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SEISMogenic behavIour of COntinental Subduction: insights from rheology and petrophysics

Project description

Uncovering the origins of earthquake behaviour

Understanding earthquakes is essential, especially in densely populated areas. Earthquakes occur when regional stress builds up and forces one tectonic plate under another. However, it is not clear why in some parts of the Earth, the crust breaks suddenly while in others it moves slowly. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the SEISMI-COS project aims to address this question by studying ancient rocks in Corsica that were once deep underground. To determine how fluids and the physical characteristics of rocks affect earthquake behaviour, researchers will use a combination of computer models, lab tests, and fieldwork. These findings could help improve earthquake predictions and provide new insights into the forces shaping our planet.

Objective

Understanding the processes controlling the seismogenic behaviour (seismic vs. aseismic) of deformation in convergent margins is one of the fundamental unresolved scientific and societal challenges. Despite the elevated seismic hazard posed by damaging earthquakes in populated areas where continental subduction occurs (e.g. Taiwan 1999 Chi Chi MW = 7.6; Nepal 2015 Gorkha MW = 7.8) little is known about the parameters controlling the seismogenic behaviour of the subducted quartz-rich continental crust. Current geophysical and experimental observations suggest a tight interplay between the presence of, or lack thereof, fluids and the rheology of subducted continental crust. In the SEISMI-COS project I will quantify how rheology and petrophysics controlled the seismogenic behaviour of fossil analogues of deformation zones developed during continental subduction. I will investigate the deformation structures developed at progressively larger depths during Alpine subduction, now exposed at the surface in different tectonic units of Northern Corsica. By integrating field structural and digital analyses, cutting-edge microstructural analyses (EBSD, m-CT), with laboratory measurement of petrophysical properties (lab gas-permeameter) I will quantify the microstructural processes and petrophysical properties characterizing the deformation behaviour of the continental crust at progressively larger subduction depths. This will allow me to provide the input parameters for rheological and numerical models, through which I will investigate the how rheology and petrophysics interact to control the deformation mode, and to test the inferences made from field and microstructural investigations on the seismogenic behaviour. These results will bring us groundbreaking insights on the parameters and processes controlling seismogenesis in continental subduction zones.

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HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01

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Coordinator

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI FIRENZE
Net EU contribution

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€ 193 643,28
Address
Piazza San Marco 4
50121 Florence
Italy

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Region
Centro (IT) Toscana Firenze
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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