Propagation of fluid-driven aseismic slip fronts along crustal faults

Propagation of fluid-driven aseismic slip fronts along crustal faults | 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 Physical Sciences - Article Propagation of fluid-driven aseismic slip fronts along crustal faults François Passelègue, Nicolas Brantut, Hervé Chauris, Pierre Dublanchet This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6812099/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Fluid-induced seismicity results from complex interactions between fluid injection, fault friction, and the ambient stress field. While seismic swarms often display spatiotemporal migration1–6, it remains unclear whether this reflects fluid pressure diffusion or stress transfer from aseismic slip7–9. Fracture mechanics models suggest that aseismic slip may either lag behind or outpace the fluid pressure front, depending on injection conditions and the fault’s initial stress state10–12. However, direct experimental validation of these predictions has been lacking10, 13. Here, we report laboratory experiments on granite samples under upper crustal stress conditions14, 15, where we simultaneously tracked the propagation of fluid pressure and aseismic slip during fluid injection16. We show that aseismic slip lags the pressure front at low injection rates and low initial stress, but rapidly outpaces it under high-rate injection or near-failure initial stress conditions. The transition is governed by a dimensionless loading parameter that integrates injection rate, fault strength, and initial shear stress. Our results provide direct support for fracture mechanics models of fluid-induced aseismic slip10–12 and suggest that in critically stressed crustal faults, rupture propagation may commonly outpace fluid diffusion. These findings help reconcile contrasting observations of seismicity migration7–9 and improve our understanding of induced seismic hazards17–20. Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences/Geophysics Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences/Seismology Earth and environmental sciences/Natural hazards Earth and environmental sciences/Planetary science/Structural geology Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version 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. 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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-6812099","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Physical Sciences - Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":466359240,"identity":"e48f907a-9da8-40d4-bce7-00280680dc91","order_by":0,"name":"François Passelègue","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABIElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBAC9gYwJQHjW4AIxgdgNvMBrFp4DqBqATOYDcBstgR8WuAArIVNAq8W6cPPHvyosLBnkG5+/PFHhYScfETysYqfO+7ZM7DxPsCqhS/N3LDnjERig8wxM2meMxLGhjfS0m72nilObGBjN8CmxZ6HwUyasU0igUEiwYwZyEjcOCPH7DZjW0ICg3wbdofxsH8DabFnkEj//PHnP4n6jTPyvxUDtQAdxoZDCw/YFsYGiRwDCd4GiQR5iRw2oHUJjA24tZRJgvzSJnOmTJrnmIThBp5nxpK9bQmJbTi1sG+T+FFRZ88v3b75448aG3n59uSHH34CHcaPQwscsMFi0+AATAS/BgZEApBvIKh0FIyCUTAKRhgAAHUFUAx7i869AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"CNRS","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"François","middleName":"","lastName":"Passelègue","suffix":""},{"id":466359241,"identity":"97c6d88e-6da9-4b1f-95bd-1d1ef2d04eb2","order_by":1,"name":"Nicolas Brantut","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"GFZ Helmholtz-Zentrum","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nicolas","middleName":"","lastName":"Brantut","suffix":""},{"id":466359242,"identity":"96b3581a-35a8-4c0c-ad52-0309de8493df","order_by":2,"name":"Hervé Chauris","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Mines de Paris","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hervé","middleName":"","lastName":"Chauris","suffix":""},{"id":466359243,"identity":"8492efe3-57f6-44d8-822f-d212a7606cbf","order_by":3,"name":"Pierre Dublanchet","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Mines de Paris","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Pierre","middleName":"","lastName":"Dublanchet","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-06-03 14:05:24","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6812099/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6812099/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":84425400,"identity":"417e15a2-a415-4538-8bb5-f942808e5110","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-11 19:48:25","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1609380,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Article File","description":"","filename":"Scalingfluidinducedearthquakes8.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6812099/v1_covered_c3f2a5b3-1a32-46ec-bb93-4042e636b688.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"Propagation of fluid-driven aseismic slip fronts along crustal faults","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6812099/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6812099/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Fluid-induced seismicity results from complex interactions between fluid injection, fault friction, and the ambient stress field. While seismic swarms often display spatiotemporal migration1–6, it remains unclear whether this reflects fluid pressure diffusion or stress transfer from aseismic slip7–9. Fracture mechanics models suggest that aseismic slip may either lag behind or outpace the fluid pressure front, depending on injection conditions and the fault’s initial stress state10–12. However, direct experimental validation of these predictions has been lacking10, 13. Here, we report laboratory experiments on granite samples under upper crustal stress conditions14, 15, where we simultaneously tracked the propagation of fluid pressure and aseismic slip during fluid injection16. We show that aseismic slip lags the pressure front at low injection rates and low initial stress, but rapidly outpaces it under high-rate injection or near-failure initial stress conditions. The transition is governed by a dimensionless loading parameter that integrates injection rate, fault strength, and initial shear stress. Our results provide direct support for fracture mechanics models of fluid-induced aseismic slip10–12 and suggest that in critically stressed crustal faults, rupture propagation may commonly outpace fluid diffusion. 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