Research project

Fault zone properties and fluids at subduction zones: Drivers of seismogenic behaviour

Project overview

Existing data on fault zones and sediment properties at subduction zones are inherently heterogeneous and cannot be fully understood using borehole data from single transects alone. Large volumes of geophysical data, samples and borehole logs have been obtained, but to date, synthesis of results from different margins, and often even different locations within a single margin, is lacking. This project integrates core, log and seismic datasets, and compares margins with known differences in seismogenic behaviour, sediment input properties (thickness, lithology, rheology), and other subduction parameters (e.g., convergence rate, obliquity, topography and age of subducting oceanic basement). Results will indicate what controls variability in fault properties between margins and how these properties vary with scale. These approaches tackle the key fact that no simple model explains the wide variety of seismogenesis at convergent margins.

Staff

Lead researchers

Professor Lisa Mcneill

Professor of Tectonics

Research interests

  • Active tectonics
  • Geohazards
  • Marine geophysics
Connect with Lisa

Other researchers

Professor Tim Henstock

Professor of Geophysics

Research interests

  • Applying Physics to understand processes within the Earth system
  • Imaging Earth structure on scales of 0.1m to 1000km
  • Active tectonic processes
Connect with Tim

Collaborating research institutes, centres and groups

Research outputs

Timothy Henstock, Lisa McNeill, Jonathan Bull, Becky Cook, Sean Gulick, James Austin, Haryadi Permana & Yusuf Djajadihardja, 2016, Geology, 44(1), 71-74
Type: article
Jacob Geersen, Jonathan M. Bull, Lisa C. McNeill, Timothy J. Henstock, Christoph Gaedicke, Nicolas Chamot-Rooke & Matthias Delescluse, 2015, Geology, 43(4), 359-362
Type: article
Jacob Geersen, Lisa C. McNeill, Timothy J. Henstock & Christoph Gaedicke, 2013, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 14(9), 3315-3323
Type: article
Gemma L. Smith, Lisa C. McNeill, Kelin Wang, Jiangheng He & Timothy J. Henstock, 2013, Geophysical Research Letters, 40(8), 1528-1533
Type: article