Physical mechanisms of earthquake nucleation and foreshocks: Cascade triggering, aseismic slip, or fluid flows?
Earthquakes are caused by the rapid slip along seismogenic faults. Whether large or small, there is inevitably a certain nucleation process involved before the dynamic rupture. At the same time, significant foreshock activity has been observed before some but not all large earthquakes. Understanding...
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KeAi Communications Co. Ltd.
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Earthquake Research Advances |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772467024000757 |
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| author | Zhigang Peng Xinglin Lei |
| author_facet | Zhigang Peng Xinglin Lei |
| author_sort | Zhigang Peng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Earthquakes are caused by the rapid slip along seismogenic faults. Whether large or small, there is inevitably a certain nucleation process involved before the dynamic rupture. At the same time, significant foreshock activity has been observed before some but not all large earthquakes. Understanding the nucleation process and foreshocks of earthquakes, especially large damaging ones, is crucial for accurate earthquake prediction and seismic hazard mitigation. The physical mechanism of earthquake nucleation and foreshock generation is still in debate. While the earthquake nucleation process is present in laboratory experiments and numerical simulations, it is difficult to observe such a process directly in the field. In addition, it is currently impossible to effectively distinguish foreshocks from ordinary earthquake sequences. In this article, we first summarize foreshock observations in the last decades and attempt to classify them into different types based on their temporal behaviors. Next, we present different mechanisms for earthquake nucleation and foreshocks that have been proposed so far. These physical models can be largely grouped into the following three categories: elastic stress triggering, aseismic slip, and fluid flows. We also review several recent studies of foreshock sequences before moderate to large earthquakes around the world, focusing on how different results/conclusions can be made by different datasets/methods. Finally, we offer some suggestions on how to move forward on the research topic of earthquake nucleation and foreshock mechanisms and their governing factors. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bd0dc1ec5b7c4e4ba719aaa2a4096f93 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2772-4670 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | KeAi Communications Co. Ltd. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Earthquake Research Advances |
| spelling | doaj-art-bd0dc1ec5b7c4e4ba719aaa2a4096f932025-08-20T02:29:42ZengKeAi Communications Co. Ltd.Earthquake Research Advances2772-46702025-04-015210034910.1016/j.eqrea.2024.100349Physical mechanisms of earthquake nucleation and foreshocks: Cascade triggering, aseismic slip, or fluid flows?Zhigang Peng0Xinglin Lei1School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, United States; Corresponding author.Geological Survey of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Ibaraki, 305-8567, Japan; Now at State Key Laboratory of Earthquake Dynamics, Institute of Geology, CEA, Beijing, ChinaEarthquakes are caused by the rapid slip along seismogenic faults. Whether large or small, there is inevitably a certain nucleation process involved before the dynamic rupture. At the same time, significant foreshock activity has been observed before some but not all large earthquakes. Understanding the nucleation process and foreshocks of earthquakes, especially large damaging ones, is crucial for accurate earthquake prediction and seismic hazard mitigation. The physical mechanism of earthquake nucleation and foreshock generation is still in debate. While the earthquake nucleation process is present in laboratory experiments and numerical simulations, it is difficult to observe such a process directly in the field. In addition, it is currently impossible to effectively distinguish foreshocks from ordinary earthquake sequences. In this article, we first summarize foreshock observations in the last decades and attempt to classify them into different types based on their temporal behaviors. Next, we present different mechanisms for earthquake nucleation and foreshocks that have been proposed so far. These physical models can be largely grouped into the following three categories: elastic stress triggering, aseismic slip, and fluid flows. We also review several recent studies of foreshock sequences before moderate to large earthquakes around the world, focusing on how different results/conclusions can be made by different datasets/methods. Finally, we offer some suggestions on how to move forward on the research topic of earthquake nucleation and foreshock mechanisms and their governing factors.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772467024000757ForeshocksEarthquake swarms2024 Noto earthquakeEarthquake nucleationFluidsAseismic slip |
| spellingShingle | Zhigang Peng Xinglin Lei Physical mechanisms of earthquake nucleation and foreshocks: Cascade triggering, aseismic slip, or fluid flows? Earthquake Research Advances Foreshocks Earthquake swarms 2024 Noto earthquake Earthquake nucleation Fluids Aseismic slip |
| title | Physical mechanisms of earthquake nucleation and foreshocks: Cascade triggering, aseismic slip, or fluid flows? |
| title_full | Physical mechanisms of earthquake nucleation and foreshocks: Cascade triggering, aseismic slip, or fluid flows? |
| title_fullStr | Physical mechanisms of earthquake nucleation and foreshocks: Cascade triggering, aseismic slip, or fluid flows? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Physical mechanisms of earthquake nucleation and foreshocks: Cascade triggering, aseismic slip, or fluid flows? |
| title_short | Physical mechanisms of earthquake nucleation and foreshocks: Cascade triggering, aseismic slip, or fluid flows? |
| title_sort | physical mechanisms of earthquake nucleation and foreshocks cascade triggering aseismic slip or fluid flows |
| topic | Foreshocks Earthquake swarms 2024 Noto earthquake Earthquake nucleation Fluids Aseismic slip |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772467024000757 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT zhigangpeng physicalmechanismsofearthquakenucleationandforeshockscascadetriggeringaseismicsliporfluidflows AT xinglinlei physicalmechanismsofearthquakenucleationandforeshockscascadetriggeringaseismicsliporfluidflows |