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Understanding Slow Deformation Before Dynamic Failure

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Book cover Geophysical Hazards

Part of the book series: International Year of Planet Earth ((IYPE))

Abstract

Slow deformation and fracturing have been shown to be leading mechanisms towards failure, marking earthquake ruptures, flank eruption onsets and landslide episodes. The common link among these processes is that populations of microcracks interact, grow and coalesce into major fractures. We present (a) two examples of multidisciplinary field monitoring of characteristic “large scale” signs of impending deformation from different tectonic setting, i.e. the Ruinon landslide (Italy) and Stromboli volcano (Italy) (b) the kinematic features of slow stress perturbations induced by fluid overpressures and relative modelling; (c) experimental rock deformation laboratory experiments and theoretical modelling investigating slow deformation mechanisms, such stress corrosion crack growth. We propose an interdisciplinary unitary and integrated approach aimed to:

(1) transfer of knowledge between specific fields, which up to now aimed at solve a particular problem; (2) quantify critical damage thresholds triggering instability onset; (3) set up early warning models for forecasting the time of rupture with application to volcanology, seismology and landslide risk prevention.

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Acknowledgments

This work has been supported by the sponsors of the PHASE university consortium project. The NEST Pathfinder Program Triggering Instabilities in Materials and Geosystems (contract NEST-2005-PATH-COM-043386) is acknowledged. The microseismic data from the Ogachi site are courtesy of Dr. H. Kaieda (Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, Japan). Help and assistance of Dr. T. Ito (Institute of Fluid Science, Tohoku) is greatly appreciated. This paper is related to the project “Creep” accredited by the Hazards Theme of IYPE.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Seismology and Tectonophysics, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Roma, Italy

    G. Ventura

  2. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Roma, Italy

    S. Vinciguerra

  3. Department of Earth Science, Universita’ di Firenze, Florence, Italy

    S. Moretti

  4. Rock & Ice Physics Laboratory, Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, London, UK

    P.H. Meredith & M.J. Heap

  5. Laboratoire de Physique des Roches, EOST, Strasbourg, France

    P. Baud

  6. Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    S.A. Shapiro, C. Dinske & J. Kummerow

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  1. G. Ventura
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  2. S. Vinciguerra
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  4. P.H. Meredith
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  5. M.J. Heap
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  6. P. Baud
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  7. S.A. Shapiro
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  8. C. Dinske
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  9. J. Kummerow
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to G. Ventura .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. CSIRO Atmospheric Research, Station Street 111, Aspendale, 3195, Australia

    Tom Beer

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Ventura, G. et al. (2009). Understanding Slow Deformation Before Dynamic Failure. In: Beer, T. (eds) Geophysical Hazards. International Year of Planet Earth. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3236-2_14

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