Special Seminar in Geophysics – Romain Jolivet (ENS Paris)

Title: Creeping faults as the signature of fluid Abstract: Currently
identified conditions for slow, aseismic slip along active faults include
specific rheological properties of the fault zone, geometrical complexities and
fluids. Identifying the influence of these elements on the spatial and temporal
behavior of aseismic is key toward a better understanding of why some faults
creep while others generate large devastating earthquakes. We focus here on the
central section of the North Anatolian fault zone, where aseismic slip has been
identified in the 1970’s. We use various types of geodetic data to image the
distribution of slip at depth along the fault as well as slow slip events. We
discuss the corresponding rheological implications and propose that fluids may
play a role, explaining both the spatial and the temporal distribution of slow
slip along the NAF central section. We expand the discussion to other fault
zones, including the San Andreas Fault and infer that creeping segments might
be the signature of fluid upwelling through the brittle crust.

​​​​​​​Special seminar hosted by the MIT EAPS Geophysics group. Title and abstract will be posted here when available. E-mail jkastorf@mit.edu for additional info or Zoom password.