Sylvain Barbot

• Postdoctoral Scholar, California Institute of Technology, 2009-2012

Summary Statement of Research Interests

My research focuses on understanding the dynamics of the lithosphere-asthenosphere system at time scales relevant to the seismic cycle. My work revolves around modeling seismic and geodetic data with the long-term goal of improving resilience to seismic hazards.

Research Keywords

Geodesy, fault and bulk rheology, numerical modeling

Research Specialties

Geophysics

Journal Article

• Sathiakumar, S., Barbot, S., Hubbard, J. (2024). The role of fault structural evolution on long-term slip rates and seismic cycles in the Himalayan orogenic wedge. Earth. Planet. Sci. Lett..
• Barbot, S. (2024). Transient and steady-state friction in non-isobaric conditions. Geochem., Geophys. & Geosys..
• Xu, H., Barbot, S., Wang, T. (2024). Remote sensing through the fog of war: Infrastructure damage and environmental change during the Russian-Ukrainian conflict revealed by open-access data. Natural Hazards Research.
• Barbot, S., Zhang, L. (2023). Constitutive behavior of olivine gouge across the brittle-ductile transition. Geophys. Res. Lett..
• Barbot, S. (2023). Motorcycle: A spectral boundary-integral method for seismic cycles on multiple faults. J. Open Source Software.
• Julve, J., Barbot, S., Moreno, M., Araya, R., Catalan, N., Crempien, J., Becerra, V. (2023). Size and timing of megathrust earthquakes controlled by rock composition and forearc structure in Southern Chile. Nature Geosciences.
• Shen, F., Wang, L., Barbot, S. (2023). North China as a mechanical bridge linking Pacific subduction and extrusion of the Tibetan plateau. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett..
• Barbot, S. (2023). Constitutive behavior of rocks during the seismic cycle. AGU Advances.
• Gauriau, J., Barbot, S., Dolan, J. (2023). Islands of chaos in a sea of periodic earthquakes. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett..
• Barbot, S. (2023). Three-dimensional kinematics of the India-Eurasia collision. Comm. Earth & Env..
• Barbot, S., Luo, H., Wang, T., Piatibratova, O., Javed, M., Braitenberg, C., Gurbuz, G. (2023). Slip distribution of the February 6, 2023 Mw 7.8 and Mw 7.6, Kahramanmaras, Turkey earthquake sequence in the East Anatolian Fault Zone. Seismica.
• Erickson, B., Barbot, S. (2023). Incorporating full elastodynamic effects and dipping fault geometries in community code verification exercises for simulations of earthquake sequences and aseismic slip. Bull. Seism. Soc. Am..
• Wang, B., Barbot, S. (2023). Pulse-like ruptures, seismic swarms, and tremorgenic slow-slip events with thermally activated friction. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett..
• Javed, M., Barbot, S., Javed, F., Ali, A., Braitenberg, C. (2022). Blind rupture at a frontal ramp of the Suleiman thrust-and-fold belt, Pakistan. Geophys. Res. Lett..
• Barbot, S. (2022). A rate-, state-, and temperature-dependent friction law with competing healing mechanisms. J. Geophys. Res..
• Shi, P., Wei, M., Barbot, S. (2022). Contribution of viscoelastic stress to the synchronization of earthquake cycles on oceanic transform faults. J. Geophys. Res..
• Nie, S., Barbot, S. (2022). Rupture styles linked to recurrence patterns in seismic cycles with a compliant fault zone. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett..
• Qiang, Q., Barbot, S. (2022). Tsunami excitation in the outer wedge of global subduction zones. Earth Science Reviews.
• Jiang, J., Barbot, S. (2022). Community-driven code comparisons for three-dimensional dynamic modeling of sequences of earthquakes and aseismic slip (SEAS). J. Geophys. Res..
• Nie, S., Barbot, S. (2021). Seismogenic and tremorgenic slow slip near the stability transition of frictional sliding. EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS. Vol. 569
• Barbot, S. (2021). A Spectral Boundary-Integral Method for Quasi-Dynamic Ruptures of Multiple Parallel Faults. BULLETIN OF THE SEISMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA. Vol. 111 (3), pp. 1614-1630.
• Sathiakumar, S., Barbot, S. (2021). The stop-start control of seismicity by fault bends along the Main Himalayan Thrust. COMMUNICATIONS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT. Vol. 2 (1)
• Mei, C., Barbot, S., Wu, W. (2021). Period-Multiplying Cycles at the Transition Between Stick-Slip and Stable Sliding and Implications for the Parkfield Period-Doubling Tremors. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS. Vol. 48 (7)
• Hang, Y., Barbot, S., Dauwels, J., Wang, T., Nanjundiah, P., Qiu, Q. (2020). Outlier-insensitive Bayesian inference for linear inverse problems (OutIBI) with applications to space geodetic data. Geophysical Journal International. Vol. 221 (1), pp. 334-350.
• Shi, Q., Barbot, S., Wei, S., Tapponnier, P., Matsuzawa, T., Shibazaki, B. (2020). Structural control and system-level behavior of the seismic cycle at the Nankai Trough. Earth Planets and Space. Vol. 72 (1)
• Erickson, B. A., Jiang, J., Barall, M., Lapusta, N., Dunham, E. M., Harris, R., Abrahams, L. S., Allison, K. L., Ampuero, J., Barbot, S., Cattania, C., Elbanna, A., Fialko, Y., Idini, B., Kozdon, J. E., Lambert, V., Liu, Y., Luo, Y., Ma, X., McKay, M. B., Segall, P., Shi, P., van den Ende, M., Wei, M. (2020). The Community Code Verification Exercise for Simulating Sequences of Earthquakes and Aseismic Slip (SEAS). Seismological Research Letters. Vol. 91 (2), pp. 874-890.
• Nanjundiah, P., Barbot, S., Wei, S. (2020). Static Source Properties of Slow and Fast Earthquakes. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH. Vol. 125 (12)
• Veedu, D. M., Giorgetti, C., Scuderi, M., Barbot, S., Marone, C., Collettini, C. (2020). Bifurcations at the Stability Transition of Earthquake Faulting. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS. Vol. 47 (19)
• Tang, C., Barbot, S., Hsu, Y., Wu, Y. (2020). Heterogeneous Power-Law Flow With Transient Creep in Southern California Following the 2010 El Mayor-Cucapah Earthquake. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH. Vol. 125 (9)
• Wang, L., Barbot, S. (2020). Excitation of San Andreas tremors by thermal instabilities below the seismogenic zone. SCIENCE ADVANCES. Vol. 6 (36)
• Barbot, S. (2020). Mantle flow distribution beneath the California margin. NATURE COMMUNICATIONS. Vol. 11 (1)
• Qiu, Q., Barbot, S., Wang, T., Wei, S. (2020). Slip Complementarity and Triggering between the Foreshock, Mainshock, and Afterslip of the 2019 Ridgecrest Rupture Sequence. BULLETIN OF THE SEISMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA. Vol. 110 (4), pp. 1701-1715.
• Sathiakumar, S., Barbot, S., Hubbard, J. (2020). Earthquake Cycles in Fault-Bend Folds. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH. Vol. 125 (8)
• Barbot, S. (2020). Frictional and structural controls of seismic super-cycles at the Japan trench. EARTH PLANETS AND SPACE. Vol. 72 (1)
• Barbot, S. (2019). Modulation of fault strength during the seismic cycle by grain-size evolution around contact junctions. Tectonophysics. Vol. 765, pp. 129-145.
• Barbot, S. (2019). Slow-slip, slow earthquakes, period-two cycles, full and partial ruptures, and deterministic chaos in a single asperity fault. Tectonophysics. Vol. 768
• Barbot, S. (2019). Physics of Megathrust Earthquakes: Introduction. Pure and Applied Geophysics. Vol. 176 (9), pp. 3813-3814.
• Ong, S. Q., Barbot, S., Hubbard, J. (2019). Physics-Based Scenario of Earthquake Cycles on the Ventura Thrust System, California: The Effect of Variable Friction and Fault Geometry. Pure and Applied Geophysics. Vol. 176 (9), pp. 3993-4007.
• Masuti, S., Karato, S., Girard, J., Barbot, S. D. (2019). Anisotropic high-temperature creep in hydrous olivine single crystals and its geodynamic implications. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors. Vol. 290, pp. 1-9.
• Landry, W., Barbot, S. (2019). Fast, accurate solutions for 3D strain volumes in a heterogeneous half space. Computers & Geosciences. Vol. 125, pp. 109-114.
• Agata, R., Barbot, S. D., Fujita, K., Hyodo, M., Iinuma, T., Nakata, R., Ichimura, T., Hori, T. (2019). Rapid mantle flow with power-law creep explains deformation after the 2011 Tohoku mega-quake. Nature Communications. Vol. 10
• Tang, C., Hsu, Y., Barbot, S., Moore, J. D., Chang, W. (2019). Lower-crustal rheology and thermal gradient in the Taiwan orogenic belt illuminated by the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake. Science Advances. Vol. 5 (2)
• Weiss, J. R., Qiu, Q., Barbot, S., Wright, T. J., Foster, J. H., Saunders, A., Brooks, B. A., Bevis, M., Kendrick, E., Ericksen, T. L., Avery, J., Smalley, R. J., Cimbaro, S. R., Lenzano, L. E., Baron, J., Carlos Baez, J., Echalar, A. (2019). Illuminating subduction zone rheological properties in the wake of a giant earthquake. Science Advances. Vol. 5 (12)
• Rollins, C., Avouac, J., Landry, W., Argus, D. F., Barbot, S. (2018). Interseismic Strain Accumulation on Faults Beneath Los Angeles, California. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH. Vol. 123 (8), pp. 7126-7150.
• Karato, S., Barbot, S. (2018). Dynamics of fault motion and the origin of contrasting tectonic style between Earth and Venus. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS. Vol. 8
• Barbot, S. (2018). Deformation of a Half-Space from Anelastic Strain Confined in a Tetrahedral Volume. BULLETIN OF THE SEISMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA. Vol. 108 (5A), pp. 2687-2712.
• Barbot, S. (2018). Asthenosphere Flow Modulated by Megathrust Earthquake Cycles. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS. Vol. 45 (12), pp. 6018-6031.
• Landry, W., Barbot, S. (2018). Gamra: Simple meshing for complex earthquakes (vol 90, pg 49, 2016). COMPUTERS & GEOSCIENCES. Vol. 117, pp. 63-63.
• Wang, T., Shi, Q., Nikkhoo, M., Wei, S., Barbot, S., Dreger, D., Burgmann, R., Motagh, M., Chen, Q. (2018). The rise, collapse, and compaction of Mt. Mantap from the 3 September 2017 North Korean nuclear test. SCIENCE. Vol. 361 (6398), pp. 166-170.
• Chanard, K., Fleitout, L., Calais, E., Barbot, S., Avouac, J. (2018). Constraints on Transient Viscoelastic Rheology of the Asthenosphere From Seasonal Deformation. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS. Vol. 45 (5), pp. 2328-2338.
• Qiu, Q., Moore, J. D., Barbot, S., Feng, L., Hill, E. M. (2018). Transient rheology of the Sumatran mantle wedge revealed by a decade of great earthquakes. NATURE COMMUNICATIONS. Vol. 9
• Wang, T., Wei, S., Shi, X., Qiu, Q., Li, L., Peng, D., Weldon, R. J., Barbot, S. (2018). The 2016 Kaikoura earthquake: Simultaneous rupture of the subduction interface and overlying faults. EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS. Vol. 482, pp. 44-51.
• Sathiakumar, S., Barbot, S., Agram, P. (2017). Extending Resolution of Fault Slip With Geodetic Networks Through Optimal Network Design. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH. Vol. 122 (12), pp. 10538-10558.
• Salman, R., Hill, E. M., Feng, L., Lindsey, E. O., Veedu, D. M., Barbot, S., Banerjee, P., Hermawan, I., Natawidjaja, D. H. (2017). Piecemeal Rupture of the Mentawai Patch, Sumatra: The 2008 M-w 7.2 North Pagai Earthquake Sequence. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH. Vol. 122 (11), pp. 9404-9419.
• Feng, W., Lindsey, E., Barbot, S., Samsonov, S., Dai, K., Li, P., Li, Z., Almeida, R., Chen, J., Xu, X. (2017). Source characteristics of the 2015 M-w 7.8 Gorkha (Nepal) earthquake and its M-w 7.2 aftershock from space geodesy. TECTONOPHYSICS. Vol. 712, pp. 747-758.
• Barbot, S., Moore, J. D., Lambert, V. (2017). Displacement and Stress Associated with Distributed Anelastic Deformation in a Half-Space. BULLETIN OF THE SEISMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA. Vol. 107 (2), pp. 821-855.
• Moore, J. D., Yu, H., Tang, C., Wang, T., Barbot, S., Peng, D., Masuti, S., Dauwels, J., Hsu, Y., Lambert, V., Nanjundiah, P., Wei, S., Lindsey, E., Feng, L., Shibazaki, B. (2017). Imaging the distribution of transient viscosity after the 2016 M-w 7.1 Kumamoto earthquake. SCIENCE. Vol. 356 (6334), pp. 163-167.
• Singh, S. C., Hananto, N., Qin, Y., Leclerc, F., Avianto, P., Tapponnier, P. E., Carton, H., Wei, S., Nugroho, A. B., Gemilang, W. A., Sieh, K., Barbot, S. (2017). The discovery of a conjugate system of faults in the Wharton Basin intraplate deformation zone. SCIENCE ADVANCES. Vol. 3 (1)
• Veedu, D. M., Barbot, S. (2016). The Parkfield tremors reveal slow and fast ruptures on the same asperity. NATURE. Vol. 532 (7599)
• Tsang, L. L., Hill, E. M., Barbot, S., Qiu, Q., Feng, L., Hermawan, I., Banerjee, P., Natawidjaja, D. H. (2016). Afterslip following the 2007 M-w 8.4 Bengkulu earthquake in Sumatra loaded the 2010 M-w 7.8 Mentawai tsunami earthquake rupture zone. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH. Vol. 121 (12), pp. 9034-9049.
• Lambert, V., Barbot, S. (2016). Contribution of viscoelastic flow in earthquake cycles within the lithosphere-asthenosphere system. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS. Vol. 43 (19), pp. 10142-10154.
• Masuti, S., Barbot, S. D., Karato, S., Feng, L., Banerjee, P. (2016). Upper-mantle water stratification inferred from observations of the 2012 Indian Ocean earthquake. NATURE. Vol. 538 (7625), pp. 373-+.
• Feng, L., Barbot, S., Hill, E. M., Hermawan, I., Banerjee, P., Natawidjaja, D. H. (2016). Footprints of past earthquakes revealed in the afterslip of the 2010 M-w 7.8 Mentawai tsunami earthquake. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS. Vol. 43 (18), pp. 9518-9526.
• Qiu, Q., Hill, E. M., Barbot, S., Hubbard, J., Feng, W., Lindsey, E. O., Feng, L., Dai, K., Samsonov, S. V., Tapponnier, P. (2016). The mechanism of partial rupture of a locked megathrust: The role of fault morphology. GEOLOGY. Vol. 44 (10), pp. 875-878.
• Veedu, D. M., Barbot, S. (2016). The Parkfield tremors reveal slow and fast ruptures on the same asperity. Nature. Vol. 532 (7599), pp. 361-5.
• Landry, W., Barbot, S. (2016). Gamra: Simple meshing for complex earthquakes. COMPUTERS & GEOSCIENCES. Vol. 90, pp. 49-63.
• Hill, E. M., Yue, H., Barbot, S., Lay, T., Tapponnier, P., Hermawan, I., Hubbard, J., Banerjee, P., Feng, L., Natawidjaja, D., Sieh, K. (2015). The 2012 M(w)8.6 Wharton Basin sequence: A cascade of great earthquakes generated by near-orthogonal, young, oceanic mantle faults. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH. Vol. 120 (5), pp. 3723-3747.
• Rollins, C., Barbot, S., Avouac, J. (2015). Postseismic Deformation Following the 2010 El Mayor-Cucapah Earthquake: Observations, Kinematic Inversions, and Dynamic Models. PURE AND APPLIED GEOPHYSICS. Vol. 172 (5), pp. 1305-1358.
• Wei, S., Barbot, S., Graves, R., Lienkaemper, J. J., Wang, T., Hudnut, K., Fu, Y., Helmberger, D. (2015). The 2014 M-W 6.1 South Napa Earthquake: A Unilateral Rupture with Shallow Asperity and Rapid Afterslip. SEISMOLOGICAL RESEARCH LETTERS. Vol. 86 (2), pp. 344-354.
• Hubbard, J., Barbot, S., Hill, E. M., Tapponnier, P. (2015). Coseismic slip on shallow decollement megathrusts: implications for seismic and tsunami hazard. EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS. Vol. 141, pp. 45-55.
• Lindsey, E. O., Sahakian, V. J., Fialko, Y., Bock, Y., Barbot, S., Rockwell, T. K. (2014). Interseismic Strain Localization in the San Jacinto Fault Zone. PURE AND APPLIED GEOPHYSICS. Vol. 171 (11), pp. 2937-2954.
• Barbot, S., Agram, P., De Michele, M. (2013). Change of apparent segmentation of the San Andreas fault around Parkfield from space geodetic observations across multiple periods. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH. Vol. 118 (12), pp. 6311-6327.
• Chang, S., Avouac, J., Barbot, S., Lee, J. (2013). Spatially variable fault friction derived from dynamic modeling of aseismic afterslip due to the 2004 Parkfield earthquake. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH. Vol. 118 (7), pp. 3431-3447.
• Rousset, B., Barbot, S., Avouac, J., Hsu, Y. (2012). Postseismic deformation following the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake, Taiwan: Implication for lower-crust rheology. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH. Vol. 117
• Barbot, S., Lapusta, N., Avouac, J. (2012). Under the Hood of the Earthquake Machine: Toward Predictive Modeling of the Seismic Cycle. SCIENCE. Vol. 336 (6082), pp. 707-710.
• Bruhat, L., Barbot, S., Avouac, J. (2011). Evidence for postseismic deformation of the lower crust following the 2004 Mw6.0 Parkfield earthquake. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH. Vol. 116
• Barbot, S., Fialko, Y. (2010). A unified continuum representation of post-seismic relaxation mechanisms: semi-analytic models of afterslip, poroelastic rebound and viscoelastic flow. GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL. Vol. 182 (3), pp. 1124-1140.
• Barbot, S., Fialko, Y. (2010). Fourier-domain Green’s function for an elastic semi-infinite solid under gravity, with applications to earthquake and volcano deformation. GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL. Vol. 182 (2), pp. 568-582.
• Barbot, S., Fialko, Y., Sandwell, D. (2009). Three-dimensional models of elastostatic deformation in heterogeneous media, with applications to the Eastern California Shear Zone. GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL. Vol. 179 (1), pp. 500-520.
• Barbot, S., Fialko, Y., Bock, Y. (2009). Postseismic deformation due to the M-w 6.0 2004 Parkfield earthquake: Stress-driven creep on a fault with spatially variable rate-and-state friction parameters. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH. Vol. 114
• Cochran, E. S., Li, Y., Shearer, P. M., Barbot, S., Fialko, Y., Vidale, J. E. (2009). Seismic and geodetic evidence for extensive, long-lived fault damage zones. GEOLOGY. Vol. 37 (4), pp. 315-318.
• Barbot, S., Fialko, Y., Sandwell, D. (2008). Effect of a compliant fault zone on the inferred earthquake slip distribution. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH. Vol. 113 (B6)
• Barbot, S., Hamiel, Y., Fialko, Y. (2008). Space geodetic investigation of the coseismic and postseismic deformation due to the 2003 M(w)7.2 Altai earthquake: Implications for the local lithospheric rheology. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH. Vol. 113 (B3)
• Leprince, S., Barbot, S., Ayoub, F., Avouac, J. (2007). Automatic and precise orthorectification, coregistration, and subpixel correlation of satellite images, application to ground deformation measurements. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON GEOSCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING. Vol. 45 (6), pp. 1529-1558.