Researchers are getting ready to trigger a small seismic event beneath the Alps. The outcomes will aid their knowledge of how to more effectively observe fault lines.(Image credit: Bedretto Underground Laboratory for Geosciences and Geoenergies)
From a tunnel buried deep under the Alps, scientists are intentionally setting off earthquakes. While it may seem like a scene from a spy movie, the objective is not chaos or devastation. Instead, researchers involved with the Fault Activation and Earthquake Rupture (FEAR) initiative are seeking techniques to ascertain earthquake threats prior to their occurrence.
Even with more and more fault line surveillance across the globe, the immediate catalysts of earthquakes are still poorly understood by scientists. They also lack knowledge of the reasons behind ruptures occurring in brief segments of fault lines, while others extend for many miles, leading to greater destruction. Domenico Giardini, a professor of seismology and geodynamics at ETH Zürich, informed Live Science that at present, geoscientists are restricted to analyzing these occurrences only after they take place.
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That signifies they have to initiate actual earthquakes in regulated environments, utilizing thousands of monitors directly on a fault – a task that’s not straightforward. But Giardini and his fellow researchers are leveraging the significant force inherent in the Alps themselves. Situated along the boundary between Switzerland and Italy, these mountains exhibit extensive faulting; the meandering web of fractures beneath them represents a geological record spanning millions of years. The compressional effect resulting from the immense mountains overhead provides sufficient energy to generate fractures in the rocks located 0.6 to 1.2 miles (1 to 2 kilometers) below the ground.
A researcher monitors data originating from the experiments.
The rocks adjacent to these faults occasionally shift, giving rise to predominantly minor quakes. The FEAR initiative, utilizing a pre-existing tunnel previously employed during a railway construction endeavor, is establishing intimate proximity with one of these faults. Their strategy involves introducing water into the fault to stimulate earthquake release according to a desired timeline.
“They would have occurred sooner or later in the geological history of the Alps, but we are ensuring they occur within the coming week,” Giardini explained.
The mechanism mirrors the actions of oil and gas corporations when injecting wastewater from wells into faulted regions in locales such as Oklahoma and Texas. This water serves as a lubricant for the faults, thereby diminishing the friction needed for them to fracture.
The crucial distinction lies in the fact that Giardini and his associates possess a concentrated array of seismometers and accelerometers directly on the fault, enabling them to precisely quantify its movement in reaction to the lowered friction. The group has already set off hundreds of thousands of quakes that have a magnitude of up to zero. (Considering that earthquakes are gauged on a nonlinear, logarithmic scale, very minute quakes that register at zero or even below zero are feasible.)
In the following week, the researchers intend to commence introducing warm water into the fault to discern the impact of temperature on the development of an earthquake. In March, Giardini stated, they will initiate the generation of earthquakes that have a magnitude of up to 1.
The central concept is that if they are capable of pinpointing the factors that trigger a quake of a specific magnitude—if they can, fundamentally, trigger a quake of any desired magnitude—they will ultimately possess the capability to assess a hazardous fault in real-world scenarios before it gives way, and determine the degree of stress necessary to provoke a quake of a certain size on that fault.
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“A few years back [in February 2023], a considerably powerful quake struck along the border between Syria and Turkey,” Giardini recalled. “We are aware that this fault will progress both southward and northward. Our objective is to determine whether the ensuing quake will register as a 7, an 8, or an 8.5?”
He noted that some parameters, such as the degree of strain within the rocks exterior to the fault, are already exhibiting importance. The researchers are also beginning to gain a deeper understanding of the mechanics by which quakes migrate from one fault to an adjacent one.
“We are observing instances, resulting from our own underground activities, that strikingly resemble occurrences in nature,” Giardini stated.
Stephanie PappasSocial Links NavigationLive Science Contributor
Stephanie Pappas works as a contributor for Live Science, writing about various topics from geoscience to archaeology, along with the human mind and its behaviors. She once held a senior writer position at Live Science, and now she’s a freelancer in Denver, Colorado, contributing often to Scientific American and The Monitor, which is the monthly magazine for the American Psychological Association. Stephanie earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of South Carolina and completed a science communication graduate program at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
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Sourse: www.livescience.com
