Converting displacement dynamics into creep in block media

The possibility of converting displacement dynamics into a creep regime in deformed block media is corroborated by the results of numerical simulation. The model is based on the dynamics of one tectonic platform moving on another. The proposed model describes the characteristic features in the behavior of geological media quite well; in particular, it reproduces the earthquake statistics (as described by the Gutenberg-Richter and Omori laws). An analysis showed that local, relatively low-energy actions could transform the block dynamics from the stick-slip to creep regime. This implies that the statistics of seismic energy evolution can be qualitatively modified using a series of local, periodic, and relatively weak actions so that the average strength of seismic impacts significantly decreases. In this way, it is possible to "suppress" strong earthquakes. The results justify good prospects for a concept previously proposed by the authors, according to which the initiation of displacements in fault-block media can provide a mechanism for releasing local elastic energy and, in particular, decreasing seismic danger.