Using P-Wave Coda to Understand the Evolution of Fault Zone Elastic Properties During the Seismic Cycle

Abstract:

Fault slip can occur not only seismically, or aseismically but also through quasi-dynamic processes such as slow-slip, which represent slow but self-propagating acceleration of slip along fault zones. However, the underlying physics is still poorly understood.

To investigate these quasi-dynamic processes, we performed laboratory experiments on simulated fault gouge in the double direct shear configuration, under boundary conditions where the loading system (k) approaches the critical rheologic stiffness of the fault gouge (k_c). We varied k and measured acoustic properties for the full spectrum of slip behaviors as a function of the ratio k/k_c. When k≈k_c, we observe slow-slip events emerging from steady frictional sliding. Stick-slip stress drop varied inversely with k’=k/kc, ranging from 0.1 to 0.6 MPa over the range of k’ from 1.0 to 0.7. The duration of failure events varied from 10^-3 to a few seconds and peak slip velocities ranged from 0.1 to 0.15 mm/s. To shed light on the micro-physical mechanisms governing slow-slip we analyzed variations in fault zone elastic properties including P-wave velocity (V_p) and amplitude. Although the first arrival of the P-wave is not always clearly detectable, we are able to find clear, systematic changes in elastic properties by carefully evaluating the P-wave coda. To quantify variations in flight time we cross-correlate different sections of the P-wave coda. We use a simplified ray-propagation scheme to account for the sample geometry and derive an equation to describe the expected flight time of reflected and transmitted waves within the fault zone and loading blocks. We study the peak-to-peak amplitude variation of the P-arrival in order to investigate acoustic transmissivity and its variation during failure. We find that precursory changes in V_p scale inversely with stick-slip failure velocity. Our results provide significant insight into the mechanics of slow stick-slip and transient fault slip.