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Source time function properties indicate a strain drop independent of earthquake depth and magnitude

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  • Martin Vallée

    (Geoazur, University of Nice Sophia Antipolis, IRD-CNRS-OCA, 250 rue Albert Einstein
    Present address: Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Univ Paris Diderot, UMR 7154 CNRS, 75005 Paris, France)

Abstract

The movement of tectonic plates leads to strain build-up in the Earth, which can be released during earthquakes when one side of a seismic fault suddenly slips with respect to the other. The amount of seismic strain release (or ‘strain drop’) is thus a direct measurement of a basic earthquake property, that is, the ratio of seismic slip over the dimension of the ruptured fault. Here the analysis of a new global catalogue, containing ~1,700 earthquakes with magnitude larger than 6, suggests that strain drop is independent of earthquake depth and magnitude. This invariance implies that deep earthquakes are even more similar to their shallow counterparts than previously thought, a puzzling finding as shallow and deep earthquakes are believed to originate from different physical mechanisms. More practically, this property contributes to our ability to predict the damaging waves generated by future earthquakes.

Suggested Citation

  • Martin Vallée, 2013. "Source time function properties indicate a strain drop independent of earthquake depth and magnitude," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 4(1), pages 1-6, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:4:y:2013:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms3606
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3606
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