The evolution of seismicity at Parkfield: observation, experiment and a fracture-mechanical interpretation

Jeremy Henderson*, Ian Main, Philip Meredith, Peter Sammonds

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

We compare observations of local seismicity sequences with acoustic emissions during rock fracture, and find similarities in the distribution of event magnitudes which lead us to consider a model of seismicity which is characterized by fracture-growth laws derived from the field of fracture-mechanics and which include both negative and positive feedback processes. We find that the model predicts the observed negative correlation between the seismic b-value and the fractal dimension of the earthquake epicentres. The simple short-range interactions described in the model give rise to a system with a long-range order, similar to current models of critical processes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)905-913
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Structural Geology
Volume14
Issue number8-9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 1992

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