Active Plate Tectonic Processes

DomůResearchResearch teamsActive Plate Tectonic Processes

Team Leader: Christian Sippl

 

Our research

We investigate tectonically active regions around the world using a variety of seismological methods, and we combine our results with constraints from other disciplines. Recent research topics include:

  • Subduction zone processes as highlighted by seismicity and seismic velocities
  • Faulting and seismic hazard in continental collision zones
  • Effects of fluid and melt migration on volcanic activity in subduction environments
  • Relation between intraslab earthquakes and bending and unbending stresses

Ongoing projects:

 

OpenEEW, development of an open-source earthquake early warning system (Collaborator: Václav Kuna)

MILESTONE ‘Microseismicity Illuminates Subduction Zone structure’ ERC Starting Grant (PI: Christian Sippl, 2021-2026)

UNDERCOVER: Horizon Project (Co-I: Christian Sippl, 2025-2027)

Finished projects:

PRECURSOR, investigating precursory and coseismic processes on the Chilean megathrust supported by the Chilean Science Foundation (Collaborator: Christian Sippl, 2020-2022)

CAS-ANID Mobility Plus project ‘Deep learning seismology applied to the Chilean subduction zone’ (Collaborator: Christian Sippl, 03/2023-03/2024)

People

  Name Role Current research avenues
Christian Sippl Researcher
  • Structure of megathrusts in different subduction zone settings
  • Intermediate-depth earthquakes and associated phase changes in the slab
Václav Kuna Researcher
  • OpenEEW: earthquake early warning system using novel sensors and IoT
  •  Implementation of such a system in Nepal
Aleš Špičák Senior researcher
  • Role of earthquake swarms in subduction settings
  • Magma movements and volcanic processes inferred from seismicity
Ignacio Castro Melgar Postdoctoral researcher
  • Seimology and deformation monitoring at active volcanoes
  • Seismic attenuation tomography
Dominika Godová Postdoctoral researcher
  • Gravity measurements and inversion
  • Integrated geophysical modeling of the lithosphere
Nooshin Najafipour PhD student
  • automated event detection and phase picking
  • subduction zone processes inferred from seismicity
Jorge Puente Huerta PhD student
  • automatized phase association for large seismic datasets
  • subduction zone processes inferred from seismicity
Nazia Hassan PhD student
  • travel time tomography for subduction zone settings
  • trying to constrain the mineralogy behind intermediate-depth earthquakes and double seismic zones
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Deploying stations in Central Australia

Station setup in Nepal

Fieldwork in Indonesia (atop Mt. Merapi)

Locations and mechanisms of swarm quakes beneath seamounts in the Andaman Sea triggered by distant earthquakes

Earthquake hypocenters and attenuation structure of the North Chilean subduction zone

Seismic hazard and risk in Nepal