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Jordan Muller is an NRC RRA in the Planetary Geodynamics Laboratory, studying crustal deformation using geodetic and airborne lidar data. His work on earthquake hazards in Turkey is described in two recent publications: |
Muller, J. R. and A. Aydin, "Using mechanical modeling to constrain fault geometries proposed for the northern Marmara Sea" Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 110, B03407 (2005).
Muller, J.R., A. Aydin and T.J. Wright, "Using an elastic dislocation model to investigate static coulomb stress change scenarios for earthquake ruptures in the eastern Marmara Sea region, Turkey" Geological Society of London Special Publication Analogue and Numerical Modeling of Crustal-Scale Processes (in press, 2005).
The North Anatolian Fault in Turkey is not only a major plate boundary, it is the location of large and potentially dangerous earthquakes. The progression of earthquakes along this fault suggests that the next really large earthquake will occur in the Marmara Sea region (see figure). Unfortunately, the highly populated city of Istanbul lies on the north coast. Despite the availability of high quality geodetic data, there is considerable uncertainty and debate about the actual fault geometry in this area. To address this, Muller modeled the likely surface structure that would result from slip along the faults in the different models and found one that best fits the observed surface morphology (figure). His work suggests significant interaction between the different segments of strike-slip faults can account for the observed vertical deformation in the Marmara Sea.
Muller's current work, in association with Dave Harding, uses lidar data to study deformation related to possible earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest.
Contacts: Jordan Muller, GSFC Code 698, jmuller AT core2 DOT gsfc DOT nasa DOT gov
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