Evolution of seismic signals and slip patterns along subduction zones: Insights from a friction lab scale experiment

Abstract

We investigate the influence of the cumulative slip on the frictional and acoustic patterns of a lab scale subduction zone. Shallow loud earthquakes, medium depth slow, deeper silent quakes and deepest steady-state creep are reproduced by the ageing of contact interface with cumulative displacement. The Acoustic Emission evolves with cumulative displacement and interface ageing, following a trend from strong impulsive events similar to earthquake seismic signals, to a collection of smaller amplitude and longer duration signals similar to NVT. The latter emerge as the local recollection of the unstable behaviour of the contact interface globally evolving towards the stable sliding regime. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.