BrainMap

Felix Borleanu

- INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA PAMANTULUI - INCDFP RA

Researcher | Teaching staff | Scientific reviewer | Consultant

I'm a physicist with a strong enthusiasm for understanding Earth's processes and a drive for innovation. My research spans several key areas, including ambient noise analyses, seismic imaging, seismic sources, monitoring seismic activity, and seismic wave propagation.

Expertise & keywords

Noise versus signal: frontier seismic imaging in Eastern Europe Call name: P 4 - Proiecte de Cercetare Exploratorie, 2020
PN-III-P4-ID-PCE-2020-2972 2021 - 2024

Role in this project:

Coordinating institution: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA PAMANTULUI - INCDFP RA

Project partners: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA PAMANTULUI - INCDFP RA (RO)

Affiliation:

Project website: https://eensane.infp.ro

Abstract:

Seismic noise is considered a nuisance to most seismological applications, obscuring meaningful signal and hampering observations. Recent advances in seismic imaging techniques, however, proved that noise is in fact an excellent resource that, not only can provide better resolution for imaging, but can reduce the amount of numerical artifacts in the final images. In this project we propose to use seismic noise to our advantage to transform every single seismic station in Eastern Europe into a virtual source and apply state-of-the art seismic imaging techniques, using data from broadband seismic stations in Eastern Europe to construct the highest resolution 3D seismic images of the lithosphere in the Carpathian-Panonian Region. This is an excellent natural laboratory to study fundamental geological processes such as the evolution of extensional basins, collisional orogens and back-arc volcanism, oceanic subduction, or anomalous earthquake-generating slab break-off. Our results will provide fundamental insights into the geological processes that shaped the Carpathian-Pannonian region, and will provide essential ground motion parameters, useful for civil engineering applications and seismic hazard and risk assessment in socio-economic developing countries of Eastern Europe.

Analysis and Forecasting of ROmanian Seismicity Call name: P 4 - Proiecte de Cercetare Exploratorie, 2020
PN-III-P4-ID-PCE-2020-1361 2021 - 2023

Role in this project:

Coordinating institution: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA PAMANTULUI - INCDFP RA

Project partners: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA PAMANTULUI - INCDFP RA (RO)

Affiliation:

Project website: http://afros.infp.ro/

Abstract:

The territory of Romania is characterized by moderate to high seismicity. Notably, the Vrancea zone is known for producing relatively large intermediate-depth earthquakes that pose a high risk for the capital Bucharest and other Romanian cities. Other regions, like Galati, have also experienced recently shallow significant seismic activity that impacted the Galati city and neighboring areas. Here we propose to build a comprehensive analysis and forecasting system for Romanian's seismicity, based on state-of-the-art forecasting models that are currently in use in seismic countries like US, Japan, Italy and Greece. We are planning to use advanced statistical and machine-learning tools to quantify the spatial and temporal features of Romanian seismicity that can be used for short (days to weeks) and medium (several months to one year) earthquake forecasts. The scientific results of the project will be published in international journals and on a dedicated website that finally aims to present real time forecasting information.

Data-Intensive Study of intermediate-depth and shallow Seismic Activity in Romania: from regular earthquakes to tectonic tremor Call name: P 1 - SP 1.1 - Proiecte de cercetare pentru stimularea tinerelor echipe independente
PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2019-1797 2021 - 2023

Role in this project:

Coordinating institution: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA PAMANTULUI - INCDFP RA

Project partners: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA PAMANTULUI - INCDFP RA (RO)

Affiliation: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA PAMANTULUI - INCDFP RA (RO)

Project website: https://eqtremors.infp.ro/index.php

Abstract:

Processes accommodating seismic energy release during the seismic cycle of large earthquakes span a wide range of scales from regular earthquakes to long duration slow-slip events. The ability to outline in fine detail the space-time pattern of the seismic energy release activity occurring at different time and space scale is a key for understanding the physics of deformational processes in tectonically active areas and improving the earthquake forecasting and seismic hazard assessment. Rapid evolution and densification of seismic networks, and continuously growing computational resources provide new opportunities for exploring seismic sources at new temporal and frequency scales significantly improving the levels of detectability. This, however, requires advanced automated methods that can fully exploit coherency of seismic signals over wide range of wavelengths and frequencies, recorded across dense arrays of stations. With the availability of advanced numerical methods and computational resources, it is now more than ever timely to tackle these problems.

This project aims on developing a new framework for evaluation and communication of seismic hazard and advance the understanding of the multi-scale seismic energy release processes associated to the different seismically active environments in Romania. The framework of the project will deliver cutting-edge automatic data-intensive scheme for detection, location and characterization of seismic sources. This will be a first application in Romania, targeting a fully automatic processing of the large volumes of continuous seismological data. The project will have important implication in understanding the seismogenic potential of active faults and plate interphases, and estimation of seismic hazard in the tectonically active regions. It will also provide an important chance to a young team to contribute to the development of new research directions gaining experience and independence.

Platforma virtuala de colectare si analiza interactiva a datelor geofizice multidisciplinare Call name: P 2 - SP 2.1 - Proiect experimental - demonstrativ
PN-III-P2-2.1-PED-2019-1693 2020 - 2022

Role in this project:

Coordinating institution: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA PAMANTULUI - INCDFP RA

Project partners: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA PAMANTULUI - INCDFP RA (RO)

Affiliation: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA PAMANTULUI - INCDFP RA (RO)

Project website: http://phenomenal.infp.ro/

Abstract:

The project was conceived as an answer to users' questions and demands, and their needs have led us to put the basis of the proposal. The final result of the project will be a functional integrated geophysical platform, that will offer public access to information related to: the temporal correlation between global, regional and national seismicity, catalogues, interactive maps and videos; the macroseismic field and maps of all moderate and large Romanian recent and future crustal and subcrustal earthquakes; and the behavior of the geomagnetic field recorded in the last twenty years at stations inside and outside Vrancea seismogenic zone, represented as temporal diagrams with a length decided by the user, and correlated with seismicity and magnetic storms. The platform will also collect, through questionnaires, macroseismic info after an earthquake, offering in return real time answers with the seismic intensity and related explanations and also users’ information on abnormal behavior of animal, clouds, air or water temperature, unexplained atmospheric electricity, or gas emissions that might be assimilated as earthquakes precursors, and an automat alert will be issued to a technician, when the answers number will exceed a normal daily average, for manual processing. This service is necessary for the worried citizens, local authorities, decision makers and emergency situation departments, to be aware of the real situation of seismic or geomagnetic activity. The platform will aggregate a series of institutional data products and data collected from external agencies. The platform architecture will be modular, based on microservices responsible for data synchronization and the generation of products from which the user will create selections based on available data parameters. Behind each service there will be researches that will create tools for seismic and magnetic activity patterns recognition and predictive models for recognizing anomalies will be generated.

Mobilitate cercetător Felix Victor Laurentiu Borleanu Call name: P 1 - SP 1.1 - Proiecte de mobilitate pentru cercetatori, 2019
PN-III-P1-1.1-MC-2019-2118 2019 - 2019

Role in this project:

Coordinating institution: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA PAMANTULUI - INCDFP RA

Project partners: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA PAMANTULUI - INCDFP RA (RO)

Affiliation: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA PAMANTULUI - INCDFP RA (RO)

Project website:

Abstract:

Advanced research on ambient seismic noise field in Romania Call name: Projects for Young Research Teams - RUTE -2014 call
PN-II-RU-TE-2014-4-0701 2015 - 2017

Role in this project:

Coordinating institution: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA PAMANTULUI - INCDFP RA

Project partners: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA PAMANTULUI - INCDFP RA (RO)

Affiliation: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA PAMANTULUI - INCDFP RA (RO)

Project website: http://reason.infp.ro

Abstract:

The project focuses on improving the knowledge of the nature and origin of the ambient seismic noise wavefield recorded on the Romanian territory and on the use of ambient seismic noise to monitor slight changes of properties in the solid Earth. To reach this goals, several important aspects are considered and answered within this project: i) characterization of the ambient seismic noise in urban environment and investigation of the influence of the noise variations on the H/V ratios; ii) characterization of the ambient seismic noise at two arrays that are part of the Romanian seismic network and investigation of the influence of noise level variations on the detection capabilities of the two arrays; iii) identifying the sources responsible for generation of the noise in the high frequency range as well as in the microseismic frequency band; iv) investigation of the influence of the nature of the noise field on noise cross correlations and their dispersion curves; v) noise based monitoring of the areas where recent crustal earthquakes occurred in Romania. The results of the project can be used for microzonation studies, to reduce the noise in the data of the array networks used for monitoring the nuclear explosions or for seismic early warnings, to develop new approaches to forecast earthquakes based on noise based monitoring of the potentially destructive structures, like active faults.

DAMS SAFETY DURING LARGE DESTRUCTIVE EARTHQUAKES: EVALUATION, IMPROVEMENT, MONITORING, WARNING AND EMERGENCY ACTION PLANS Call name: Joint Applied Research Projects - PCCA 2013 - call
PN-II-PT-PCCA-2013-4-1909 2014 - 2017

Role in this project:

Coordinating institution: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA PAMANTULUI - INCDFP RA

Project partners: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA PAMANTULUI - INCDFP RA (RO); GEOTEC CONSULTING S.R.L. (RO); TERRASIGNA SRL (RO)

Affiliation: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA PAMANTULUI - INCDFP RA (RO)

Project website: http://daring.infp.ro/

Abstract:

DARING will develop a scientific based practical instrument in preventing and mitigating the devastating effects of large dams breakage caused by destructive earthquakes. Taking advantages of the consortium experience accumulated in hazard and risk assessment, monitoring and warning accordingly to novel geophysical and seismological theories, observations and models, the project involves the technological means in creating a powerful operational tool which will be used to increase the safety level of the downstream territories, improving life's quality and diminishing possibly huge losses.

The project gathers high level scientific knowledge on probabilistic hazard, vulnerability and seismic risk assessment, using seismic, geophysical, and InSAR approaches, and practical activities of real time monitoring to construct an effective warning and informing application, with both theoretical and material benefits. From this point of view, the project constitutes a turntable which combines the theoretical models and practical observations to produce an output of augmented scientific and practical results.

Three major directions will be developed in this project, to reach its final objective, to provide the emergency services with warnings of a potential dam failure and ensuing flood, allowing further public notification and evacuation:

1. Research area

Probabilistic seismic hazard (PSH), vulnerability and risk in 6 counties from Moldova region including Izvorul Muntelui Dam, down on Bistrita and following on Siret River and theirs affluent. A number of more than 30 dams will be studied and two of the most vulnerable will be chosen for monitoring and warning, as pilot sites, following an extension to the scale of the entire country. Flooding maps will be drawn to find the most exposed downstream localities both for risk assessment studies and warnings.

2. Monitoring dams, lakes, slopes and downstream

Ground and space-based technologies will allow to record and characterize the behavior of the structure, terrain and slopes' stability of studied sites and to corroborate this information with the water quantity currently retained in these hydrological accumulations, and with the meteorological data.

We propose a model of seismic vibration monitoring, one water-level meter in the upstream, 3 floating triggered switches at different elevations for rapid water level changes detection in the downstream and one meteorological station, while satellite interferometric radar observations will provide data regarding millimeters displacements of slopes over long periods.

3. Information and warning system

This is the immediate practical output of the project, which will be performed in 2 steps: local warnings, triggered by strong motion accelerometers system, at large vibrations of different typologies affecting the dam site and/or quickly rising water levels in the downstream triggered by the water level meters and the float switches and early regional warning in the case of a large Vrancea earthquake, triggered by the system already installed in the epicentral zone.

The last product of the project will be a dedicated web portal which will present the seismicity, the seismic hazard and risk values, the geophysical map revealing floodable areas, potential risk and affected localities.

The Romanian Educational Seismic Network Call name: Joint Applied Research Projects - PCCA-2011 call, Type 2
PN-II-PT-PCCA-2011-3.2-1138 2012 - 2016

Role in this project: Key expert

Coordinating institution: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA PAMANTULUI - INCDFP RA

Project partners: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA PAMANTULUI - INCDFP RA (RO); INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE IN CONSTRUCTII, URBANISM SI DEZVOLTARE TERITORIALA DURABILA "URBAN-INCERC" (RO); UNIVERSITATEA BABES BOLYAI (RO); BETA SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT S.A. (RO)

Affiliation: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU FIZICA PAMANTULUI - INCDFP RA (RO)

Project website: http://www.roeduseis.ro

Abstract:

Increasing our knowledge about the earthquake phenomena and their effects at the earth surface is an important step toward the education of population in high seismic risk regions and can contribute to raise the awareness about the earthquake risk and possible mitigation actions. A pilot program called The Romanian Educational Seismic Network (RoEduSeis-Net) will be implemented to all levels of preuniversity education throughout Romania. In this direction two viable paths will be experimented in seismic risk educational efforts. The first one has an immediate impact, and it is strongly based on traditional communication supports as booklets, brochures, web sites, public seminars, teacher training and conferences. This is mainly dedicated to nursery, primary and secondary school cycle. The alternative approach is instead grounded on advanced technologies and use of web-oriented accessible tools. The project goal is to create a community for education in seismology where teachers and students run simple and inexpensive seismometer systems for detect earthquakes. This approach is willing to make high-school students the main actors of the scientific experience about earthquakes, by leading them along the laboratory research trail, made of seismogram observation, measurement, analysis and interpretation. In addition, three interactive exhibits will be developed by the project partners aiming to increase the student and public awareness on seismic risk using advanced scientific equipment and real laboratory experiences aided and maintained by specialized technical staff. Driven by the high-tech development of earthquake observation systems, the educational seismology in schools can represent a suitable, integrated environment which makes students, active users of modern technologies rather than passive consumers and the selected vehicle for such training is the seismological observation.

FILE DESCRIPTION	DOCUMENT
List of research grants as project coordinator or partner team leader
Significant R&D projects for enterprises, as project manager
R&D activities in enterprises
Peer-review activity for international programs/projects