Geophysicist Publishes Research in Nature
For release: January 15, 2004
For press information, contact Gabrielle Maxey

Dr. Paul Rydelek, an associate research professor of geophysics at the University of Memphis' Center for Earthquake Research and Information (CERI), has published research related to explosive liquefaction that was observed in the Banni Plains of western India following the magnitude 7.7 Gujarat earthquake in January 2001. The research was published in the Jan. 8, 2004, issue of the scientific journal Nature.

Rydelek and co-author Dr. Martitia Tuttle were part of a seismology team composed mainly of faculty members from CERI. The CERI team was part of a larger, cross-disciplinary research effort funded by the Mid-America Earthquake Center, which was invited to India by that nation's government to study aftershocks, surface deformation features, and building performance in the aftermath of the massive quake.

Liquefaction occurs when layers of soft, wet soil are shaken during an earthquake, creating increased pore-water pressure between sediment grains. The water moves from areas of high pressure to areas of lower pressure and often transports large volumes of sediment. Rydelek's research shows the process can also force pockets of gas to the surface explosively.

Rydelek and Tuttle found evidence that intense ground motions, combined with specific soil and water table conditions, caused the ground literally to explode on the periphery of a large liquefaction site near the village of Umedpur in western India. Fragments of topsoil were tossed as far as 80 feet due to the rapid release of gases, creating large, crater-like holes in the ground surface.

Rydelek calculated the energy involved in the process and said this research is significant because it further demonstrates the "strange phenomenon that may occur during intense ground shaking given certain soil and water conditions."

The journal's Web site is www.nature.com.

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