The geologic record of deep episodic tremor and slip

Research Article| March 01, 2014 The geologic record of deep episodic tremor and slip Nicholas W. Hayman; Nicholas W. Hayman Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas, 10100 Burnet Road, R2200, Austin, Texas 78758, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Luc L. Lavier Luc L. Lavier Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas, 10100 Burnet Road, R2200, Austin, Texas 78758, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Nicholas W. Hayman Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas, 10100 Burnet Road, R2200, Austin, Texas 78758, USA Luc L. Lavier Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas, 10100 Burnet Road, R2200, Austin, Texas 78758, USA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 31 Jul 2013 Revision Received: 12 Nov 2013 Accepted: 14 Nov 2013 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2014 Geological Society of America Geology (2014) 42 (3): 195–198. https://doi.org/10.1130/G34990.1 Article history Received: 31 Jul 2013 Revision Received: 12 Nov 2013 Accepted: 14 Nov 2013 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Nicholas W. Hayman, Luc L. Lavier; The geologic record of deep episodic tremor and slip. Geology 2014;; 42 (3): 195–198. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G34990.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Transient and episodic slow slip accommodates a great deal of tectonic strain and may be mechanically linked with locked regions of seismically hazardous faults. Best documented in subduction zones and associated with nonvolcanic tremor, most proposed mechanisms for slow slip revolve around the transition between stable and unstable frictional sliding. The dilemma is that slow slip is generated at a wide range of crustal depths, including at pressure-temperature conditions where frictional deformation mechanisms give way to predominantly viscous ones. We present a model for how fracture and viscous flow within mid-crustal shear zones can produce episodic creep transients. Our model for such transients stems from geological examples of shear zones that formed at temperatures and pressures of >500 °C and >0.6 GPa during early orogenesis, following Late Cretaceous subduction of a backarc ocean basin. Within these shear zones, relatively strong lenses of metabasalt localized fluid-filled fractures that were subsequently deformed by viscous flow in surrounding quartzofeldspathic gneiss. The spatial and temporal characteristics of the modeled creep events are similar to those of slow-slip events observed in modern subduction zones. We therefore suggest that some episodic tremor and slip can originate through combined fracture and viscous flow across shear zones comprising mixtures of strong and weak materials. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.