Earth Observatory of Singapore

We propose to install 30 broadband seismometers to cover the seismic gap on the Sagaing fault and the neighbouring region, which is one of the most populated areas in Myanmar. The seismic data will be used to better understand the seismotectonic setting in the region. The proposed works include waveform modelling for earthquake focal mechanism and crustal and slab velocity structure, and determining micro-seismicity location, locking depth and the slip rate on the fault. These will be key for...

One major issue addressed here is to know whether the recent great earthquakes on the MFT ruptured the surface or not. EOS confirmed with 14C dating that the rupture of the 1934 Bihar-Nepal earthquake (Mw 8.2) reached the surface. It is a major breakthrough as the hitherto entrenched consensus had been that the 20th century catastrophic events along the Himalayan Frontal Thrust were blind. 

Studies focused on tectonic activity along the Sumatran Fault zone (SFZ), which traverses the entire 1900-km length of Sumatra, are still lacking. The SFZ is segmented and the slip rate varies for each segment, but rates are poorly known, particularly at the southern end of the SFZ.

"One of the things that first made me interested in geology was hearing about the number of places that geologists travel to for work." Tim Dawson, a Senior Engineering Geologist at California Geological Survey, reflects on the perks of being a geologist, and describes his most recent adventure in the trenches in northern Myanmar and Thailand during an earthquake geology...