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Absorbent Porous Paper Reveals How Earthquakes Could be Mitigated
Author(s) -
Tzortzopoulos G.,
Braun P.,
Stefanou I.
Publication year - 2021
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 - 10.1029/2020gl090792
Subject(s) - fault (geology) , porosity , nucleation , fluid pressure , geology , stress (linguistics) , seismology , crust , instability , geotechnical engineering , mechanics , geophysics , chemistry , physics , linguistics , philosophy , organic chemistry
Earthquakes nucleate when large amounts of elastic energy, stored in the earth's crust, are suddenly released due to abrupt sliding over a fault. Fluid injections can reactivate existing seismogenic faults and induce/trigger earthquakes by increasing fluid pressure. Here we develop an analogous experimental system of simultaneously loaded and wetted absorbent porous paper to quantify theoretically the process of wetting‐induced earthquakes. This strategy allows us to gradually release the stored energy by provoking low intensity tremors. We identify the key parameters that control the outcome of the applied injection strategy, which include the initial stress state, fault segmentation, and segment‐activation rate. Subsequent injections, initiated at high stress levels, can drive the system faster toward its instability point, nucleating a large earthquake. Starting at low stress levels, however, they can reduce the magnitude of the natural event by at least one unit.