近日，美国地质调查局James Atterholt团队研究了2024年门多西诺断层7级地震的纤维成像超剪切动力学。相关论文于2025年9月25日发表在《科学》杂志上。

断层结构和破裂物理是紧密交织在一起的，对这种耦合的观察对于理解地震行为至关重要。在密集地震台网的精细尺度上，可以观察到破裂的传播。光纤传感允许长期部署超密集阵列，从而实现对不频繁大地震的高分辨率测量。

研究组用附近的光纤阵列记录了2024年矩级（Mw）7的门多西诺断层地震，并用地震波束形成成像了它的行为。破裂以亚剪切速度向东传播；在门多西诺三联岔口附近停滞不前，这是一个结构复杂的区域；然后过渡到超剪切速度。地震物理和构造之间的相关性表明岩石圈非均质性如何影响地震破裂的一级特征。该研究结果还证明了光纤传感在改善关键参数的实时估计以进行早期预警方面的潜力。

附：英文原文

Title: Fiber-imaged supershear dynamics in the 2024 Mw 7 Mendocino Fault earthquake

Author: James Atterholt, Jeffrey J. McGuire, Andrew J. Barbour, Connie Stewart, Morgan P. Moschetti

Issue&Volume: 2025-09-25

Abstract: Fault structure and rupture physics are deeply intertwined, and observations of this coupling are critical for understanding earthquake behavior. Rupture propagation is observable at fine scales using dense seismic networks. Fiber-optic sensing allows for long-term deployments of ultradense arrays that enable high-resolution measurements of infrequent, large earthquakes. We recorded the 2024 moment magnitude (Mw) 7 Mendocino Fault earthquake with a nearby fiber-optic array and imaged its behavior with seismic beamforming. The rupture propagated to the east at subshear velocity; stagnated near the Mendocino Triple Junction, a zone of structural complexity; and subsequently transitioned to supershear velocity. The correlation between source physics and structure shows how lithospheric heterogeneity affects first-order characteristics of earthquake ruptures. Our results also demonstrate the potential for fiber-optic sensing to improve real-time estimation of key parameters for early warning.

DOI: adx6858

Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adx6858