On the heterogeneity of the earthquake rupture

The scaling of earthquake parameters with seismic moment and its interpretation in terms of self-similarity is still debated in the literature. We address this question by examining a worldwide compilation of corner frequency-based and elastic rebound theory (ERT)-based fault slip, area and stress drop values for earthquakes ranging in magnitude from -0.7 to 7.8. We find that corner frequency estimates of slip (and stress drop) scale differently than those inferred from the ERT approach, where the latter deviates from the generally accepted constant stress drop behaviour of so-called self-similar scaling models. We also find that average slips from finite-source models are consistent with corner frequency scaling, whereas peak slip values are more consistent with the ERT scaling. The different scaling of corner frequency and ERT-based estimates of slip and stress drop with earthquake size is interpreted in terms of heterogeneity of the rupture process. ERT-based estimates of stress drop decrease with seismic moment suggesting a self-affine behaviour. Despite the inferred heterogeneity at all scales, we do not observe a clear effect on the Brune stress drop scaling with earthquake size.

Automated summary

The relation between earthquake parameters and seismic moment, as well as their interpretation in terms of self-similarity, is still debated in literature. A study on global earthquake data found that slip and stress drop values calculated based on corner frequency and elastic rebound theory show different scaling relationships, indicating heterogeneity in the rupture process. Additionally, there is a self-affine behavior observed in the relationship between earthquake size and area and stress drop.