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Frictional and Lithological Controls on Shallow Slow Slip at the Northern Hikurangi Margin

Journal Article · · Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2021gc010107· OSTI ID:1978514
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6]
  1. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States); Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States); OSTI
  2. Univ. of Bremen (Germany)
  3. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
  4. Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)
  5. Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States); Geological and Nuclear Sciences Institute (GNS Science) (New Zealand)
  6. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States); Sapienza University of Rome (Italy)

Slow slip events (SSEs) have been identified at subduction zones globally as an important link in the continuum between elastodynamic ruptures and stable creep. The northern Hikurangi margin is home to shallow SSEs which propagate to within 2 km of the seafloor and possibly to the trench, providing insights into the physical conditions conducive to SSE behavior. We report on a suite of friction experiments performed on protolith material entering the SSE source region at the Hikurangi margin, collected during the International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 375. We performed velocity stepping and slide-hold-slide experiments over a range of fault slip rates, from plate rate (5 cm/yr or 1.6 × 10–9 m/s) to ~1 mm/s (10–3 m/s) and quantified the frictional velocity dependence and healing rates for a range of lithologies atdifferent stresses. The frictional velocity dependence (a-b) and critical slip distance DC increase with fault slip rate in our experiments. We observe atransition from velocity weakening to strengthening at slip rates of ~0.3 µm/s. This velocity dependence of DC could be due to a combination of dilatant strengthening and a widening of the active shear zone at higher slip rates. We document low healing rates in the clay-rich volcaniclastic conglomerates, which lie above the incoming plate basement at least locally, and relatively higher healing rates in the chalk lithology. Finally, our experimental constraints on healing rates in different input lithologies extrapolated to timescales of 1–10 years are consistent with the geodetically inferred low stress drops and healing rates characteristic of the Hikurangi SSEs.

Research Organization:
Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); National Science Foundation (NSF)
Grant/Contract Number:
EE0008763; SC0020512
OSTI ID:
1978514
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 2539920
Journal Information:
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Journal Name: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 23; ISSN 1525-2027
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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