Project description
Understanding how earthquakes begin
The earthquake nucleation process is how it all begins; it is the initial rupture of the fault. Studying the birth of earthquakes is important for characterising fault mechanics and, ultimately, for understanding if seismic events are forecastable. However, earthquake nucleation is poorly understood. Near-fault observations offer a unique opportunity to capture the genesis of earthquakes. The EU-funded PRESEISMIC project will develop new methods assimilating various datasets to investigate the preparation of earthquakes. The project will apply a unified approach to study the contribution of seismic and aseismic deformation during the genesis of large earthquakes around the world (e.g. Chile, California). Beyond the study of tectonic faults, these methods will be valuable to monitor other active environments such as volcanoes.
Objective
How do earthquakes begin? Answering this question is essential to understand fault mechanics but also to
determine our ability to forecast large earthquakes. Although it is well established that some events are preceded by foreshocks, contrasting views have been proposed on the nucleation of earthquakes. Do these foreshocks belong to a cascade of random failures leading to the mainshock? Are they triggered by an aseismic nucleation phase in which the fault slips slowly before accelerating to a dynamic, catastrophic rupture? Will we ever be able to monitor and predict the slow onset of earthquakes or are we doomed to observe random, unpredictable cascades of events? We are currently missing a robust tool for quantitative estimation of the proportion of seismic versus aseismic slip during the rupture initiation, cluttering our attempts at understanding what physical mechanisms control the relationship between foreshocks and the onset of large earthquakes.
The current explosion of available near-fault ground-motion observations is an unprecedented opportunity to capture the genesis of earthquakes along active faults. I will develop an entirely new method based a novel data assimilation procedure that will produce probabilistic time-dependent slip models assimilating geodetic, seismic and tsunami datasets. While slow and rapid fault processes are usually studied independently, this unified approach will address the relative contribution of seismic and aseismic deformation.
The first step is the development of a novel probabilistic data assimilation method providing reliable uncertainty estimates and combining multiple data types. The second step is a validation of the method and an application to investigate the onset of recent megathrust earthquakes in Chile and Japan. The third step is the extensive, global use of the algorithm to the continuous monitoring of time-dependent slip along active faults providing an automated detector of the nucleation of earthquakes.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-STG - Starting Grant
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2018-STG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
75794 PARIS
France
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.