Seth Saltiel

My Research

As an experimental geophysicist, I am interested in the frictional and seismic behavior of geologic interfaces and materials under shear. These boundaries control dynamic earth processes of societal significance on many scales. My work includes applications to:

• tectonic faults that control continental scale deformation and earthquakes;

• glacier beds that control the flow and mass balance of ice sheets and future sea level change;

• fractures that control permeability and induced seismicity in subsurface energy, water, and waste reservoirs

My work informs our understanding of dynamic behavior and geophysical properties, as well as their dependence on evolving conditions. I carry out lab scale measurements, both towards better constraining the physics underlying exciting new observations and improving constitutive relations for representing these processes in large-scale models. I'm also interested in bridging experimental developments into novel field techniques to shed light on the underlying mechanics of these key geologic problems. Improved connections between lab scale insights and field observations, as well as across scientific disciplines, are vital for predicting and managing our interaction with important earth systems.