Events

Speaker: Shanna Chu, Pan Postdoctoral Fellow, Rice University

Host: Sean Gulick

Title: Earthquake source processes from fault to regional scales

Abstract: I seek to understand how the physics of the earthquake source translates into observable seismicity and ground motion. This knowledge is crucial for both improving human preparedness to earthquakes and for illuminating broader-scale tectonic processes, and has important future-looking applications in assessing the seismic risk from carbon-reduction technologies. There are many causes of variability in the expected occurrence and shaking of earthquakes, including fault complexity, tectonic properties, and effects from fluids. However, accurately pinpointing the physical origins of observed earthquake variation is limited by observational resolution or inadequate earthquake source models. In my talk, I will show how we can refine our knowledge of earthquake source mechanics, combining data-driven approaches with physics-based intuition. I will show three case studies of how specific models of earthquake physics can be constrained with data, drawing from sequences in the continental US and subduction zones in Japan. These case studies illustrate how observational limitations can be overcome using 1)arguments of scale, 2) improved technology, and 3) multimodal data analysis integration. Finally, I will introduce directions for my future projects, where I aim to refine the methodology for earthquake source analysis and apply my research to subduction zones, crustal faults, and sustainability.