Earthquakes — like lightning — strike unpredictably. The Earth’s tectonic plates, however, hide subtle warnings that a major fault may soon break. Like forecasting a thunderstorm, knowing how to read the warnings could help communities protect lives, infrastructure and local economies. For decades, scientists have struggled to reliably give forecasts for major earthquake hotspots, but… Continue Reading Earthquake Forecasts Move a Step Closer to Reality
Slow Slip’ Earthquakes’ Hidden Mechanics Revealed
Slow slip earthquakes, a type of slow motion tremor, have been detected at many of the world’s earthquake hotspots, including those found around the Pacific Ring of Fire, but it is unclear how they are connected to the damaging quakes that occur there. Scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have now revealed the… Continue Reading Slow Slip’ Earthquakes’ Hidden Mechanics Revealed
Dunyu Liu: Computational Geoscientist
MEET THE SCIENTIST Dunyu Liu is a computational geoscientist at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG), and the first official hire to support computational science activities across UTIG. A seismologist by training, Liu is helping build bridges between geophysical research and high performance computing. In 2008, when Dunyu Liu was an undergraduate, a… Continue Reading Dunyu Liu: Computational Geoscientist
Eclectic Rocks Influence Earthquake Types
New Zealand’s largest fault is a jumble of mixed-up rocks of all shapes, sizes, compositions and origins. According to research from a global team of scientists, this motley mixture could help explain why the fault generates slow-motion earthquakes known as “slow slip events” as well as destructive, tsunami-generating tremors. “One thing that really surprised… Continue Reading Eclectic Rocks Influence Earthquake Types
UTIG Seminar Notes: Kelly Olsen explains why some regions are more prone to powerful earthquakes than others
The final UTIG seminar of the Fall semester is reserved for graduate students to practice their presentations for AGU Fall. This year’s practice talks will be given by UTIG grad students Xian Wu, Kelly Olsen and Janaki Vamaraju. We asked each student to give us a sneak-preview into what they’ll be talking about and why… Continue Reading UTIG Seminar Notes: Kelly Olsen explains why some regions are more prone to powerful earthquakes than others