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Energy taken up by co‐seismic chemical reactions during a large earthquake: An example from the 1999 Taiwan Chi‐Chi earthquake
Author(s) -
Hamada Yohei,
Hirono Tetsuro,
Tanikawa Wataru,
Soh Wonn,
Song ShengRong
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2008gl036772
Subject(s) - seismology , seismic energy , slip (aerodynamics) , geology , fault (geology) , thermal , intraplate earthquake , thermodynamics , tectonics , physics
Frictional heat in a fault zone during earthquake slip transiently induces chemical reactions that may use energy released during the earthquake. We estimated the energy used by such reactions ( E C ) by a numerical analysis incorporating frictional heat, thermal diffusion, chemical kinetics, and energy conservation, and found that E C has an auto‐feedback effect that inhibits temperature rise in fault zone. During the 1999 Taiwan Chi‐Chi earthquake, estimated E C was 0.43 MJ/m 2 , corresponding to 0.79% of the frictional heat generated. This low percentage probably reflects the low initial concentrations of reactive materials. However, in the case of a fault with abundant reactive materials, E C could reach >50% of the frictional heat and the auto‐feedback effect could be large. At this case E C is a nonnegligible component on earthquake energy budget and can affect fault mechanics.