Spatial scale dependence of fault physical parameters and its implications for the analysis of earthquake dynamics from the lab to fault systems

Spatial scale dependence of fault physical parameters and its implications for the analysis of earthquake dynamics from the lab to fault systems | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Spatial scale dependence of fault physical parameters and its implications for the analysis of earthquake dynamics from the lab to fault systems Davide Zaccagnino, Oscar Bruno, Carlo Doglioni This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4616332/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract An accurate assessment of seismic hazards requires a combination of earthquake physics and statistical analysis. Because of the limits in the investigation of the seismogenic source and of the short temporal intervals covered by earthquake catalogs, laboratory experiments have been playing a crucial role in improving our understanding of earthquake phenomena. However, differences are observed between acoustic emissions in the lab, events in small, regulated systems (e.g., mines) and natural seismicity. One of the most pressing issues concerns the role of mechanical parameters and how they affect seismic activity depending on boundary conditions and on the spatio-temporal scales. Here, we focus on fault friction. There is evidence inferred from geodesy that most large faults are weak and featured by very low static friction coefficients not compatible with those of smaller faults and laboratory experiments. We propose a possible explanation: static friction decreases with fault size also depending on a few physical properties (e.g., faulting fractal dimension), while dynamic coefficients are not affected by the spatial scale. Mathematical derivations are grounded on hypotheses validated using a simple model for earthquake occurrence based on fracture mechanics and able to reproduce the fundamental statistical properties of seismicity. Geophysics Multiscale modeling Fault friction Fault stress Laboratory earthquakes Frequency-size scaling Interevent time distribution Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files SupplementaryZaccagninoCEE2024.pdf Supplementary_Zaccagnino_CEE_preprint_2024 Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4616332","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":371837399,"identity":"558fbb86-f286-4666-944e-576dee90fb28","order_by":0,"name":"Davide 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