Nicholas (Nick) M Beeler
Nick Beeler is a scientist in the Earthquake Science Center.
Science and Products
External Grants - Overview
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides support for research that will assist in achieving the goals of the Earthquake Hazards Program. The goal is to mitigate earthquake losses that can occur in many parts of the nation by providing earth science data and assessments essential for land-use planning, engineering design, and emergency preparedness decisions.
Slide-hold-slide experiments on Westerly Granite at temperatures up to 250 °C Slide-hold-slide experiments on Westerly Granite at temperatures up to 250 °C
Laboratory slide-hold-slide tests were conducted in a conventional triaxial deformation configuration on 1-inch diameter cylindrical cores of Westerly granite bisected by a sawcut oriented at 30 degrees from vertical. Tests were conducted at a constant confining pressure of 30 MPa with a 10 MPa pore fluid pressure. The pore fluid was deionized water. Experiments were conducted at...
Data from the manuscript: Direct evidence for fluid pressure, dilatancy, and compaction affecting slip in isolated faults Data from the manuscript: Direct evidence for fluid pressure, dilatancy, and compaction affecting slip in isolated faults
Earthquake instability occurs as a result of strength loss during sliding on a fault. It has been known for over 50 years that fault compaction or dilatancy may cause significant weakening or strengthening by dramatically changing the fluid pressure trapped in faults. Despite this fundamental importance, we have no real understanding of the exact conditions that lead to compaction or...
Filter Total Items: 62
Rapid fault healing from cementation controls the dynamics of deep slow slip and tremor Rapid fault healing from cementation controls the dynamics of deep slow slip and tremor
Despite its status as one of the most important discoveries in geophysics, the physical mechanism(s) responsible for slow slip events (SSEs) are not well understood. Here, we synthesize observations of deep SSEs in the Cascadia Subduction Zone and argue that rapid, cohesive fault strengthening may control the dynamics of deep SSEs. Cohesive strength is frequently ignored in constitutive...
Authors
Amanda Thomas, Jim M Watkins, Nicholas M. Beeler, Melodie French, Whitney M. Behr, Mark H. Reed
To heal or not to heal?: 1. The effect of pore fluid pressure on the frictional healing behavior of lithologies in Oklahoma To heal or not to heal?: 1. The effect of pore fluid pressure on the frictional healing behavior of lithologies in Oklahoma
The competition between fault healing (i.e., re-strengthening) and fault loading determines the timing and magnitude of fault failure within the seismic cycle. Repeating earthquakes can give observational estimates of fault healing rates, however, it is difficult to link laboratory studies of frictional healing and observed healing rates from repeating earthquakes in part because of...
Authors
Kristina Okamoto, Heather Savage, Nicholas M. Beeler, Brett Carpenter
Probing lower-crustal fault properties with frequency-dependent tidal tremor triggering Probing lower-crustal fault properties with frequency-dependent tidal tremor triggering
The way seismicity responds to periodic stress perturbations offers crucial insights into the processes that can trigger an earthquake. Laboratory and theoretical analyses have shown that the period of imposed forcing and source properties affect the sensitivity to triggering, but frequency-dependent triggering of tectonic faults is poorly understood. The rate of low-frequency...
Authors
Lian Xue, Roland Bürgmann, Zeyan Zhao, Nicholas M. Beeler, Eíias R. Heimisson, David R. Shelly
Earthquake stress drop, source spectra from laboratory experiments, and the apparent unsteadiness of frictional slip Earthquake stress drop, source spectra from laboratory experiments, and the apparent unsteadiness of frictional slip
Over a range of co-seismic total energy release, high sample rate slip, stress, and slip velocity measurements were made during frictional failure to determine seismic source properties. The near-field measurements were used to estimate stress drops using spectral approaches that are analogous to the standard seismological moment-corner determined Δσ and acceleration amplitude Δσarms...
Authors
Brian D. Kilgore, Nicholas M. Beeler
Time-dependent weakening of granite at hydrothermal conditions Time-dependent weakening of granite at hydrothermal conditions
The evolution of a fault's frictional strength during the interseismic period is a critical component of the earthquake cycle, yet there have been relatively few studies that examine the time-dependent evolution of strength at conditions representative of seismogenic depths. Using a simulated fault in Westerly granite, we examined how frictional strength evolves under hydrothermal...
Authors
Tamara Nicole Jeppson, David A. Lockner, Nicholas M. Beeler, Diane E. Moore
Strength recovery in quartzite is controlled by changes in friction in experiments at hydrothermal conditions up to 200°C Strength recovery in quartzite is controlled by changes in friction in experiments at hydrothermal conditions up to 200°C
The rate of fault zone restrengthening between earthquakes can be influenced by both frictional and cohesive healing processes. Friction is dependent on effective normal stress while cohesion is independent of normal stress, potentially explaining—in part—the lack of depth dependence of earthquake stress drops. Although amenable to laboratory testing, few studies have systematically...
Authors
Tamara Nicole Jeppson, David A. Lockner, Nicholas M. Beeler, Stephen H. Hickman
Effect of thermal and mechanical processes on hydraulic transmissivity evolution Effect of thermal and mechanical processes on hydraulic transmissivity evolution
Fracture healing is a critical component of enhanced geothermal systems, the earthquake cycle, and induced seismicity. Accordingly, there is significant interest in understanding the process of healing and its effects on fluid transport. The creation, reactivation, and sustainability of fracture networks depend on complex coupling among thermal, hydraulic, mechanical, and chemical...
Authors
Tamara Nicole Jeppson, David A. Lockner, Joshua M. Taron, Diane E. Moore, Brian D. Kilgore, Nicholas M. Beeler, Stephen H. Hickman
On the scale-dependence of fault surface roughness On the scale-dependence of fault surface roughness
Defining roughness as the ratio of height to length, the standard approach to characterize amplitudes of single fault, joint and fracture surfaces is to measure average height as a function of profile length. Empirically, this roughness depends strongly on scale. The ratio is approximately 0.01 at a few mm but 10× smaller at a few tens of meters. Surfaces are rougher at small scales...
Authors
Nicholas M. Beeler
Brittle faulting at elevated temperature and vanishing effective stress Brittle faulting at elevated temperature and vanishing effective stress
If brittle fault strength depends only on friction, slip instability is discouraged at low effective normal stress, σ. Stress drop and the critical stiffness necessary for unstable sliding both vanish with σ; small earthquakes cannot occur. Very low σ is inferred in the source region of low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs) on the San Andreas fault (SAF). Moreover, if pore pressure, p, is...
Authors
Nicholas M. Beeler
The evolution of rock friction is more sensitive to slip than elapsed time, even at near-zero slip rates The evolution of rock friction is more sensitive to slip than elapsed time, even at near-zero slip rates
For many decades, frictional strength increase at low slip rates has been ascribed to time-dependent contact-area growth across the sliding interface. As a result, phenomenological models that correctly predict contact-area growth, as observed in laboratory experiments, have also been widely assumed to be appropriate descriptors of frictional strength evolution. We present experiments...
Authors
Pathikrit Bhattacharyaa, Allan Rubin, Terry Tullis, Nicholas M. Beeler, Keishi Okazaki
Apparent age dependence of the fault weakening distance in rock friction Apparent age dependence of the fault weakening distance in rock friction
During rock friction experiments at large displacement, room temperature and humidity, and following a hold test, the fracture energy increases approximately as the square of the logarithm of hold duration. While it's been long known that failure strength increases with log hold time, here the slip weakening distance, dh, also increases. The weakening distance increase is large, hundreds...
Authors
Nicholas M. Beeler, Allan Rubin, Path Bhattacharya, Brian D. Kilgore, Terry Tullis
Strength recovery and sealing under hydrothermal conditions Strength recovery and sealing under hydrothermal conditions
While there is significant evidence for healing in natural faults, geothermal reservoirs, and lab experiments, the thermal, hydraulic, mechanical, and chemical interactions that influence healing are poorly understood. We present preliminary results of triaxial slide-hold-slide experiments to constrain rates and mechanisms of healing. Experiments were conducted on gouge composed of...
Authors
Tamara Nicole Jeppson, David A. Lockner, Brian D. Kilgore, Nicholas M. Beeler, Joshua M. Taron
Science and Products
External Grants - Overview
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides support for research that will assist in achieving the goals of the Earthquake Hazards Program. The goal is to mitigate earthquake losses that can occur in many parts of the nation by providing earth science data and assessments essential for land-use planning, engineering design, and emergency preparedness decisions.
Slide-hold-slide experiments on Westerly Granite at temperatures up to 250 °C Slide-hold-slide experiments on Westerly Granite at temperatures up to 250 °C
Laboratory slide-hold-slide tests were conducted in a conventional triaxial deformation configuration on 1-inch diameter cylindrical cores of Westerly granite bisected by a sawcut oriented at 30 degrees from vertical. Tests were conducted at a constant confining pressure of 30 MPa with a 10 MPa pore fluid pressure. The pore fluid was deionized water. Experiments were conducted at...
Data from the manuscript: Direct evidence for fluid pressure, dilatancy, and compaction affecting slip in isolated faults Data from the manuscript: Direct evidence for fluid pressure, dilatancy, and compaction affecting slip in isolated faults
Earthquake instability occurs as a result of strength loss during sliding on a fault. It has been known for over 50 years that fault compaction or dilatancy may cause significant weakening or strengthening by dramatically changing the fluid pressure trapped in faults. Despite this fundamental importance, we have no real understanding of the exact conditions that lead to compaction or...
Filter Total Items: 62
Rapid fault healing from cementation controls the dynamics of deep slow slip and tremor Rapid fault healing from cementation controls the dynamics of deep slow slip and tremor
Despite its status as one of the most important discoveries in geophysics, the physical mechanism(s) responsible for slow slip events (SSEs) are not well understood. Here, we synthesize observations of deep SSEs in the Cascadia Subduction Zone and argue that rapid, cohesive fault strengthening may control the dynamics of deep SSEs. Cohesive strength is frequently ignored in constitutive...
Authors
Amanda Thomas, Jim M Watkins, Nicholas M. Beeler, Melodie French, Whitney M. Behr, Mark H. Reed
To heal or not to heal?: 1. The effect of pore fluid pressure on the frictional healing behavior of lithologies in Oklahoma To heal or not to heal?: 1. The effect of pore fluid pressure on the frictional healing behavior of lithologies in Oklahoma
The competition between fault healing (i.e., re-strengthening) and fault loading determines the timing and magnitude of fault failure within the seismic cycle. Repeating earthquakes can give observational estimates of fault healing rates, however, it is difficult to link laboratory studies of frictional healing and observed healing rates from repeating earthquakes in part because of...
Authors
Kristina Okamoto, Heather Savage, Nicholas M. Beeler, Brett Carpenter
Probing lower-crustal fault properties with frequency-dependent tidal tremor triggering Probing lower-crustal fault properties with frequency-dependent tidal tremor triggering
The way seismicity responds to periodic stress perturbations offers crucial insights into the processes that can trigger an earthquake. Laboratory and theoretical analyses have shown that the period of imposed forcing and source properties affect the sensitivity to triggering, but frequency-dependent triggering of tectonic faults is poorly understood. The rate of low-frequency...
Authors
Lian Xue, Roland Bürgmann, Zeyan Zhao, Nicholas M. Beeler, Eíias R. Heimisson, David R. Shelly
Earthquake stress drop, source spectra from laboratory experiments, and the apparent unsteadiness of frictional slip Earthquake stress drop, source spectra from laboratory experiments, and the apparent unsteadiness of frictional slip
Over a range of co-seismic total energy release, high sample rate slip, stress, and slip velocity measurements were made during frictional failure to determine seismic source properties. The near-field measurements were used to estimate stress drops using spectral approaches that are analogous to the standard seismological moment-corner determined Δσ and acceleration amplitude Δσarms...
Authors
Brian D. Kilgore, Nicholas M. Beeler
Time-dependent weakening of granite at hydrothermal conditions Time-dependent weakening of granite at hydrothermal conditions
The evolution of a fault's frictional strength during the interseismic period is a critical component of the earthquake cycle, yet there have been relatively few studies that examine the time-dependent evolution of strength at conditions representative of seismogenic depths. Using a simulated fault in Westerly granite, we examined how frictional strength evolves under hydrothermal...
Authors
Tamara Nicole Jeppson, David A. Lockner, Nicholas M. Beeler, Diane E. Moore
Strength recovery in quartzite is controlled by changes in friction in experiments at hydrothermal conditions up to 200°C Strength recovery in quartzite is controlled by changes in friction in experiments at hydrothermal conditions up to 200°C
The rate of fault zone restrengthening between earthquakes can be influenced by both frictional and cohesive healing processes. Friction is dependent on effective normal stress while cohesion is independent of normal stress, potentially explaining—in part—the lack of depth dependence of earthquake stress drops. Although amenable to laboratory testing, few studies have systematically...
Authors
Tamara Nicole Jeppson, David A. Lockner, Nicholas M. Beeler, Stephen H. Hickman
Effect of thermal and mechanical processes on hydraulic transmissivity evolution Effect of thermal and mechanical processes on hydraulic transmissivity evolution
Fracture healing is a critical component of enhanced geothermal systems, the earthquake cycle, and induced seismicity. Accordingly, there is significant interest in understanding the process of healing and its effects on fluid transport. The creation, reactivation, and sustainability of fracture networks depend on complex coupling among thermal, hydraulic, mechanical, and chemical...
Authors
Tamara Nicole Jeppson, David A. Lockner, Joshua M. Taron, Diane E. Moore, Brian D. Kilgore, Nicholas M. Beeler, Stephen H. Hickman
On the scale-dependence of fault surface roughness On the scale-dependence of fault surface roughness
Defining roughness as the ratio of height to length, the standard approach to characterize amplitudes of single fault, joint and fracture surfaces is to measure average height as a function of profile length. Empirically, this roughness depends strongly on scale. The ratio is approximately 0.01 at a few mm but 10× smaller at a few tens of meters. Surfaces are rougher at small scales...
Authors
Nicholas M. Beeler
Brittle faulting at elevated temperature and vanishing effective stress Brittle faulting at elevated temperature and vanishing effective stress
If brittle fault strength depends only on friction, slip instability is discouraged at low effective normal stress, σ. Stress drop and the critical stiffness necessary for unstable sliding both vanish with σ; small earthquakes cannot occur. Very low σ is inferred in the source region of low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs) on the San Andreas fault (SAF). Moreover, if pore pressure, p, is...
Authors
Nicholas M. Beeler
The evolution of rock friction is more sensitive to slip than elapsed time, even at near-zero slip rates The evolution of rock friction is more sensitive to slip than elapsed time, even at near-zero slip rates
For many decades, frictional strength increase at low slip rates has been ascribed to time-dependent contact-area growth across the sliding interface. As a result, phenomenological models that correctly predict contact-area growth, as observed in laboratory experiments, have also been widely assumed to be appropriate descriptors of frictional strength evolution. We present experiments...
Authors
Pathikrit Bhattacharyaa, Allan Rubin, Terry Tullis, Nicholas M. Beeler, Keishi Okazaki
Apparent age dependence of the fault weakening distance in rock friction Apparent age dependence of the fault weakening distance in rock friction
During rock friction experiments at large displacement, room temperature and humidity, and following a hold test, the fracture energy increases approximately as the square of the logarithm of hold duration. While it's been long known that failure strength increases with log hold time, here the slip weakening distance, dh, also increases. The weakening distance increase is large, hundreds...
Authors
Nicholas M. Beeler, Allan Rubin, Path Bhattacharya, Brian D. Kilgore, Terry Tullis
Strength recovery and sealing under hydrothermal conditions Strength recovery and sealing under hydrothermal conditions
While there is significant evidence for healing in natural faults, geothermal reservoirs, and lab experiments, the thermal, hydraulic, mechanical, and chemical interactions that influence healing are poorly understood. We present preliminary results of triaxial slide-hold-slide experiments to constrain rates and mechanisms of healing. Experiments were conducted on gouge composed of...
Authors
Tamara Nicole Jeppson, David A. Lockner, Brian D. Kilgore, Nicholas M. Beeler, Joshua M. Taron