The researchers will be aboard the world's most advanced drilling-equipped science vessel, Chikyu, which will drill into the Tohoku-oki earthquake fault zone-where the massive 2011 earthquake in Japan triggered a deadly tsunami.
This earthquake occurred after centuries of stress accumulation, leading to a dramatic release that shifted the tectonic plate beneath Japan upwards and eastwards by as much as 50 meters. The resulting displacement of the seafloor triggered a tsunami that devastated the region.
Associate Professor Ron Hackney, a geophysicist from ANU and Director of the Australian and New Zealand International Scientific Drilling Consortium (ANZIC), will be part of the team for seven weeks. He described the project as an international effort with experts from more than a dozen countries working together to unravel the mechanics behind earthquakes and tsunamis to improve preparedness and minimize future impacts.
"I'm excited to be part of an amazing team of international experts from over a dozen countries all putting their heads together to unpick the details of how earthquakes and tsunamis occur, so we can better prepare for them and reduce their impact," Hackney said.
The team will drill up to a kilometer below the seafloor in water about seven kilometers deep to collect core samples from both sides of the fault.
"There's so much work, such complex engineering and impressive technology that must come together to extract those little cylinders of Earth. But the core samples can tell us so much," Hackney explained.
The site had previously been drilled in the year following the 2011 quake, and the new expedition will provide insights into how the rocks have changed since then. The researchers will study the physical properties of the materials recovered, such as density, porosity, and strength, and analyze the fluids within the rocks.
Associate Professor Will Grant, also from ANU, will join the team as an outreach officer for two weeks. His role will involve studying the scientists themselves and how they approach and communicate their work.
The expedition is part of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), a decade-long collaboration aimed at extracting core samples from the Earth's crust. This marks the 58th and final expedition in the program.
"Over the last decade, we've sent a total of 81 Australian and New Zealand researchers on scientific drilling expeditions that have extracted nearly 100 kilometers worth of core," Hackney said. "The resulting samples and data will take years to examine fully but will deepen our understanding of subduction zones."
Related Links
ANU Research School of Earth Sciences
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
