February 2007

Two lab related PhDs are on offer:
1. Determining fault zone properties and structure using 3D seismic attenuation structure of the San Andreas fault in the region around the SAFOD drilling site near Parkfield, California. Prof. A. Rietbrock & Dr. D. Faulkner
2. Tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the Alpujarran Corridor, Southern Spain: simply a linking basin? Dr. D. Hodgson & Dr. D. Faulkner

December 2006

Research by Dan Faulkner, Tom Mitchell, Dave Healy and Mike Heap into a large fault zone in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile has produced new insight into how fluid pressure can cause earthquakes. This research is published in a paper entitled "Slip on 'weak' faults by the rotation of regional stress in the fracture damage zone" Nature 444, 922-925 (14 December 2006)

November 2006

Following Dave Healy's appointment of Lecturer at the Department of Earth Science at the University of Durham, we are pleased to welcome Dr. Sergio Llana-Funez to work on the project "Feedback between physical and chemical processes during dehydration reactions."

September 2006

We are happy to welcome Dr. Nicola De Paola (University of Perugia, Italy) as a visiting Post-doctoral Researcher to work on the frictional properties of anhydrite/dolomite fault gouge in collaboration with Dr. Cristiano Colletini (University of Perugia, Italy).

July 2006

Fil Nenna has successfully completed his lab Masters project on faulting in unlithified sediments and has gone on to commence PhD studies with Professor Atilla Aydin at Stanford University, USA.

October 2005

Dr. Dave Healy joins the lab working on the project "Feedback between physical and chemical processes during dehydration reactions."

June 2005

NERC Large Research Grant (£237,000). secured for the project: "Feedback between physical and chemical processes during dehydration reactions." See here for more info.

March 2005

Comic Relief Cross-dressing. Almost £300 pounds raised for Comic Relief 2005. See here.

March 2005

NERC Small Research Grant (£31,000) secured for the project: 'Fluid flow properties of the fracture damage zone surrounding large strike-slip faults'.

March 2005

Royal Society Research Grant (£15,000) secured for the project 'The evolution of caprock integrity during the storage of industrially-produced carbon dioxide'.

March 2004

First deformation experiment conducted in the laboratory on Curbstone Granite in the Uniaxial Press.

October 2004

Pete Armitage starts a new PhD project with Dan Faulkner and Richard Worden