On the Prospect of Detecting the Process of Earthquake Preparation in the Spectrum of Seismic Noise: A Laboratory Experiment

Abstract

The results of laboratory experiments aimed at studying the pattern of the transition process of a model fault into a metastable state are presented. The experiments are conducted on a slider model installed onto a long granite base wherein vibrations are excited. The idea of the experiments is that the mechanical properties of the fault change under the transition into the metastable state. These changes can be detected by the detailed examination of the parameters of microseismic noise. The conducted experiments show that, despite the low Q-factor of the block–fault mechanical system, the spectrum of the recorded oscillations definitely contains the harmonic components corresponding to the eigenmodes of this system. In the model with the interblock contact filled with quartz sand, the fundamental mode of the free oscillations alters most noticeably in the frequency band 1000–1200 Hz, where the clear effect of the spectral peak’s migration towards lower frequencies is observed as the contact approaches the moment of dynamic failure, and the approximately initial value is recovered after the sliding stops. The revealed effect gives hope that the changes in the stress–strain state of the fault zone at the final stage of earthquake preparation can be detected by analyzing the parameters of low-frequency seismic noise. The segment of the record during and after the passage of surface waves from remote earthquakes is perhaps amongst the most favorable for determining the characteristic values of the region under study. These oscillations with a period of a few dozen seconds have significant amplitudes and durations, which promotes the excitation of the resonant vibrations of the blocks.