Using single calcite crystals with varying surface roughness allows engineers to simplify the complex physics that describes fault movement. In a new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, researchers show how this simplification may lead to better earthquake prediction.
August 2, 2022
Using single calcite crystals with varying surface roughness allows engineers to simplify the complex physics that describes fault movement. In a new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, researchers show how this simplification may lead to better earthquake prediction.
Scientists describe fault behavior using models based on observational studies that account for the frictional coefficients of rocks and minerals. These «rate-and-state» equations calculate the fault strength, which has implications for earthquake strength and frequency. However, applying these empirical models to earthquake prediction is not practical because of the number of unique variables to be considered for each fault, including the effect of water.
The study, led by civil and environmental engineering professor Rosa Espinosa- Marzal, looks at the relationship between friction and the surface roughness of calcite—one of the most common rock-forming minerals in Earth’s crust—to formulate a more theoretical approach to defining rate-and-state laws.
The findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
«Our goal is to examine the nanoscale processes that may trigger fault movement,» said Binxin Fu, a CEE graduate student and the first author of the study.
