Hiroko Kitajima
  • Associate Professor and Texas A&M Presidential Impact Fellow
  • Francesco Paolo di Gangi/Heep Endowed Professorship in Theoretical Geophysics
  • Graduate Director
  • Experimental Rock and Soil Mechanics
Research Areas
  • Earth Resources & Resilience
  • Environmental & Engineering Geology & Geophysics
  • The Earth System & Other Planetary Bodies

Biography

Experience

  • Associate Professor, Texas A&M University, 2020 – present
  • Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University, 2014 – 2020
  • Researcher, Geological Survey of Japan, 2012 – 2014
  • Postdoctoral Scholar, The Pennsylvania State University, 2010 – 2012

Research Interests

My research interest is experimental rock and soil mechanics to characterize the hydromechanical properties of rocks and sediments deformed at different pressure, temperature, and strain rate conditions. With the aim of better understanding a wide range of geological problems, I combine lab experimental work with numerical modeling, geophysical data, and field work including ocean/continental drilling projects. Current research focuses on understanding (1) the interaction between sediment/rock deformation and fluid flow under complicated loading conditions associated with earthquakes in subduction zones, and (2) the micromechanics of compaction and shear deformation and on granular materials at high strain rates and high pressures.

Research Websites


Research Focus

  • Experimental Rock and Soil Mechanics

Educational Background

  • Ph.D., Texas A&M University, 2010
  • B.S., Kyoto University, 2004

Awards & Honors

  • 2022 Asahiko Taira International Scientific Ocean Drilling Research Prize, American Geophysical Union and Japan Geoscience Union

  • 2019 National Science Foundation CAREER Award

  • 2010-2012 NSF-MARGINS/GeoPRISMS Post-Doctoral Fellowship

  • 2006-2008 U.S. Science Support Program Schlanger Ocean Drilling Fellowship

Selected Publications

  • Jeppson, T. N., & Kitajima, H. (2022). Velocity‐Porosity Relations in Carbonate and Siliciclastic Subduction Zone Input Materials. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 23(1), e2021GC010074.

  • Kitamura, M., Kitajima, H., Sone, H., Hamada, Y. & Hirose, T. (2019). Strength of the inner Nankai accretionary prism at IODP Site C0002, Geophysical Research Letters, 46(19), 10791-10799. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL083732

  • Valdez, R.D. II, Kitajima H., & D. M. Saffer (2019). Effects of temperature on the frictional behavior of material from the Alpine Fault Zone, New Zealand, Tectonophysics, 762(5), 17-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2019.04.022

  • Kitajima, H., Saffer, D. M., Sone, H., Tobin, H., & Hirose T. (2017). In Situ Stress and Pore Pressure in the Deep Interior of the Nankai Accretionary Prism, Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Site C0002, Geophysical Research Letters, 44, 9644-9652. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL075127

  • Scuderi, M. M., Kitajima, H. , Carpenter, B. M., Saffer, D. M., & Marone C. (2015) Evolution of permeability across the transition from brittle failure to cataclastic flow in porous siltstone, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 16,  2980-2993. https://doi:10.1002/2015GC005932

  • Kitajima, H., & Saffer, D. M. (2014).Consolidation state of incoming sediments to the Nankai Trough subduction zone: Implications for sediment deformation and properties, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 15, 2821-2839. https://doi:10.1002/2014GC005360

  • French, M. E., Kitajima, H., Chester, J. S., Chester, F. M., & Hirose, T. (2014). Displacement and dynamic weakening processes in smectite-rich gouge from the Central Deforming Zone of the San Andreas Fault, Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth, 119, 1777–1802. https://doi:10.1002/2013JB010757

  • Kitajima, H., & Saffer, D. M. (2012). Elevated pore pressure and anomalously low stress in regions of low frequency earthquakes along the Nankai Trough subduction megathrust, Geophysical Research Letters, 39, L23301. https://doi:10.1029/2012GL053793 (Note: Selected GRL editor’s highlight and AGU Research Spotlight in EOS.)

  • Kitajima, H., Chester, F. M., & Biscontin, G. (2012). Mechanical and hydraulic properties of Nankai accretionary prism sediments: Effect of stress path, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 13, Q0AD27. https://doi:10.1029/2012GC004124

  • Kitajima, H., F. M. Chester, and J. S. Chester (2011), Dynamic weakening of gouge layers in high-speed shear experiments: Assessment of temperature-dependent friction, thermal pressurization, and flash heating, J. Geophys. Res., 116, B08309, doi:10.1029/2009JB007879

  • Kitajima, H., Chester, J. S. Chester, F. M.& Shimamoto T. (2010), High-speed friction of disaggregated ultracataclasite in rotary shear: Characterization of frictional heating, mechanical behavior, and microstructure evolution, Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth, 115, B08408. https://doi:10.1029/2009JB007038