Science and Engineering at The University of Edinburgh

Ian is a seismologist with a strong interest in the properties of rocks undergoing brittle deformation. He studies the nature of the earthquake source, the population dynamics of earthquakes as a complex non-linear system, and the practical applications of earthquake mechanics and tectonics to calculations of seismic and volcanic hazard. On a laboratory scale he works on the experimental determination of fluid-rock interactions such as sub-critical crack growth (in rocks and building materials) and the effect of fracturing on fluid flow and transport through porous media undergoing deformation.

Current projects involve modelling time dependent deformation and its application to rock failure and seismic/volcanic hazard; earthquake statistics, especially triggering phenomena; the effect of stress, faults and fractures on correlations in flow rates in oil reservoirs; and identifying reservoir compartments, with application to enhanced oil recovery and CO2 storage. He is also working on applications of a recently-developed statistical reservoir model - the COFFERS module.

Recently-completed projects include the NERIES and TRIGS EU projects on seismic hazard and earthquake triggering, a set of field trials to test the COFFERS module (DBERR RESURGE project), complexity in earthquake and fault populations (as part of the NANIA consortium), and the predictability of volcanic eruptions (EU VOLCALERT project - Click here for 12-minute introductory animation.

He has just completed a 4-year term as founding co-director of the Edinburgh Collaborative of Subsurface Science and Engineering (ecosse), a joint research institute of the Edinburgh Regional Partnership in Engineering and Mathematics (ERPem). He is currently a member of the Research Advisory Forum of the Scottish Energy Technology Partnership (ETP) and a member of the International commission on earthquake forecasting for civil protection following the destructive earthquake in L'Aquila, Italy.

He gave the Bullerwell lecture in Geophysics in 1997, and moderated the Nature debate on earthquake prediction in 1999. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) in 2009, and is currently a full-time RSE research fellow, funded by the Scottish Government.

Phone: +44 131 650 4911
Fax: +44 131 668 3184
Email: ian.main[at]ed.ac.uk