Fast and localized temperature measurements during earthquakes or volcanic processes

(Image: Pixabay CC0) - The Universidad Carlos III de Madrid's (UC3M) Displays and Photonic Applications Research Group has developed a measuring instrument that can be used to study the increase in temperature during volcanic eruptions. This research allows the first measurements of temperature to be taken in situ using a machine in the laboratory that simulates these volcanic processes. The measurements that can be taken have enough spatial and temporal resolution to provide information about the sliding mechanics of a seismic fault. Until now, there has not been an effective experimental technique for measuring the temperature at the eruption site. The understanding of earthquake or volcanic process physics is hindered by the poor knowledge of fault strength and temperature evolution during a seismic slip. When one of these types of phenomena occurs, energy is radiated as elastic waves due to the imbalance between the energy released around the fault and the energy dissipated within it. This occurs because rocks lose strength faster than the stress drop to which the rock is subject to around the fault.