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Pressure solution lithification as a mechanism for the stick‐slip behavior of faults
Author(s) -
Angevine C. L.,
Turcotte D. L.,
Furnish M. D.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
tectonics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.465
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1944-9194
pISSN - 0278-7407
DOI - 10.1029/tc001i002p00151
Subject(s) - cementation (geology) , lithification , geology , slip (aerodynamics) , hydrostatic equilibrium , hydrostatic pressure , fault (geology) , san andreas fault , coefficient of friction , friction coefficient , seismology , geotechnical engineering , mineralogy , materials science , mechanics , composite material , thermodynamics , diagenesis , physics , quantum mechanics , cement
Many major faults, including a large fraction of the San Andreas, appear to be virtually quiescent between great earthquakes. The locked sections of the San Andreas near San Francisco and Los Angeles have little or no seismic activity on the primary fault trace, although secondary faults may be active. Stick‐slip behavior on a fault can be explained in terms of a static coefficient of friction, which is larger than the dynamic or sliding coefficient. In this paper we propose a modification of the friction hypothesis in which chemical lithification (cementation) occurs on the fault between earthquakes. As the stress on the fault increases it becomes large enough to break the cemented bonds between particles causing slip on the fault. We treat this problem quantitatively, assuming that pressure solution is responsible for the cementation. An advantage of this model is that the hydrostatic pressure approaches the lithostatic pressure during cementation so that low fault strengths are predicted.