Research summary
Recent earthquakes and tsunamis offer glimpses of the kinds of climate- and weather-related events we can expect in the future. But predicting whether these events will recur—and their intensity over the long term—remains difficult because instrumental records go back only a century or two, a very short time frame in geological terms. As Canada Research Chair in Coastal Hazards, Dr. Jessica Pilarczyk is using paleoseismology—the study of ancient earthquakes—to assess the risks of future earthquakes.
The information that she and her research team uncover will inform models that can be used to forecast seismic risks to coastal communities. Ultimately, Pilarczyk aims to improve our understanding of the risks associated with the northern part of the Cascadia Subduction Zone (located off the Pacific Northwest coast of North America) and to investigate the timing and magnitude of earthquakes in the Puerto Rico Trench (in the Atlantic Ocean).