An international expert in earthquake research who identified the high likelihood of the Boxing Day earthquake that caused the deadly tsunami will speak at a University of Queensland workshop today.
Professor John Rundle, director of the University of California Davis Centre for Computational Science and Engineering, is a keynote speaker at workshop hosted by the Australian Computational Systems Simulator Major National Research Facility (ACcESS) headquartered at UQ.
Chair of the Science Committee of ACcESS, Professor Peter Mora, said Professor Rundle was a world leader and innovator in earthquake physics research.
“John Rundle has developed totally new ways to study earthquake phenomena based on so called complex systems paradigms,” Professor Mora said.
“He has recently developed a method motivated by earthquake simulation research that represents a breakthrough in earthquake forecasting with numerous successes.”
Professor Rundle and his colleagues have identified earthquake “hotspots” in a 10-year forecast of high likelihood quake sites worldwide including the Boxing Day earthquake off the coast of Indonesia that generated the deadly tsunami.
Of the 38 large earthquakes since 2000 as many as 30 are said to have occurred directly on, or within the margin of error of, hotspots identified by the forecast.
Other well recognised earthquake and tsunami experts to present at the workshop will include Chief Scientist for the Western Australian State Government, Dr Bruce Hobbs, Professor Gordon Lister from the Australian National University, and Professor Mora and Professor Hans Muhlhaus from UQ.
ACcESS focuses on providing software infrastructure on supercomputers, which address complex earth modelling problems related to earthquakes, tsunamis and plate tectonics, and is funded by the Federal and Queensland governments.
The facility provides never-before-seen virtual laboratory capability for earth phenomena spanning natural hazard and environmental management, breakthroughs in earthquake forecasting, new green energy resources, new mineralisation resources, improved tsunami simulation capabilities and risk management systems.
Media: For more information contact Tracy Paroz at ACcESS (telephone 3346 4113 or mobile 0422 000 340) or Sam Ferguson (telephone 3365 3367) or visit www.access.edu.au/members/workshop2005
Professor Rundle and other presenters at the ACcESS workshop will be available to talk to the media by appointment.
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