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Laboratory Details

HelTec - Laboratory for experimental tectonics at the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ

Experimental tectonics is the branch of geosciences that uses so-called "analogue models" scaled down from nature to the laboratory to study tectonic processes "in situ". Thanks to new materials, testing methods and monitoring techniques, which have been developed in the past two decades, anologue modelling nowadays provides quantitative tectonic oberservations across all relevant spatial and temporal scales.

Our experimental tectonics lab facility consists of three basic modules:

  1. Material testing featuring a series of material test devices for characterizing rock analogue materials’ properties including friction, elasticity, viscosity etc.

  2. Analogue modelling featuring a suite of custom-made deformation devices for simulating (seismo)tectonic and other geological processes

  3. Laboratory monitoring providing the means of quantifying deformation in analogue models using various sensors and image correlation methods



Domain

Analogue modelling of geological processes


Organization name

Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam (GFZ)


Address

Telegraphenberg A14
14473
Potsdam
Germany


Location