Carolyn Tewksbury-Christle
Fort Lewis College, CO·Earth & Environmental Science
Subduction zones are places where one tectonic plate slides beneath another. They produce Earth's largest earthquakes.
- Fields
Earth & Environmental Science
- Topics
subduction zones
slow slip events
tectonic tremor
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Dec 2027
What they work on
- Test whether slow slip and tremor are preferentially hosted by metasedimentary or meta-mafic rocks, using fieldwork, geochemistry, geochronology and microstructural analysis of three exhumed subduction complexes.
- Search exhumed rocks for evidence of past slow slip and tremor, such as vein networks and geochemical signs of fluid alteration, and date these features by analyzing minerals.
- Calculate the seismic properties of the observed rocks and compare them with geophysical images of modern subduction zones, to test how structural heterogeneity along the plate interface controls where slow slip occurs.
More about the research
They also host slower events called slow slip and tremor (SST). In these events, the plates creep over months or years, accompanied by faint, low-frequency seismic rumbling. SST is not destructive on its own, but it can influence when big earthquakes happen. Scientists still do not understand what causes it, because the depths where it occurs cannot be observed directly. Rocks that were carried down to SST depths and later brought back to the surface offer a window into these processes.
Why it matters
Slow slip and tremor can affect when large subduction-zone earthquakes strike. Knowing which rocks host these events and where they occur along the plate boundary could improve how scientists interpret slow-slip signals in active subduction zones. It could also refine models of the earthquake cycle, informing earthquake hazard assessment for communities near subduction zones.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Christine Regalla
Northern Arizona University, AZ·Earth & Environmental Science
Extend the StraboSpot geologic data system to support group-level workflows, so multiple researchers can collect, store and interpret shared field and laboratory data collaboratively rather than individually.
Gregory McLaskey
Cornell University, NY·Earth & Environmental Science
Test whether seismic wave properties change reliably before or after laboratory earthquakes on dry and fluid-saturated meter-scale faults, using active source seismic interrogation with strain, slip and seismic sensor arrays.
James Kirkpatrick
University of Nevada-Reno, NV·Earth & Environmental Science
Characterize where permeability and fluid flow are concentrated in the Japan Trench fault zone using temperature and pressure records from subseafloor borehole observatories at IODP Site C0019.
The school
Fort Lewis College: 1 labs on PI Pages, $5M a year on research.
Reach out
A start for your email. Fill in the brackets.