ECGS Workshop 2012: Earthquake Source Physics on Various Scales

Last updated: 1 March 2012

Second circular available now!

Download the second circular as a PDF document.

Conveners

  • Kevin Mayeda, University of California Berkeley & Weston Geophysical Corporation, USA
  • Adrien Oth, European Center for Geodynamics and Seismology, Luxembourg
  • Luis Rivera, IPGS-EOST, Université de Strasbourg, France

Scientific Committee

  • Rachel Abercrombie, Boston University, USA
  • Ralph Archuleta, University of California at Santa Barbara, USA
  • Gregory Beroza, Stanford University, USA
  • Giulio Di Toro, University of Padua, Italy
  • William Ellsworth, USGS, Menlo Park, CA, USA
  • Rebecca Harrington, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany
  • Satoshi Ide, University of Tokyo, Japan
  • Nadia Lapusta, California Institute of Technology, USA
  • Raul Madariaga, Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS), France
  • Luca Malagnini, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Italy
  • German Prieto, Universidad de los Andes, Colombia
  • William Walter, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA

Local Organizing Committee

  • Adrien Oth, ECGS, Luxembourg
  • Corine Galassi, ECGS, Luxembourg
  • Gilles Celli, ECGS / National Museum of Natural History, Luxembourg
  • Eric Buttini, ECGS / National Museum of Natural History, Luxembourg

With the Support of

  • Fonds National de la Recherche, Luxembourg (FNR)
  • Council of Europe, EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement
  • National Museum of Natural History, Luxembourg (MNHN)
  • Seismological Society of America (SSA)
  • International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth’s Interior (IASPEI)

Scope of the Workshop

Over the past two decades, the scale-dependence of the earthquake rupture process and, in particular, whether radiated energy behaves self-similarly among small and large earthquakes, has been a matter of vigorous debate. Yet these characteristics are of fundamental importance for enhancing our understanding of rupture physics and the generation of strong ground motions.
Since the ground-breaking work of Keiiti Aki in the late 1960's, the static scaling relation between seismic moment and some length scale characterizing the earthquake source (for which corner frequency is commonly used as a proxy) has been widely accepted, at least for earthquakes with magnitudes between about 3 and 7.5. On the other hand, the dynamic scaling of radiated energy with moment is still highly controversial throughout the entire magnitude range, from very small (M<0) to very large events (M 8 and above), and potential sources of bias such as bandwidth limitations or attenuation correction have been invoked that significantly complicate the situation. At the same time, the sheer existence of both slow and super-shear earthquakes, for which compelling evidence has been provided, shows that the rupture dynamics of earthquakes must span a considerable range.
Despite a vast number of published research works and the availability of more and more high quality datasets during recent years (as countries such as Japan significantly pushed their instrumentation programs), many aspects of earthquake scaling characteristics still remain highly controversial, and inconsistent results are still obtained by different research groups on all investigated scales, even when considering the same datasets. More recently, state-of-the-art laboratory rock friction experiments are able to more closely recreate the in situ conditions on a fault during rupture, such as slip velocity, normal stresses, displacements, etc.
The aim of the ECGS workshop 2012 is bringing scientists from all around the world working on all aspects of earthquake source physics and scaling around one table to discuss and look for solutions to the problems still encountered. A range of research groups has made significant developments since the last major conference purely dedicated to radiated energy and the physics of faulting held in 2005 in Portland, Maine, USA (American Geophysical Union Chapman conference). The major aim of this 2012 ECGS workshop is therefore to consolidate conflicting views and decipher the reasons for these discrepancies as well as to foster collaborations of scientists working on all scales of the problem.

Important Deadlines

  • June 1, 2012: Abstract submission deadline
  • June 1, 2012: Student/young scientist travel grant application deadline
  • July 15, 2012: Early-bird registration deadline
  • September 14, 2012: Final registration deadline
  • October 3-5, 2012: ECGS workshop
  • December 1, 2012: Submission deadline for contributions to the proceedings volume

Venue

The conference will be held in close proximity to the center of Luxembourg City, the cosmopolitan capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
Luxembourg was a fortress city with reputation to be unseizable, strategically located between the French Kingdom and the German Empire. It was one of the major strongholds in Europe from the 16th Century through its dismantlement in 1867.
Today, Luxembourg is well known as an international Financial Center and for hosting key institutions such as the European Parliament and the European Court of Justice. It is a dynamic and modern city, was European Capital of Culture for the second time in 2007, and is part of the World Heritage List of UNESCO. Enjoy its Old Quarters, fortifications, museums, exhibitions and more. See for instance the Luxembourg City Tourist Office or the National Tourist Office web sites.

Registration Fee and Accomodation

The conference will be held from October 3 to 5, 2012 at the Alvisse Parc Hotel Luxembourg, in close proximity of the center of Luxembourg City, capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

Accommodation: On site (Alvisse Parc Hotel). Number of participants will be limited.

The registration fee is 375 € (early bird rate) until 15 July 2012, and 425 € from 16 July 2012 until the final registration deadline (14 September 2012). This includes:

  • Three nights accommodation at the Alvisse Parc Hotel, including breakfast (Tuesday to Friday) (for presenting authors only, on condition of abstract acceptance)
  • Icebreaker on Tuesday evening (October 2, 2012)
  • Coffee breaks
  • Lunches during the workshop (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday)
  • Official dinner on Thursday night
  • Conference Materials
  • A copy of the Special Volume of the Cahiers Bleus (to be sent to each participant after publication in 2013)

In order to register for the workshop, please download the registration form here (docx) or here (pdf) and send it back either by email to source2012@ecgs.lu or by fax to +352 33.14.87.88.

PLEASE NOTE: Any extras at the hotel (phone, mini bar …) are at the charge of the participants. Additional nights can be reserved for only 82 € per night. No discount on the registration fee can be given to non-presenting participants or to presenting authors getting accommodation off-site. Participants are responsible for booking their accommodation in due time. A package of rooms is available at the Alvisse Parc Hotel and the reservation of these can be made by contacting Ms Corine Galassi.

Details on how to find the hotel are provided on the hotel website and in the PDF version of the second circular, downloadable from this webpage.

A limited number of STUDENT/YOUNG SCIENTIST TRAVEL GRANTS will be available. For students wishing to apply for these grants, please send a short CV, the abstract of your intended contribution and a recommendation letter from your supervisor to source2012@ecgs.lu. The deadline for student/young scientist grant applications is 1 June 2012.

Cancellation/Refund Policy

Due to booking requirements, we are obliged to apply the following refund rates:

  • Before July 16, 2012 cancellation is accepted at no charge.
  • Cancellation before August 31, 2012: 80% refund
  • Cancellation from September 1 and before September 29, 2012: 50% refund
  • Cancellation from September 30, 2012 until the end of the workshop: 0% refund

Method of Payment

You may pay the registration fee by credit card (Visa and Mastercard) or by bank transfer. The details are provided on the registration form.

Tentative Program

The following aspects will be discussed in dedicated sessions:

  • Seismic observations on a variety of length scales
  • Source physics: modeling results and constraints
  • Laboratory rock friction
  • Strong ground motion prediction
  • Data and methodology synergies

Sessions will be composed of one or two keynote lecture(s) (30min+10min discussion) followed by talks of 15min+5min discussion. Authors who present a poster will be given 3min (one slide only) for the presentation of their posters in a dedicated session. Posters will be displayed during the entire workshop. For smooth transitions, speakers are requested to upload their presentation on the organization computer at least during the break before the session.

For poster presentations: the maximum width is 120 cm, height can be varied. Mounting material will be supplied at the conference.

Abstracts

Contribution abstracts (talks and posters) are required for program selection. The abstract volume will be included in the Special Volume of the Cahiers Bleus and will be distributed at the workshop registration.

Guidelines:
Due: June 1 2012 by e-mail to source2012@ecgs.lu.
Length: maximum 2 pages including figures.
Margins: A4, 2.54 cm top/bottom margins, 3.17 cm right/left margins
Title: Arial 12 Bold, centered
Authors and affiliation: Arial 9
Text: Times New Roman 12
Color: will be printed in black and white
Format: MS-Word or RTF

Proceedings

The proceedings of the conference will be published in the Cahiers du Centre Européen de Géodynamique et de Séismologie. The contributions will be requested after the meeting (intended deadline is December 1, 2012) and published as quickly as possible in the year 2013. For previous volumes, see here.
Contributions submitted should not exceed 10 (printed) pages. Color figures will be printed at no charge. One volume will be mailed upon publication to every participant at no additional charge. Format and guidelines will be published on the meeting website soon. A template doc file with the requested format for the Cahiers Bleus contributions can be downloaded here.

Practical Information

Visa: A visa is required for many non-EU member state residents. Please check how the situation is regarding your country here and contact the Luxembourg embassy or consulate in your country for more detailed information. If you need an invitation letter from the Local Organizing Committee in order to obtain your visa, please specify it in the registration form.

Weather: The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg enjoys a temperate climate without extremes. Average daily temperature is about 10 °C in October and average temperature at night is around 5 °C. Rain is quite frequent with an average of about 50-60 mm in 15 days in October.

Currency: Euro (€) (Banks are usually open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.).

Electricity: 220V, 50Hz. (European plug with two circular metal pins).

For More Information

Please contact:

Ms Corine GALASSI, ECGS secretary
19 rue Josy Welter
L-7256 Walferdange
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
Tel: +352 33.14.87-1
Fax: +352 33.14.87-88
Email: source2012@ecgs.lu