The SMILE group initiated in 2019 and aims to image and recover physical property information from subduction zones using large offshore and onshore experiments. Subduction zones are host to some of the largest earthquake and tsunami and since 2004 have been responsible for over 250,000 fatalities worldwide. In the last two decades a whole host of new types of fault slip behaviour have been discovered at subduction zones, including slow slip. These discoveries now lead to the crucial question which the SMILE team are trying to address- What controls how faults slip? Why do some faults slip in devastating earthquakes and others slip slowly?

Ongoing Experiments

Find out about the NZ3D Project. 

 

The SMILE team’s research has been funded by NERC, UKIODP and the Leverhulme Trust: