Project description
Pioneering study on hydrothermal fluids in seismic faults
Earthquakes, sometimes human-induced, cause about 50,000 casualties per year and billions of euros in damage. However, the probabilistic forecasting of earthquakes is challenged by our poor knowledge of earthquake physics and chemistry. In fact, the most damaging earthquakes are the result of ruptures nucleating and propagating in the Earth’s crust along faults often impregnated by water-rich hot fluids ('hydrothermal fluids'). The poorly understood chemical and physical interaction between these fluids and the fault rock materials controls the early stages of earthquake nucleation. The EU-funded FRICTION project focuses on the dynamic interaction between hydrothermal fluids and fault zones in the continental crust. The study of ancient seismic faults, now exposed at the surface, and dedicated experiments reproducing these particular hydrothermal conditions will help to quantify the mechanical behaviour of faults in the presence of fluids at seismogenic depths, also for the safe exploitation of deep-seated reservoirs for energy purposes (geothermal fields, etc.).
Objective
With ca. 50.000 casualties per year and 330 billion USD of damage in this century, earthquakes are among the biggest geohazards on Earth. Earthquakes are natural, often human-induced, phenomena in which a vast amount of elastic strain energy stored in rocks is suddenly released. A large amount of research has been performed to investigate fault mechanisms during earthquakes whereas much less has been done to constrain the chemical-physical processes of fluid-rock interaction during the seismic cycle and how these processes enhance the healing of fault zones, the storage of elastic strain energy in the crust and the nucleation of new earthquakes.
The project FRICTION, building on the exciting results from a previous ERC project aimed to understand earthquakes mechanics from rupture nucleation and propagation to arrest, aims at investigating the feedback between seismic faulting, fluid-rock interaction, and tectonic loading in the processes of healing of fault zones and nucleation of earthquakes in the continental crust. FRICTION is innovative since it tackles a scientific topic which was so far overlooked with a multiscale interdisciplinary approach combining: high-detailed field structural characterization of exhumed ancient seismogenic fault zones, unprecedented rock deformation and fluid-rock interaction experiments under realistic hydrothermal and seismic conditions, both coupled with microstructural-petrophysical and chemical characterization of natural and experimental fault rocks.
This integrated approach will lead to building a wealth of novel datasets to quantify the strength, friction constitutive properties, and sliding behavior of faults at hydrothermal conditions in the continental crust. The research will be conducted at Università degli Studi di Padova, where the joint assets of an experienced supervisor and unique, ground-breaking equipment will guarantee the successful progress of the research and my professional growth as an independent researcher.
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.
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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.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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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) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019
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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.
35122 PADOVA
Italy
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.