Jean Schmittbuhl

Fellowship 2015

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Jean Schmittbuhl is a senior CNRS research scientist at EOST, University of Strasbourg/CNRS since 2004. He has a Geology and Geophysics background together with the Natural Sciences Agrégation. He prepared his Physics PhD at Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris. After a post-doc at the Physics department of Oslo, he was offered a CNRS position at ENS Paris in 1995 where he developed original analogue experiments for multi-scale approaches for studying fracture, friction and fluid flow processes along faults. He has also developed related numerical modelling for close comparisons with experimental results. In 2004 he joined IPGS at Strasbourg University.  His main scientific focus is on seismology and rock physics applied to fault mechanics and reservoir modelling. More recently he has been involved in the micro-seismicity monitoring along the North Anatolian fault and its interpretation in terms of seismic and aseismic activity. Since 2012, he is in charge of the Labex G-eau-thermie Profonde, dedicated to deep geothermal energy in Alsace.

Micro-seismicity in the Marmara Sea: a unique tracer for North Anatolian Fault deformation

USIAS Fellows : Hayrullah Karabulut and Jean Schmittbuhl
Post-doc: Emanuela Matruallo

The project aims at developing a new partnership between IPGS (UdS/CNRS) and KOERI (Univ. Bogazici, Istanbul) to study the fine details of the seismicity during the 2007-2014 period along the Main Marmara Fault (MMF) in front of the megalopolis of Istanbul below the Marmara Sea. It will support the sabbatical year of Pr. H. Karabulut at IPGS and the recruitment of Emanuela Matrullo for a 20 month post-doc. The project will provide new insights about the recent seismotectonic evolution of the important regional seismic. It relies on high resolution earthquake locations to assess their lateral and depth variability over the 150 km of the fault. Statistics of the earthquake distribution (e.g. b-values, clustering, and seismicity rates) together with seismic slip estimates, earthquake source mechanisms and the monitoring repeating events will be performed to better constrain the recent mechanical behavior of the MMF. From continuous waveform analysis, time-evolution of fault properties will also be investigated from ambient noise interferometry. All these seismological tools will be used to address the central and very open question: Is the Main Marmara Fault locked or creeping? The project will also attempt locate possible seismic swarms that might host the nucleation of the next major event. Using experimental results on the relationship between seismic and aseismic deformation and a close comparison with the San Andreas Fault, we will address the challenge of showing that micro-seismicity is a relevant tool for identifying possible aseismic creep episodes along this major strike-slip fault.