Understanding earthquakes

Luca Menegon of the University of Plymouth has analysed rock samples formed as the result of earthquakes that occurred deep inside the earth’s crust. His work may shed light on the mechanics of earthquakes in the zones still active today.

Understanding more about the earth’s mechanics could help us predict earthquakes in active zones, such as the San Andreas fault in California. ‘We know some of the largest earthquakes are initiated in the lower crust and to understand these potentially devastating events, we need to probe what is going on there,’ says Luca Menegon from Plymouth University. In 2013, he was awarded a four-year Marie Curie Career Integration Grant to explore this area. The EVOCOS project has analysed features in earth’s current surface geology that might hold the answers to what is going on deep inside.

Further information: Understanding earthquakes