Bhutan Himalaya – Shillong Plateau seismotectonics paper

Our work on the seismotectonic interaction between the Bhutan Himalaya and the Shillong Plateau has just been published in Tectonophysics. The results point to a weaker interaction between thrust faults in the two regions than previously suggested. Earthquakes on these thrusts mostly affect strike-slip faults connecting the two regions, so there is no “stress shadow” effect from the 1897 earthquake on the Bhutan Himalaya.

EASI receiver function results published

The first paper of the Eastern Alpine Seismic Investigation (EASI) project, discussing the crustal structure using various approaches based on receiver functions, has been accepted for publication in Tectonophysics. The final version is now online. EASI is an AlpArray Complementary Experiment, carried out by IG Prague, U Vienna, ETH Zurich and U Lausanne. EASI data will be open to the public in Autumn 2018.

Ivrea gravity fieldwork

In the first weeks of June a combined gravity and seismology field campaign was lead by Matteo Scarponi in the Ivrea-Verbano zone, helped by a changing team for new energy input. The environmental conditions were demanding: heat, thunderstorm, rain, hale, fog, snakes, scorpions, ticks, landslide, fallen tree, and other “surprises”. Luckily we’ve also met helpful people, could do a few key measurements during short hikes, and seen nice landscapes.

 

Artist-scientist workshop “On the fault”

In the canton Valais, the year 2018 focuses on risks. In this frame the transdisciplinary artist association Le Cairn organizes a project called “Sur la faille” (On the fault). A first workshop between three scientists (presenting geology, earthquakes, and associated hazards and risks) and eight artists (working on various representations of these themes) took place on May 5-6 in and near Sion, and in the gîte là-oh. The exchange was intense, and we look forward to see the art pieces in September!

AlpArray Seismic Network paper and press release

The paper describing the AlpArray Seismic Network is  now published in Surveys in Geophysics (open access).

On this occasion the Swiss National Science Foundation has issued a press release, which you can read here in English, German and French.

Subsequent media appearances: