Fracture Energy and Breakdown Work During Earthquakes

Large seismogenic faults consist of approximately meter-thick fault cores surrounded by hundreds-of-meters-thick damage zones. Earthquakes are generated rupture propagation and slip within dissipate the stored elastic strain energy in fracture frictional processes zone radiated seismic waves. Understanding this partitioning is fundamental earthquake mechanics to explain dynamic weakening causative operating over different spatial temporal scales. The dissipated along a called or breakdown work. Here we review estimates from seismological, modeling, geological, experimental studies show that scales with slip. We conclude although material-dependent constant energies important at microscale for fracturing grains zone, they negligible respect macroscale governing on natural faults. ? Earthquake ruptures propagate geological micro- (less than millimeter) (centimeters kilometers). ( G) work W b ) coseismic For faults, G consistent description processes. budget an remains controversial, contributions disciplines required unravel issue.