An asperity is an area on a fault that is stuck or locked.
In the Earth, tectonic earthquakes are caused by slip along a fault plane, where two rock bodies are in rigid contact. The friction along the fault plane is not uniform in strength, so overall movement involves slip on one or more asperities, or "stuck patches" where the friction is highest. Most of the energy that is released by an earthquakes comes from the patches that become "unstuck."
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carissa2012 4 years ago