The damage zone of an active fault: the San Jacinto Fault in California Supervisors: François Renard (UiO), Yehuda Ben Zion (Univ. South. Calif.)

Allan et al., 2012, Qin et al., GJI, 2017

Why are seismic wave velocities different on both sides of the fault Why are seismic wave velocities different on both sides of the fault ? Hypothesis: rock damage is different

Objectives Collect samples on the field (small cores) and look at the damage (microfractures) Quantify the nature and amount of damage through data analysis and numerical models What you will learn: Sample a fault zone on the field (California, and there is funding for field work) Observe and quantify microstructures (optical microscopy, SEM, microtomography) Process large amount of rock damage data (Matlab or Python) Numerical simulations of damage in a fault Write a master thesis (like a scientific article) Present and discuss results in front of other scientists