Scientist gains fresh insight into the origins of earthquakes

Sometimes barely noticeable, and at other times devasting, earthquakes are a major geological phenomenon which provide a stark reminder that our planet is constantly evolving. Scientists have made significant progress in understanding these events over the past 50 years thanks to sensors set up around the world. And while we know that earthquakes are caused by shifts in tectonic plates, a lot remains to be learned about how and why they occur.
Passelègue, a scientist at ENAC’s Laboratory of Experimental Rock Mechanics (LEMR), has been studying the dynamics of faults—or the areas between tectonic plates, where most earthquakes occur—for the past ten years. He recently made a breakthrough in understanding the rupture mechanisms that eventually lead to seismic shifts along fault lines. His findings were published in the prestigious Nature Communications on 12 October 2020.
“We know that rupture speeds can vary from a few millimeters