The word CREEP has multiple meanings, but in the Innovative Training Network CREEP it stands for Complex RhEologies in Earth and industrial Processes. Rheology (from the Greek ρειν, “to flow”) is the study of how a material deforms in response to applied forces. In industry, knowledge of rheology is key for producing high-performance materials. In Earth Sciences, the rheology of rocks controls the dynamics of our planet. Rheology is also critical in many fields of Earth Sciences that have a direct societal impact. Knowledge of how rocks react when stressed and how they heal afterwards is essential to understand faults dynamics and estimate earthquakes and tsunami hazard. This knowledge is also essential to predict and control seismicity associated with energy production activities, to develop clean energy production methods, like geothermics, and to establish safe natural reservoirs for chemical and radioactive waste.
The objective of the CREEP research program is to advance our understanding of the complex rheology of Earth and industrial materials and its consequences for our planet dynamics, from the global deformation to natural or human-induced seismicity, and for industrial uses of rock-like materials. To fulfil this aim, we use a multidisciplinary and multi-scale approach, which associates observations, experiments, and numerical and laboratory modelling in mineral physics, rock mechanics, tectonics, seismology, and geodynamics, spanning a wide range of spatial scales, from the nanoscale to global mantle dynamics.
The ITN CREEP :
- structured the collaboration in research and doctoral training between 10 academic centres in Earth Sciences and 11 partner organizations whose activity encompasses a wide range of fundamental studies and industrial applications in the domain of rheology (chemical industries, glass, steel, fuel exploration, high technology SMEs), bringing together in-depth expertise from six European countries.
- provided training to 16 early stage researchers via a structured program of cross-disciplinary collaborative research, specialized short courses, workshops, practical activities, and secondments in the industrial partners. This experience-based training is centred on research projects leading to a PhD, which focus on the rheology of Earth materials and its implications for geodynamic and industrial processes. The research projects cover a large spectra of applications, which include the study of the deformation of the Earth surface (earthquakes) and interior, geothermal or petroleum exploration, establishment of safe reservoirs for chemical and radioactive waste disposal, and industrial processes.
