Anelastic Properties of the Earth from Seismic to Tidal Timescale

Earthquakes produce sound waves that travel through the interior of the Earth and thereby sample the conditions along their paths. Collections of large numbers of arriving sound waves are used to reconstruct conditions and structure of the interior of the Earth. While traveling through the interior, these waves produce microscopic strains in the rocks they pass through. The response of the rocks to these strains depends on conditions such as temperature and chemical environment. Very large Earthquakes in subduction zones, for example the Andaman-Sumatra earthquake from 2004 or the Alaskan earthquake from 1964, produce enough energy for the Earth to "ring like a bell". Gravitational interaction of the Earth with the Moon and the Sun (tides) causes periodic deformation of the whole Earth that is comparable to the effects of large Earthquakes. Microscopic strains similar to those caused by earthquakes and tides can be investigated in the laboratory, and thereby also the effects of temperature and chemical environment on the response. The challenge of the proposed work is to apply the laboratory results to global observations from seismology and geodesy. The promise of this approach is to improve our understanding of the conditions in the interior of the Earth and its physical description. The findings will have implications for modeling of the ongoing rebound of the surface of the Earth since the last ice age, affecting determination of the causes of changes in sea level, as well as tidal modeling of other planets and moons.

The investigators propose to combine observations of small-strain deformation at a broad range of timescales, from seismic body waves (seconds) to normal modes (minutes - hour) and tides (hours to years), to determine the frequency dependence of energy dissipation in the interior of the Earth. These observations will be combined in a normal mode/tidal model of a non-spherical Earth that includes anelasticity. Results from this model will be compared to laboratory-derived models for anelastic behavior of crystalline grains and their defects, which are the basis for predictions outside of the experimentally accessible parameter space. Comparison of experimental predictions with global models will help to constrain the applicability of the microphysical models to small-strain deformation due to seismic waves and tides, and ultimately also post-glacial rebound and (large-strain) convection. At the same time the combination of information from normal modes and tides will yield new constraints on the conditions and structure in the mid to lower mantle, which are difficult to obtain by other means.