Stress release in exhumed intermediate and deep earthquakes determined from ultramafic pseudotachylyte

Research Article| December 01, 2008 Stress release in exhumed intermediate and deep earthquakes determined from ultramafic pseudotachylyte Torgeir B. Andersen; Torgeir B. Andersen 1University of Oslo, Physics of Geological Processes, P.O. Box 1048, Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Karen Mair; Karen Mair 1University of Oslo, Physics of Geological Processes, P.O. Box 1048, Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Håkon Austrheim; Håkon Austrheim 1University of Oslo, Physics of Geological Processes, P.O. Box 1048, Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Yuri Y. Podladchikov; Yuri Y. Podladchikov 1University of Oslo, Physics of Geological Processes, P.O. Box 1048, Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Johannes C. Vrijmoed Johannes C. Vrijmoed 1University of Oslo, Physics of Geological Processes, P.O. Box 1048, Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Torgeir B. Andersen 1University of Oslo, Physics of Geological Processes, P.O. Box 1048, Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway Karen Mair 1University of Oslo, Physics of Geological Processes, P.O. Box 1048, Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway Håkon Austrheim 1University of Oslo, Physics of Geological Processes, P.O. Box 1048, Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway Yuri Y. Podladchikov 1University of Oslo, Physics of Geological Processes, P.O. Box 1048, Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway Johannes C. Vrijmoed 1University of Oslo, Physics of Geological Processes, P.O. Box 1048, Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 05 Jun 2008 Revision Received: 01 Sep 2008 Accepted: 03 Sep 2008 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2008 Geological Society of America Geology (2008) 36 (12): 995–998. https://doi.org/10.1130/G25230A.1 Article history Received: 05 Jun 2008 Revision Received: 01 Sep 2008 Accepted: 03 Sep 2008 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Torgeir B. Andersen, Karen Mair, Håkon Austrheim, Yuri Y. Podladchikov, Johannes C. Vrijmoed; Stress release in exhumed intermediate and deep earthquakes determined from ultramafic pseudotachylyte. Geology 2008;; 36 (12): 995–998. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G25230A.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 Stresses released by coseismic faults during subduction toward lawsonite-eclogite facies conditions in the Alpine subduction complex of Corsica can be estimated based on the energy required to form pseudotachylyte fault veins where shear strain can be measured. Congruent peridotite melting at ambient conditions of 1.5 GPa and 470 °C requires a temperature increase of 1280 °C to 1750 °C. We assume that more than 95% of the work is converted to heat during faulting, hence that the stress drop is nearly proportional to the amount of melting and inversely proportional to shear strain. Minimum estimates of released stress are typically greater than 220 MPa and as high as 580 MPa. The abundance of pseudotachylyte on small faults in the studied peridotite suggests that melting is very common on intermediate and deep earthquakes and that shear heating is important for seismic faulting at depth. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.