Articles | Volume 14, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-14-513-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-14-513-2025
Research article
 | 
17 Dec 2025
Research article |  | 17 Dec 2025

High-speed infrared thermography for measuring flash temperatures in sheared fault gouge analogues

Chien-Cheng Hung and André Rik Niemeijer

Cited articles

Acosta, M., Passelègue, F. X., Schubnel, A., and Violay, M.: Dynamic weakening during earthquakes controlled by fluid thermodynamics, Nat. Commun., 9, 3074, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-05603-9, 2018. 
Badt, N. Z., Tullis, T. E., Hirth, G., and Goldsby, D. L.: Thermal pressurization weakening in laboratory experiments, J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 125, e2019JB018872, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JB018872, 2020. 
Barbery, M. R., Chester, F. M., and Chester, J. S.: Characterizing the distribution of temperature and normal stress on flash heated granite surfaces at seismic slip rates, J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 126, e2020JB021353, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JB021353, 2021. 
Barbery, M. R., Chester, F. M., and Chester, J. S.: Investigating dynamic weakening in laboratory faults using multi-scale flash heating coupled with mm-scale contact evolution, J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 128, e2023JB027110, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JB027110, 2023. 
Beeler, N. M., Tullis, T. E., and Goldsby, D. L.: Constitutive relationships and physical basis of fault strength due to flash heating, J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 113, B01401, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JB004988, 2008. 
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Short summary
During coseismic slip, rapid fault sliding generates heat, triggering processes that weaken fault materials. Flash heating at stressed contacts is a key dynamic weakening mechanism, but data on flash temperatures in sheared gouge are limited. We built an experimental setup with a high-speed infrared camera to capture in-situ thermal images during rapid shearing to determine how peak flash temperature varies with conditions and compare with theoretical predictions.
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