09.11.2015: From October 31 to November 6 the “1^st Sino-German Workshop on Seismic Rupture and Faulting” on earthquake research took place in Chengdu, China, initiated by the Chinese Academy of Geosciences and GFZ.

With the participation of 75 scientists from China and Germany Dr. Anja Schleicher, GFZ section Inorganic and Isotope Geochemistry, Dr. Christoph Janssen, GFZ section Geomechanics and Rheology, and Dr. Thomas Wiersberg, Scientific Drilling, discussed ways of future research collaborations in the field of earthquake research.

First results from the Wenchuan Fault Scientific Drilling project were discussed in the context of what is known from scientific fault zone drilling of other marine (IODP) and continental (ICDP) drilling projects. The Wenchuan Fault Scientific Drilling Project was initiated in 2009 in response to the 8.1 magnitude earthquake that hit the area on May 12, 2008. Visit the memorial site for the victims of the earthquake emphasized the high societal relevance of a better understanding of the topic.