This paper reviews laboratory observations of earthquake initiation and describes new
experiments on a 3‐m rock sample where the nucleation process is imaged in detail. Many …

Large and destructive earthquakes on mature faults in Earth's crust occur as slip in a layer of
a fine granular material—fault gouge—produced by comminution during sliding,. A range of …

Some faults are considered strong because their strength is consistent with the Coulomb
criterion under Byerlee's friction, 0.6< μ< 0.85. In marked contrast, numerous studies have …

Dynamic failure in the laboratory is commonly preceded by many foreshocks which
accompany premonitory aseismic slip. Aseismic slip is also thought to govern earthquake …

A growing body of observations worldwide has documented fault slip transients that radiate
little or no seismic energy. The mechanisms that govern these slow slip events (SSEs) and …

Geological heterogeneity is abundant in crustal fault zones; however, its role in controlling
the mechanical behaviour of faults is poorly constrained. Here, we present laboratory friction …

Earthquakes occur in clusters or sequences that arise from complex triggering mechanisms,
but direct measurement of the slow subsurface slip responsible for delayed triggering is …

This paper investigates the frictional behavior of the infilled rock fracture under dynamic
normal stress. A series of direct shear tests were conducted on saw-cut granite fractures …

The stress field controls patterns of crustal deformation, including which faults are likeliest to
cause earthquakes or transmit fluids. Since the 1950s, maps of maximum horizontal stress …

Faults are composed of a damage zone and a fault core with wear material that has
accumulated during sliding. Fault zone width and structural complexity have been …