A fault dating method using an electron spin resonance

In a fault dating by electron spin resonance (ESR), the number of unpaired electrons trapped in defects in minerals contained in a fault material is detected as ESR intensity. Based on the quantitative change of the intensity before and after an earthquake, the last age of a fault movement can be estimated. However, this method has a hypothesis called "zero-setting" which assumes the decrease in the ESR intensity to zero by fault movement during an earthquake. In order to understand and demonstrate zero-setting, the analysis of the natural fault materials and experiments mimicking fault movements have been conducted. In this paper, we summarized the previous studies about zero-setting by fault movement and described the current status and challenges. (author)