EOSC 562  -  Mechanics of Earthquakes and Faulting
Elizabeth Hearn     355 EOS South   ehearn 'at' eos.ubc.ca

Darfield
photo: Darfield earthquake rupture, Mark Quigley



We will discuss  friction laws and instability, the earthquake cycle for individual faults, tectonic geodesy, how networks of faults accommodate plate-boundary strain, and earthquake forecasting.  Observations of earthquakes from seismology, geodesy, geology (exhumed faults and paleoseismology), and laboratory studies will be described. We will discuss both classic theory and current hot topics in earthquake science.

The class will be about half lectures and half paper reading and discussion.  Each student will do a term project. In addition, students will periodically do short class presentations and (a few) assignments.

Syllabus

Subjects (subject to change according to interests of the group):

Introduction to earthquake science now
Phenomenology (locations, magnitudes, sense of slip)
The earthquake cycle and plate tectonics
Observations of earthquakes
Geodetic studies of faults and earthquakes
Brittle failure and friction
Forecasting

Texts:

We will not have a required textbook. Readings from a variety of sources will be provided and most can be accessed the link below.

Reading (this is where lecture slide and reading PDF's are, and it shows what we have done so far)


Grading:

Term project: Presentation
 25%
Term project: Paper
 25%
Assignments, incl. class presentations
 25%
Participation in discussions
 25%

Term Projects (updated Jan 26, 2011)