Earthquake Faults Heal Quickly Post-Slip Events
Deep faults can heal within hours after slow slip events.
Quartz grains fuse under 1 Gigapascal and 500°C, restoring cohesion.
Sound-wave and electron microscopy methods were used in experiments.
Cascadia Subduction Zone shows rapid stress reloading with tidal forces.
Fault healing impacts hazard models for megathrust earthquakes.
NSF-funded study investigates cohesion and recovery mechanisms.
1 month ago