Emily Brodsky Explained

Emily E. Brodsky
Alma Mater:Harvard University
California Institute of Technology
Workplaces:University of California, Santa Cruz
Known For:Earthquake physics
Awards:James B. Macelwane Medal (2008)
George P. Woollard Award (2017)
Price Medal (2021)

Emily E. Brodsky is a Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She studies the fundamental physical properties of earthquakes, as well as the seismology of volcanoes and landslides. In 2023, she was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.[1]

Early life and education

Brodsky earned her bachelor's degree magna cum laude at Harvard University in 1995.[2] Whilst there, she set up Harvard Undergraduate Television. Brodsky moved to California for her PhD, completing her doctorate in 2001 from California Institute of Technology. She worked on rectified diffusion theory, the mechanism that describes how strain waves pump volatile organic compounds into bubbles.[3] [4] Rectified diffusion theory can move dynamic strain from a volcanic tremor or tectonic earthquake to static strain inside a magma chamber. Soon after graduating Brodsky joined the University of California, Santa Cruz. Here she helped several National Science Foundation-MARGINS postdoctoral fellows, including Heather M. Savage and Christie D. Rowe, begin their careers in geophysics.[5]

Research and career

Brodsky has extensively studied the physics of earthquakes.[6] [7] She has investigated what causes earthquakes to trigger, as well as their hydrogeology and fault zone structure.[8] The impact of earthquakes on subsequent earthquakes ('triggering') is still not well understood. Brodsky demonstrated that seismic waves can trigger regional seismicity.[9] She found that dynamic stress waves from one earthquake can initiate further earthquakes.[10] She has challenged the idea that static stress controls earthquake triggering, and found that aftershocks have similar distributions as main shocks.[11] She showed that using the amplitude of previous earthquakes it is possible to predict earthquake triggering at all distances.[12] By studying the Salton Sea geothermal field, Brodsky showed that there was a relationship between human activity and seismic activity.[13] Fault slips can cause nearby rocks to fracture, changing the shape of the surface underneath them and turning the rocks on the floor into powder.

Brodsky and collaborators demonstrated that seismic waves can unclog fractures, altering the permeability of fractured rocks.[14] Her work furthermore identified that the build-up of pressure can cause changes in groundwater during earthquakes.[15] After earthquakes, Brodsky has drilled deep within the fault zone to monitor the temperature.[16] She studied the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, finding a series of temperature pulses that occur due to the flow of fluids through a zone of increased permeability. Immediately after an earthquake, the fault zone can be damaged and have higher permeability, but heals within a few months.[17] Generally, earthquakes are triggered when tectonic stress overcomes friction, and Brodsky became interested in what causes this friction in the first place. Brodsky has shown that the coefficient of friction after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami was considerably lower than expected.[18] Alongside earthquakes, Brodsky studies volcanoes, geysers, landslides and rivers.[19] Occasionally, volcanoes are triggered by distant earthquakes. Brodsky predicted that, alongside growth of bubbles and overturn of magma chambers, volcanoes could be triggered by failure of rocks surrounding a magma chamber.

Brodsky serves on the board of directors for the Southern California Earthquake Center and the IRIS Consortium.[20] [21] She has written for The Conversation.[22]

Awards

Her awards and honours include;

References

  1. http://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/news/2023-nas-election.html
  2. Web site: Predict Earthquakes? Prof. Emily Brodsky on progress in the science. Meetup. en. 2019-04-10.
  3. Brodsky. E. E.. Sturtevant. B.. Kanamori. H.. 1998. Earthquakes, volcanoes, and rectified diffusion. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. en. 103. B10. 23827–23838. 10.1029/98JB02130. 1998JGR...10323827B. 2156-2202. free.
  4. Sturtevant. Bradford. Kanamori. Hiroo. Brodsky. Emily E.. 1996. Seismic triggering by rectified diffusion in geothermal systems. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. en. 101. B11. 25269–25282. 10.1029/96JB02654. 1996JGR...10125269S. 28588455 . 2156-2202.
  5. Web site: Dr. Christie D. Rowe. websites.pmc.ucsc.edu. 2019-04-11.
  6. Kanamori. Hiroo. Brodsky. Emily E. 2004-07-13. The physics of earthquakes. Reports on Progress in Physics. 67. 8. 1429–1496. 10.1088/0034-4885/67/8/r03. 2004RPPh...67.1429K. 250877470 . 0034-4885.
  7. Web site: People - UC Santa Cruz Seismology Laboratory. websites.pmc.ucsc.edu. 2019-04-10.
  8. Web site: People - UC Santa Cruz Seismology Laboratory. websites.pmc.ucsc.edu. 2019-04-10.
  9. Brodsky. Emily E.. Karakostas. Vassilis. Kanamori. Hiroo. 2000-09-01. A new observation of dynamically triggered regional seismicity: Earthquakes in Greece following the August 1999 Izmit, Turkey earthquake. Geophysical Research Letters. 27. 17. 2741–2744. 10.1029/2000gl011534. 2000GeoRL..27.2741B. 0094-8276. free.
  10. Web site: Emily E. Brodsky. Honors Program. en-US. 2019-04-10.
  11. Brodsky. Emily E.. Felzer. Karen R.. 2006-06-08. Decay of aftershock density with distance indicates triggering by dynamic stress. Nature. en. 441. 7094. 735–8. 10.1038/nature04799. 16760974. 2006Natur.441..735F. 4420165.
  12. van der Elst. Nicholas J.. Brodsky. Emily E.. 2010-07-29. Connecting near-field and far-field earthquake triggering to dynamic strain. Journal of Geophysical Research. 115. B7. B07311. 10.1029/2009jb006681. 2010JGRB..115.7311V. 0148-0227. free.
  13. Lajoie. Lia J.. Brodsky. Emily E.. 2013-08-02. Anthropogenic Seismicity Rates and Operational Parameters at the Salton Sea Geothermal Field. Science. en. 341. 6145. 543–546. 10.1126/science.1239213. 0036-8075. 23845943. 2013Sci...341..543B. 27344219.
  14. Elkhoury. Jean E.. Brodsky. Emily E.. Agnew. Duncan C.. 2006. Seismic waves increase permeability. Nature. 441. 7097. 1135–1138. 10.1038/nature04798. 16810253. 2006Natur.441.1135E. 301536. 0028-0836.
  15. Brodsky. Emily E.. Roeloffs. Evelyn. Woodcock. Douglas. Gall. Ivan. Manga. Michael. 2003. A mechanism for sustained groundwater pressure changes induced by distant earthquakes. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. en. 108. B8. 2390. 10.1029/2002JB002321. 2003JGRB..108.2390B. 2156-2202. free.
  16. Web site: Voices From the Future: Conversation With Emily E. Brodsky NSF - National Science Foundation. www.nsf.gov. 2019-04-10.
  17. Huang. Yao. Sun. Zhi-Ming. Yang. Guang. Zhang. Wei. Pei. Jun-Ling. Si. Jia-Liang. Mori. James J.. Wang. Huan. Kano. Yasuyuki. 2013-06-28. Continuous Permeability Measurements Record Healing Inside the Wenchuan Earthquake Fault Zone. Science. en. 340. 6140. 1555–1559. 10.1126/science.1237237. 0036-8075. 23812711. 2013Sci...340.1555X. 30948308.
  18. Expedition 343. 343t. Toczko. S.. Eguchi. N.. Lin. W.. Harris. R. N.. Ishikawa. T.. Chester. F.. Mori. J.. Kano. Y.. 2013-12-06. Low Coseismic Friction on the Tohoku-Oki Fault Determined from Temperature Measurements. Science. en. 342. 6163. 1214–1217. 10.1126/science.1243641. 0036-8075. 24311684. 2013Sci...342.1214F. 206551451.
  19. Manga. Michael. Brodsky. Emily. 2006. SEISMIC TRIGGERING OF ERUPTIONS IN THE FAR FIELD: Volcanoes and Geysers. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences. 34. 1. 263–291. 10.1146/annurev.earth.34.031405.125125. 2006AREPS..34..263M.
  20. Web site: What We Can and Cannot Predict about Earthquakes. alumni.ucsc.edu. 2019-04-10.
  21. Web site: brodsky Southern California Earthquake Center. www.scec.org. en. 2019-04-10.
  22. Web site: Emily Brodsky. The Conversation. en. 2019-04-10.
  23. Web site: Charles F. Richter Early Career Award Seismological Society of America - Part 3. www.seismosoc.org. 2019-04-10.
  24. Web site: Voices From the Future: Emily E. Brodsky - Earthquakes Triggered By Seismic Waves NSF - National Science Foundation. www.nsf.gov. 2019-04-10.
  25. Web site: Past Distinguished Lecturers. U.S. Science Support Program. en-US. 2019-04-10.

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