I have a background in physics and geophysics (earthquake seismology). During my master’s at the University of Tehran, I developed an interest in studying past fault activity and learning about palaeoseismology. This eventually led me to luminescence dating, a method frequently used to temporally constrain fault behaviour in time and space. Consequently, I pursued a PhD in luminescence dating and Bayesian modelling within geoarchaeology at the Université Bordeaux Montaigne in France.
After completing my PhD, I secured a bridging postdoctoral fellowship at the at the University of Freiburg (Germany). Shortly thereafter, I was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellowship (University of Freiburg), which enabled me to work in active tectonics and geohazards, studying fault rocks and faulted sediments. I am interested in the interlink between palaeoclimate, seismic activity and palaeoearthquakes, using innovative trapped-charge geochronology. One intriguing aspect of my work is, for instance, investigating and quantifying the friction induced temperatures generated by co seismic events. To explore this further, I conducted friction experiments and investigated changes in the dynamics of the luminescence signal.
Within in the ICE team at UNIL, I am working on a pilot project that examines how stress alters the luminescence characteristics of rocks. This work potentially enables the reconstruction of past stress histories associated with major geophysical events such as earthquakes or landslides.
Contact
Maryam Heydari
University of Lausanne
Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics
Géopolis, Bureau 3151
1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
maryam.heydari@unil.ch