Introducing the PhD themes of our young researchers - Lovro Rupar
High-resolution geophysical investigations for seismotectonic characterization of active fault structures with ground penetrating radar and electrical tomography
Lovro Rupar se po diplomi in magisteriju na Naravoslovnotehniški fakulteti Univerze v Ljubljani v svoji doktorski disertaciji ukvarja z visokoločljivimi geofizikalnimi in tektonsko-geomorfološkimi raziskavami, ki jih bo uporabil na območju Slovenije in Hrvaške. Državi se nahajata na aktivnem konvergentnem stiku Jadranske mikroplošče in Evropske plošče s številnimi aktivnimi sistemi prelomov ter zmerno potresno dejavnostjo. Zato je identifikacija in karakterizacija aktivnih prelomov z metodama geološkega in tektonsko-geomorfološkega kartiranja težavna. Še posebej zaradi kompleksnega regionalnega strukturnega okvirja, številnih tektonskih faz, nizke stopnje deformacij, visoke stopnje erozije in denudacije, antropogene spremenjenost drenažne mreže ter pobočnih masnih premikov, ki lahko zakrijejo površinski odraz preloma.
High-resolution geophysical and tectono-geomorphological surveys will be carried out on at least three major active faults characterised by poor seismotectonic parameterisation, different tectonic regimes, relatively low strain rates and very different composition and thickness of younger sediments at the surface. This represents a major challenge for the optimisation of survey design, field measurements and data processing for different geological and tectonic conditions, which will require new methodological solutions. The objective of the geophysical surveys is to identify possible deformation of Quaternary sediments shallow below the surface, to assess the complexity of the fault zone and its location in the basement, and to assess the potential for further palaeoseismological exploratory excavations.
The results of targeted research will provide an assessment of the applicability of individual geophysical methods in different tectonic and sedimentological settings. At the same time, they will provide an indication of the transferability of the geophysical methods used to other faults in similar geological settings. In addition, the integration of different high-resolution geophysical surveys will allow the identification and discrimination of the influence of deformation mechanisms on the sedimentation of Quaternary sediments. The identified seismotectonic parameters will contribute to the updating of the map of active faults in Slovenia. This is one of the key inputs for the new probabilistic seismic hazard calculation (PSHA) method, the estimation of the maximum possible earthquake magnitude and return period, and the estimation of the surface rupture probability.
The supervisor of the PhD thesis is doc. dr. Marjana Zajc.