Research summary
Recent earthquakes and tsunamis have given us some insights into the intensity of natural disasters that we can expect in the future. But long-term patterns of recurrence and intensity remain unclear because of our relatively short instrumental record. Dr. Jessica Pilarczyk, Canada Research Chair in Natural Hazards, is using paleoseismology to understand plate boundary processes that have occurred over the last centuries to millennia.
This research will inform models that can be applied to forecast the risk that earthquakes pose to coastal communities. Specifically, Pilarcyzk and her research team aim to investigate links between strike-slip earthquakes and tsunamis and assess the long-term patterns of slow-slip events and their link to earthquake forecasting along subduction zones.