news from the lab 2012

One year after the MIR submersibles dove into the depths of Lake Geneva, the elemo program is delivering its first scientific results. The operation will be extended with a campaign to make observations above the lake surface from a sensor-packed ultralight aircraft. The same experiments are planned above Lake Baikal in Russia.

Experiments investigate processes inside volcanic materials that determine whether a volcano will erupt violently or mildly. In the experiments, an international team of scientists used a laser-based heating system to heat small pieces of volcanic material similarly to conditions present at the beginning of a volcanic eruption.

Scientists have succeeded in modelling what happens when two bodies slide against each other and thereby release the pressure; a discovery that has implications for the understanding of the magnitude of earthquakes. David Kammer from EPFL has developed a digital model that explains what happens at the interface between two materials when they slide against each other; like a book on a table, rubber soles on linoleum, or - more to the point - tectonic plates.