Earthquakes: Radiated Energy and the Physics of Faulting

Earthquakes: Radiated Energy and the Physics of Faulting is the first book to present a systematic approach to understanding the energy changes associated with earthquakes. Solid Earth scientists, researchers and students -- especially those who work in seismology, tectonophysics, rock mechanics and geodesy -- will find this book an essential resource, now and into the future. Earthquakes, from the smallest to the largest, release elastic strain energy. Where does this energy go? How much is radiated and how much is expended in other fault processes such as overcoming fault friction? Do large and small earthquakes differ with regard to rupture physics? This book examines such questions and current debates from five vantage points: • How we measure earthquake energy • Effects of earthquake size and tectonic setting • The value of Insights from numerical simulations • Geological fault zone research • The efficiency of the “earthquake machine” in terms of fault rupture, friction, and seismic phenomena