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UT Institute for Geophysics

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Articles about earthquake research and scientists at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics. For more information contact costa@ig.utexas.edu

Big Data Imaging Shows Rock’s Big Role in Channeling Earthquakes in Japan

Thanks to 20 years of seismic data processed through one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers, scientists have created the first complete, 3D visualization of a mountain-size rock called the Kumano Pluton buried miles beneath the coast of southern Japan. They can now see the rock could be acting like a lightning rod for the… Continue Reading Big Data Imaging Shows Rock’s Big Role in Channeling Earthquakes in Japan

Are Deep Fluids Behind the Largest Earthquakes? ‘Not So Fast!’ Says UT Graduate Student

Sandwiched between tectonic plates are layers of material that show up as thin shadows on seismic tomography, a kind of CT scan of the Earth. For years, scientists assumed the anomalies were signs of highly pressurized water squeezed into densely packed rock and that the fluid acted as a kind of hair-trigger on earthquake faults.… Continue Reading Are Deep Fluids Behind the Largest Earthquakes? ‘Not So Fast!’ Says UT Graduate Student

Seismic Shockwave Pattern May Be Redirecting Earthquake Damage

New research from The University of Texas at Austin could change the way scientists think about potential damage from earthquakes. The study examined data from one of the densest seismic arrays ever deployed and found that earthquakes emit their strongest seismic shockwaves in four opposing directions. The effect, which leaves a pattern resembling a four-leaf… Continue Reading Seismic Shockwave Pattern May Be Redirecting Earthquake Damage

Xiaohua “Eric” Xu: Research Associate

NOVEMBER 1, 2021 By Constantino Panagopulos When Xiaohua Xu analyzed high- resolution satellite images of the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquakes, he found that they had lit up clusters of previously unknown faults in the surrounding crust that seemed to move backward immediately after the earthquakes. The analysis, which was published in Science when he was a postdoctoral researcher… Continue Reading Xiaohua “Eric” Xu: Research Associate

Fate of Sinking Tectonic Plates is Revealed

Our world’s surface is a jumble of jostling tectonic plates, with new ones emerging as others are pulled under. The ongoing cycle keeps our continents in motion and drives life on Earth. But what happens when a plate disappears into the planet’s interior? The question has long puzzled scientists because conventional wisdom said that sinking… Continue Reading Fate of Sinking Tectonic Plates is Revealed

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