zone earthquakes,plate age. However, these studies are limited by small sample sizes despiteaggregating events over large regions, which precludes the ability to controlfor other variables that might also affect earthquake b values such as rockheterogeneity and fault roughness. Our natural experiment in a unique seafloorlaboratory on Axial Seamount involves analyzing the size-frequency distributionof ~60,000 microearthquakes which delineate a ring-fault system in a 25 km3block of crust that experiences periodic tidal loading of +/-20 kPa. We findthat above a threshold stress amplitude, b value is inversely correlated withtidal stress. The earthquake b value varies by ~0.09 per kPa change in Coulombstress. Our results support the potential use of b values to estimate smallstress variations in the Earth's crust.

Axial Seamount: Periodic tidal loading reveals stress dependence of the earthquake size distribution (b value)