FEAR

Despite intensive research, scientists cannot predict exactly when and where the next major earthquake will occur. The ERC Synergy project "FEAR" aims at a better understanding of the physics of earthquake processes. To this aims, researchers will generate small earthquakes under controlled conditions at a depth of more than one kilometre and on a scale of ten to one hundred metres. They will measure a variety of earthquake parameters using a dense sensor network and then analyse them. The consortium hopes to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of earthquakes. The new findings will also be used to advance experiments on the safe use of geo-energy and to improve the predictability of earthquakes. The experiments will take at the "Bedretto Lab", a rock laboratory in the Swiss Alps, built by ETH Zurich and the Werner Siemens Foundation. It offers FEAR a unique research environment.