Numerical Modeling of Earthquake Ruptures

Understanding the forces at work on faults deep beneath the Earth’s surface is essential for earthquake scientists as well as energy industry scientists evaluating the risks of new technologies. MIT Earth Resources Laboratory researchers address this problem in lab experiments as well as numerical modeling. Ekaterina Bolotskaya, a PhD student working with Prof. Bradford Hager in ERL / Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences created these models as part of her work to understand the complex relationship between fractures and friction.