SCEC Award Number 10043 View PDF
Proposal Category Collaborative Proposal (Integration and Theory)
Proposal Title Earthquake Dynamics with STZ Friction: A Statistical Physics Approach to Dynamic Weakening, Energy Partitioning, and Fault Evolution
Investigator(s)
Name Organization
Jean Carlson University of California, Santa Barbara James Langer University of California, Santa Barbara
Other Participants Graduate Student Hermundstad, Ann; postdoc TBN, graduate student TBN
SCEC Priorities A8, A10, A11 SCEC Groups FARM, GMP, EFP
Report Due Date 02/28/2011 Date Report Submitted N/A
Project Abstract
 N/A
Intellectual Merit We are extending Shear Transformation Zone (STZ) theory to include two new features, previously omitted in the model: (1) breakage of granular fault gouge, and (2) the broad distribution of particle sizes. Both are expected to be important to earthquake physics at multiple scales. Our work addresses several SCEC priority science objectives in Fault and Rupture Mechanics, including testing hypotheses for dynamic weakening (A8), examining heterogeneities in rupture models (A10), and examining the interaction between the brittle upper crust and the ductile lower crust (A11).
Broader Impacts Interdisciplinary education of graduate students and postdocs is a major component of this effort. Carlson’s group of young scientists is unusually large (8 at present) and their research interests span an unusually broad range of areas including systems engineering, geology, ecology, biology, materials science, economics, and disaster response. Junior scientists supported by this project include graduate students, Ann Hermundstad, Eric Daub, and Charles Lieou, as well as postdoctoral associate, Ahmed Elbanna. Carlson is active in graduate mentoring and student advocacy, available to all students, with components aimed at increasing ethnic and gender diversity in physics at UCSB (see http:\www.physics.ucsb.edu\~diversity). In addition, she is a founder and continuing faculty sponsor of Physics Circus K-12 Outreach (see http:\www.physics.ucsb.edu\~circus), which aims to reach a broad, ethnically diverse set of children, and conveys enthusiasm for science through demonstration shows and other events at local schools and within the community. Former graduate students Page and Manning were both Graduate Fellows in the UCSB LEAPS Outreach Program (http://www.leaps.ucsb.edu), and were organizers of the Women in Physics (http://www.physics.ucsb.edu/~women/) and Women in Science and Engineering (http://www.wise.ucsb.edu/) activities. Graduate Student Hermundstad recently started the School for Scientific Thought (SST), aimed at introducing state of the art scientific concepts to high school students (http://www.leaps.ucsb.edu/pages/sst.html).
Exemplary Figure N/A