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Friction falls towards zero in quartz rock as slip velocity approaches seismic rates

Nature volume 427, pages 436–439 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

An important unsolved problem in earthquake mechanics is to determine the resistance to slip on faults in the Earth's crust during earthquakes1. Knowledge of coseismic slip resistance is critical for understanding the magnitude of shear-stress reduction and hence the near-fault acceleration that can occur during earthquakes, which affects the amount of damage that earthquakes are capable of causing. In particular, a long-unresolved problem is the apparently low strength of major faults2,3,4,5,6, which may be caused by low coseismic frictional resistance3. The frictional properties of rocks at slip velocities up to 3 mm s-1 and for slip displacements characteristic of large earthquakes have been recently simulated under laboratory conditions7. Here we report data on quartz rocks that indicate an extraordinary progressive decrease in frictional resistance with increasing slip velocity above 1 mm s-1. This reduction extrapolates to zero friction at seismic slip rates of ∼1 m s-1, and appears to be due to the formation of a thin layer of silica gel on the fault surface: it may explain the low strength of major faults during earthquakes.

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Figure 1: Typical experimental sequence and results.
Figure 2: Dependence of friction on slip displacement for samples slid at 3, 30 and 100 mm s-1.
Figure 3: Dependence of steady-state friction on slip velocity.

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Acknowledgements

We thank C. Bull for assistance with the experimental apparatus, D. McGuirl for fabrication of experimental parts, M. Parmentier for assistance with the FEM program, K. Mair for suggestions about Fig. 1, J. Rice and N. Beeler for discussions throughout the course of this study, and J. Tullis and C. Marone for comments on the manuscript. This research was supported by the US Geological Survey, the US National Science Foundation, and MURST (Italy).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Geologia, Paleontologia e Geofisica, Universita’ di Padova, Padova, 35137, Italy

    Giulio Di Toro

  2. Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, 02912, USA

    David L. Goldsby & Terry E. Tullis

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  1. Giulio Di Toro
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  2. David L. Goldsby
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  3. Terry E. Tullis
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Correspondence to Terry E. Tullis.

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Di Toro, G., Goldsby, D. & Tullis, T. Friction falls towards zero in quartz rock as slip velocity approaches seismic rates. Nature 427, 436–439 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02249

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