The buildup and sudden release of stress along a fault that generates an earthquake, as slowly accumulating tectonic strain overcomes the friction locking two rock masses together and they abruptly slip. Understanding where and how seismogenesis occurs along active fault systems underlies efforts to assess earthquake hazard.
Facts
Process Type Timescalegradual strain buildup at a rate of a few centimeters per year, released suddenly during rupture 2 First Proposed Year Connections
Sources
1. Earthquake - Wikipedia
Tectonic earthquakes sectionQuote, Tectonic earthquakes section
Tectonic earthquakes occur anywhere on the earth where there is sufficient stored elastic strain energy to drive fracture propagation along a fault plane.
2. Elastic-rebound theory - Wikipedia
Explanation section
This deformation may build at the rate of a few centimeters per year.
References section
Reid, H.F., The Mechanics of the Earthquake, The California Earthquake of April 18, 1906; Report of the State Investigation Commission, Vol.2, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C. 1910
Theory section
After the great 1906 San Francisco earthquake, geophysicist Harry Fielding Reid examined the displacement of the ground surface along the San Andreas Fault in the 50 years before the earthquake.
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