Eeasy: Experimental Earthquake Strike-Slip Fault Systems

27 Jun 2023

Job Information

Organisation/Company

CY Cergy Paris Université

Department

Geosciences and Evironment

Research Field

Geosciences » Geology

Engineering » Electrical engineering

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

France

Application Deadline

1 Apr 2024 - 23:59 (Africa/Abidjan)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

40

Offer Starting Date

1 Sep 2024

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

Context and pertinence

Large continental strike-slip earthquakes (e.g.: the 2023 Mw 7.8 Turkey earthquake) produce spectacular surface deformations and destructions that are currently increasing because of new urban areas. A better understanding of the dynamics of earthquakes is necessary to improve the assessment of seismic hazard, and reduce the impact of such events. The EEASY project aims to develop innovative seismogenic laboratory scaled physical models of strike- slip tectonics in order to identify the physical parameters controlling surface ruptures and their links to seismic processes at depth. Part of the challenge consists in producing high resolution observations of the dynamic deformation of the surface, a key ingredient to better understand earthquake mechanics and rupture evolution in a continental faulting context.

We can currently produce experimental seismic events over hundreds of seismic cycles, but they need to be characterized in detail, and under various experimental conditions. We also intend to equip the box with sensors for seismological analysis during experiments. The experimental program, constituting the core part of the EEASY project, addresses several fundamental questions, which will be addressed in this PhD thesis, but also in several Master level six months internships during the PhD period:

How does the co-seismic deformation evolve during earthquakes? Is it impacted by the basal fault shape, by a convergent or divergent kinematic component at depth, by the state of stress?

All these questions in turn raise methodological challenges:

Can we record the stress variations in the granular material? Can we record the seismic radiation with acoustic sensors to produce seismic data that can further be analysed like, and be compared to, natural seismicity data? More generally, can we produce strike-slip co-seismic surface accelerations, velocities and finite displacements in laboratory scale models that verify the similarity conditions?

Methods and expertise

The GEC laboratory has recently acquired a high-speed camera to obtain high- resolution observations in both time and space of the surface displacements during seismic events. In combination with this camera, we will use optical image correlation and stereo-photogrammetry (MicMac software developed for satellite data analysis) to estimate the horizontal and vertical surface displacement field.

The ambition is also to record the elastic waves propagation signals during the experiments. This will be achieved by implementing an automated monitoring system based on a network of accelerometric sensors distributed at the edges of the box. The proposed approach will allow, on the one hand, the comparison of results with real seismograms, which will help to validate the different tested analogue models. On the other hand, the aim is to develop reconstruction algorithms that will enable detection, localization and potentially characterization of the fault.

Requirements

Research Field

Geosciences » Geology

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

The candidate must have a good knowledge of geology and geophysics, at Master's level. He must also have programming language skills and knowledge of signal processing.

Specific Requirements

The candidate must have a good knowledge of geology and geophysics, at Master's level. He must also have programming language skills and knowledge of signal processing.

Languages

FRENCH

Level

Good

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Good

Research Field

Geosciences » Geology

Internal Application form(s) needed

PhDprojetEEASY.pdf

English

(646.19 KB - PDF)

Download

Additional Information Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

CY CERGY PARIS UNIVERSITY

Country

France

City

Cergy-Pontoise

Postal Code

95000

Geofield

Where to apply

E-mail

[email protected]

Contact

State/Province

Ile de france

City

Cergy-Pontoise Cedex

Website

https:// www. cyu.fr

Street

33 Boulevard du Port

Postal Code

95011

E-Mail

[email protected]

STATUS: EXPIRED