期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：2016
卷号：113
期号：31
页码：8601-8605
DOI：10.1073/pnas.1524316113
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：Earth tides modulate tremor and low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs) on faults in the vicinity of the brittle−ductile (seismic−aseismic) transition. The response to the tidal stress carries otherwise inaccessible information about fault strength and rheology. Here, we analyze the LFE response to the fortnightly tide, which modulates the amplitude of the daily tidal stress over a 14-d cycle. LFE rate is highest during the waxing fortnightly tide, with LFEs most strongly promoted when the daily stress exceeds the previous peak stress by the widest margin. This pattern implies a threshold failure process, with slip initiated when stress exceeds the local fault strength. Variations in sensitivity to the fortnightly modulation may reflect the degree of stress concentration on LFE-producing brittle asperities embedded within an otherwise aseismic fault.
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