Eric Dunham, Stanford University

Associate Professor Stanford, California edunham@stanford.edu Office: (650) 725-6989

Expert In

Mechanics of earthquakes Mechanics of tsunamis Mechanics of volcanoes Physics of earthquakes Physics of tsunamis Physics of volcanoes

Bio/Research

I study the mechanics and physics of earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis. Our group has been developing numerical models of earthquake rupture propagation that incorporate sophisticated descriptions of the processes within and around the fault zone that are thought to control how fault strength evolves during rapid slip. The models include transport of heat and pore fluid within fault zones, microscopic weakening processes that have been observed in laboratory experiments, and inelastic deformation of the off-fault material. We are using these models to explore how earthquake ruptures excite seismic waves, with a particular focus on strong ground motion and seismic hazard. Recently, my group and I have been working to understand the origin of incoherent high frequency ground motion by directly modeling rupture propagation on fractally rough fault surfaces. We are also studying subduction zone megathrust earthquakes, like the March 2011 Tohoku-Oki event that was responsible for the devastating tsunami in Japan. In addition to the rupture process, we are studying the excitation of ocean acoustic waves and tsunamis in these events. These modeling efforts involve high-performance computing, using resources at the Stanford Center for Computational Earth and Environmental Science and elsewhere. In addition to earthquakes, we study seismic waves from volcanic eruptions. We have developed a code that solves for the fully coupled flow of a compressible, viscous magma through cracks and conduits in deformable solids. We hope to learn about the dynamics of eruptions from seismic signals recorded at Earth's surface.

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