Brittle Failure Mechanism of Multiple Locked Patches in a Seismogenic Fault and Exploration of a New Approach to Earthquake Prediction

This study attempts to reveal the possible linkage between the critical failure‐fracture and creep process of locked patches in a seimogenic fault. It suggests that the ratio of cumulative Benioff strain of the fracture point to that of the start point of accelerating creep on each locked patch depends on the number of locked patches in an exponential rule with a base value 1.48. Prior to the failure of the last locked patch, the critical...