Research
What role do faults play in the Earth’s, and other planet’s, crust?
- Faults play a critical role as weaknesses in the skin of the Earth that localize deformation and as pathways for the movement of fluids. Both of these properties make faults potential resources and hazards.
What tools are used to study faults?
- To study faults I examine the “guts” of ancient faults exhumed and exposed by erosion, use borehole holes to reach kilometers down to where faults are active today, and numerical models to circumvent the slow march of geologic time to test my hypotheses on what controls fault development or behavior.
RESEARCH AREAS
Fault Zone Materials
Deformation Mechanisms
Fault Zone Strength & Hydrology
Fault Mechanics
Stress in the Crust
Borehole Geophysics
Faults in the Earth’s Brittle Crust
Research Philosophy
Geology is full of complex systems. In my research I try to find simple examples where I can isolate one or two key variables and test their control on a physical characteristic. These variables might include clay content in a fault zone, the distribution of rock types, the components of stress resolved on a fracture, or the initial porosity of a rock.
Simplicity is key in science.
© Nicholas C. Davatzes
Last Updated: 2008/12
