GeoTalk: meet Thanushika Gunatilake, researcher of earthquake impacts on geothermal energy

EGU Blogs » GeoLog » GeoTalk: meet Thanushika Gunatilake, researcher of earthquake impacts on geothermal energy

GeoTalk: meet Thanushika Gunatilake, researcher of earthquake impacts on geothermal energy

Hello Thanushika – welcome to GeoTalk! Before we delve deeper, could you introduce yourself to our readers?

Thank you for having me! I’m Thanushika Gunatilake, an Assistant Professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. My research connects natural and human-induced processes in the Earth’s crust; from earthquake nucleation in the central Apennines, subduction dynamics, and volcanic activity, to geothermal energy production and CO₂ storage, where fluid injections can trigger seismicity. By linking these systems, I aim to understand how fluid flow, pressure changes, and rock deformation interact, helping us use the subsurface more safely and sustainably.

How do earthquakes and volcanic activity affect energy systems, such as geothermal exploration or carbon dioxide sequestration?

For me, the connection is quite natural: the physics is always the same. Whether we talk about an active volcano, a subduction zone, or an engineered geothermal system, it all comes down to pressure changes in the subsurface. When fluids are injected, heated, or mobilised, they alter the stress field, which can trigger seismic events. I try to understand these pressure–stress interactions through physics-based numerical models, linking natural processes to engineered systems. This helps us learn from nature, where fluids and faults have interacted for millions of years, to design safer and more resilient energy systems today.

Read more here