Journal
SCIENCE
Volume 340, Issue 6140, Pages 1555-1559Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/science.1237237
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Funding
- National Science and Technology Planning Project in China
- NSF [EAR1220642]
- Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research [21107006] Funding Source: KAKEN
- Directorate For Geosciences [1220642] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Division Of Earth Sciences [1220642] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Permeability controls fluid flow in fault zones and is a proxy for rock damage after an earthquake. We used the tidal response of water level in a deep borehole to track permeability for 18 months in the damage zone of the causative fault of the 2008 moment magnitude 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake. The unusually high measured hydraulic diffusivity of 2.4 x 10(-2) square meters per second implies a major role for water circulation in the fault zone. For most of the observation period, the permeability decreased rapidly as the fault healed. The trend was interrupted by abrupt permeability increases attributable to shaking from remote earthquakes. These direct measurements of the fault zone reveal a process of punctuated recovery as healing and damage interact in the aftermath of a major earthquake.
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