Geosc 508
Mechanics of Earthquakes and Faulting

3 Credits, Spring 2021

Prof. C. Marone
Dept. of Geosciences, Penn. State University

9:05am - 10:20am (delivery via ZOOM, web, and in-person ) 

Contact: Prof. Marone
536 Deike Bld.
University Park


Introduction to the principles of brittle faulting and earthquake mechanics with emphasis on physical processes.


Content:
Brittle failure, effective stress laws, friction, constitutive laws, continuum mechanics, and elasticity of faulting. Rate and state friction laws. State of stress in Earth's crust. Fault nucleation and growth. Fault rocks and structures. The strength and rheology of faults. Seismotectonics. Introduction to earthquake rupture. Instability conditions, energy balance, the work of faulting. Quantification of earthquakes. Earthquake source parameters and scaling laws. The seismic cycle, earthquake prediction.

     San Andreas Fault at the Carrizo Plain, CA,

Syllabus
Course Project
Lectures:
Lecture 0, 19 Jan 2021 (Zoom)
Lecture 1 outline Please complete the missing information on slides 3-5 prior to class.
Lecture 1 full set

Please come to class on Tuesday Jan 26 prepared to discuss Handin, 1969 and Chap. 1 of Scholz.
Read Handin 1969 and Chapter 1 of Scholz, 2019.
Lecture 2
Lecture 3, 28 Jan 2021
Please come to class on 4 Feb Sep. prepared to discuss Mead, 1925 and Frank, 1965. Also, FYI this obit for Frank.
FC Frank, Obituary 1998
Lecture 4, 2 Feb 2021
Lecture 5
Lecture 6 11 Feb
Lecture 7
Please come to class on 16 Feb prepared to discuss Rabinowicz, 1951 and 1956.
Lecture 8 23 Feb
Lecture 9 25 Feb
Lecture 10
Lectures 11 & 12 4 & 9 Mar
Lecture 13 16 Mar
Lecture 14 18 Mar
Lecture 15 23 Mar
Lecture 16 25 Mar
Lecture 17 30 Mar
Lecture 18 April Fools day
Lecture 19 6 April
No class meeting on Thursday 8 Apr.; Attend Grad Colloquium
Please come to class on 13 Apr. prepared to discuss Scholz, 1982.
Lecture 20 13 April
Lecture 20 15 April
Apr 22, 27, 29 Project presentations. Project Write Ups are due 3 May
Problem Sets:
Statement about authorship and working together.
For our problem sets, my sense is that there is significant value in working together at some level. Explaining things to someone else, or having them explain things to you is useful. Of course there's a limit. Copying down someone else's answers and/or paraphrasing their thinking, even if you use your own approach, is generally much less useful than doing your own work.
So, please do seek each other out as a way to learn. Getting a bit of help to get started or past a sticking point is fine, with the idea that you move on from there on your own and, ultimately, work it out yourself.

Problem Set 1, Due 28 Jan via Canvas Dropbox.
Problem Set 2, Due 11 Feb.
Problem Set 3, Due 26 Feb.
Info. on rsfs, and Problem set 4
Problem Set 5, Due 30 Mar.
Problem Set 6, Due 5 May.

Background Reading and Discussion Papers:
Aki, 1967
Frank, 1965
Gu et al., 1984
Handin, 1969
Hanks, 1979
Marone, 1998
Mead, 1925
Rabinowicz, 1951
Rabinowicz, 1956
Rice and Runia, 1983
Sammis Nature News Views, 1993
Scholz, BSSA 1982
Svetlizky et al. 2017
Wesnousky, 1988
Background on Self-Similarity

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