Marine Denolle
February 28, 2024
80 mph speed record for glacier fracture helps reveal the physics of ice sheet collapse
![drawing of glacier partly above and partly below water](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/02/27141503/Antarctic-Illustration-150x150.jpg)
New research documents the fastest-known large-scale breakage along an Antarctic ice shelf. In 2012, a 6.5-mile crack formed in about 5 and a half minutes, showing that ice shelves can effectively shatter, though the speed of breakage is reduced by seawater rushing in. These results can help improve ice-sheet models and projections for future sea level rise.
January 29, 2024
Q&A: How ‘slow slip’ earthquakes may be driven by deep hydraulic fracturing
![gray rock with lines through it](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/01/29093739/ArosaVeins-scaled-e1706549884883-150x150.jpg)
New research confirms the cause of slow slip along the Cascadia Subduction Zone and other faults that is accompanied by intermittent tremors or “pops” at the surface. Co-authors Marine Denolle and Joan Gomberg discuss the role of fluid-driven fracturing deep underground.
August 17, 2022
New UW Photonic Sensing Facility will use fiber-optic cables for seismic sensing, glaciology and more
![jumble of yellow cables](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/08/17102946/FiberOpticCloseup-150x150.jpg)
A University of Washington pilot project is exploring the use of fiber-optic sensing for seismology, glaciology, and even urban monitoring. Funded in part with a $473,000 grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, a nonprofit based in Vancouver, Washington, the new UW Photonic Sensing Facility will use photons traveling through a fiber-optic cable to detect ground motions as small as 1 nanometer.