Research
Research Overview
Faults are dynamic features of the Earth's crust, continually evolving as stress and fluid pressure change over time and space. Understanding how faults respond to these changes is fundamental to earthquake science and increasingly important as we modify the subsurface through geothermal energy production, resource extraction, and carbon storage, where changes in stress and fluid pressure can trigger fault slip and induced seismicity.
My research investigates how faults evolve, heal, and fail across scales, from frictional contacts in the laboratory to the behavior of natural fault systems. I combine laboratory experiments, field observations, and mechanics-based modeling to understand how frictional processes govern fault slip and how these processes shape earthquake behavior. By connecting controlled laboratory studies with observations of natural earthquakes and induced seismicity, I seek to uncover the physical mechanisms linking fault-scale processes to Earth-scale behavior. Ultimately, my goal is to advance our fundamental understanding of fault mechanics while improving our ability to assess and mitigate seismic hazards, supporting the safe and sustainable use of the subsurface.
Research Themes
I investigate fault behavior through three interconnected research themes, spanning controlled laboratory experiments, natural earthquake observations, and induced seismicity in engineered subsurface systems.
Theme I: Laboratory Fault Friction and Healing
What physical processes govern the transition between stable sliding and frictional instability, and how do these processes depend on slip rate and stress history? I use optical methods to measure deformation during laboratory experiments, revealing how friction and fault behavior evolve during sliding and healing.
Selected Publications
- Sirorattanakul, K., Larochelle, S., Rubino, V., Lapusta, N., and Rosakis, A. J. (2025), Sliding and Healing of Shear Interfaces that Appear Stationary, Nature, 639(8056), 947-953.
Selected Presentations
- Sirorattanakul, K., Rubino, V., Lattanzi, A., and Rosakis, A. J., Experimental Quantification of Ultraslow Slip Rate of Shear Interfaces Using Digital Image Correlation, PhotoMechanics – iDICs Conference, Clermont-Ferrand, France, October 29 – 31, 2024, Oral Presentation. [Presented by V. Rubino]
Theme II: Response of Natural Earthquakes to Transient Stresses
How do faults and earthquake sequences respond to changing stresses? By linking seismicity and geodetic observations to physical models, I seek to understand what controls earthquake sensitivity to transient perturbations and what this reveals about fault mechanics.
Selected Publications
- Sirorattanakul, K. and Avouac, J.-P. (2026), Seismic Rhythms: Earthquake Response to Tectonic, Hydrological, and Tidal Forcing in California, Science Advances, 12(13), adz5711.
- Sirorattanakul, K., Ross, Z. E., Khoshmanesh, M., Cochran, E. S., Acosta, M. A., and Avouac, J.-P. (2022), The 2020 Westmorland, California earthquake swarm as aftershocks of a slow slip event sustained by fluid flow, Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 127(11), e2022JB024693.
Selected Presentations
- Penney, C., Sirorattanakul, K., and Avouac, J.-P., Rheological implications of post-seismic deformation following the 2019 Ridgecrest Earthquakes, American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Online, December 1 – 17, 2020, iPoster Presentation.
Theme III: Induced Seismicity in Engineered Subsurface Systems
How do subsurface operations alter fault stability and trigger earthquakes? I develop physics-based approaches to identify the mechanisms that control induced seismicity and improve earthquake forecasting and risk mitigation in energy and subsurface engineering.
Selected Publications
- Li, Y., Acosta, M., Sirorattanakul, K., Bourne, S. J., and Avouac, J.-P. (2025), Geodetic Monitoring of Elastic and Inelastic Deformation in Compacting Reservoirs due to Subsurface Operations, Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 130(3), e2024JB030794.
- Sirorattanakul, K., Wilding, J., Acosta, M., Li, Y., Ross, Z. E., Bourne, S. J., van Elk, J., and Avouac, J.-P. (2025), Bursts of Fast Propagating Swarms of Induced Earthquakes at the Groningen Gas Field, Seismological Research Letters, 96(1), 130-146.
- Acosta, M., Avouac, J.-P., Smith, J. D., Sirorattanakul, K., Kaveh, H., and Bourne, S. J. (2023), Earthquake Nucleation Characteristics Revealed by Seismicity Response to Seasonal Stress Variations Induced by Gas Production at Groningen, Geophysical Research Letters, 50(19), e2023GL105455.
Selected Presentations
- Zhang, Z., Comiskey, C., Nihei, K., Sirorattanakul, K., Fang, Z., Nunn, J., Palmer, J., Swafford, L., Lucente, C., and Falorni, G., InSAR Characterization of Fluid Movement and Fault Slip near Saltwater Disposal Site in the Permian Basin, Unconventional Resources Technology Conference (URTeC), Houston, USA, June 9-11, 2025, Oral Presentation. [Received URTeC Best of Paper Award]
- Sirorattanakul, K., Fang, Z., An, J., Ruby, N., Tavakoli, R., Palmer, J., and Comiskey, C., Modeling and Forecasting Wastewater Disposal Induced Seismicity in the Delaware Basin, Seismological Society of America Annual Meeting, Baltimore, USA, April 14-18, 2025, Oral Presentation.