Landslides are a perennial threat in California, where the geology and steep topography mean the land is more prone to slipping than in other places. Now, researchers at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics and UC Santa Cruz studying two large Northern California landslides think they’ve found the key to predicting landslide motion hidden… Continue Reading ‘Giant Lab Experiment’ Leads to New Model for Predicting Landslides
New Imaging Technique Uses Earth’s Warped Surface To Reveal Rocky Interior
Surface mapping technology such as GPS, radar and laser scanning have long been used to measure features on the Earth’s surface. Now, a new computational technique developed at The University of Texas at Austin is allowing scientists to use those technologies to look inside the planet. The new technique, described by researchers as “deformation imaging,”… Continue Reading New Imaging Technique Uses Earth’s Warped Surface To Reveal Rocky Interior
Scientists Isolate Early-Warning Tremor Pattern in Lab-Made Earthquakes
Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have successfully isolated a pattern of lab-made ‘foreshock’ tremors. The finding offers hope that future earthquakes could be forecast by the swarm of smaller tremors that come before them. The research was published in the journal Nature Communications. The next step is to replicate the results in… Continue Reading Scientists Isolate Early-Warning Tremor Pattern in Lab-Made Earthquakes
Sinking Seamount Offers Clues to Slow Motion Earthquakes
Scientists have long puzzled over what happens when seamounts — mountains and volcanoes on the seafloor — are pulled into subduction zones. Now, new research from The University of Texas at Austin shows that when seamounts sink, they leave behind a trail of soft sediments. The researchers think the sediment patches help tectonic pressure escape… Continue Reading Sinking Seamount Offers Clues to Slow Motion Earthquakes
Research Breaks Down Broken Foreland Basins
A study led by The University of Texas at Austin is offering a different take. The researchers present a categorical definition for broken foreland basins and suggest that an array of geological mechanisms, not just flab slab subduction, could lead to their formation. “Many geologists have used broken foreland basins as a definitive marker for… Continue Reading Research Breaks Down Broken Foreland Basins