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Mid-Term Evaluation Defense for Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Aqeel Abbas Successfully Conducted

On the morning of March 5, 2025, the mid-term evaluation defense for Dr. Aqeel Abbas, a foreign postdoctoral researcher from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Shenzhen Research Institute (SZRI), was successfully convened.Dr. Aqeel Abbas is a member of the Seismology Lab, led by Professor Hongfeng Yang at CUHK-SZRI.

The defense was conducted in a hybrid format, both online and on-site, in the conference room on the second floor of Shenzhen Virtual University Park. The evaluation committee consisted of distinguished experts, including Professor Hongfeng Yang from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Professor Min Xu from the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Professor Hongyu Yu from Zhejiang University，Associate Professor Chunquan Yu from the Southern University of Science and Technology，and Associate Professor Haoran Meng from the Southern University of Science and Technology. The committee reviewed and assessed Dr. Abbas’s research report. Other participants included Ms. Haiyan Zhao from the Postdoctoral Workstation of Shenzhen Virtual University Park, Dr. Jinping Zi from the seismology lab of CUHK-SZRI, and Ms. Siqi Xu, postdoctoral administrator of CUHK-SZRI.

Dr. Aqeel Abbas delivered a presentation entitled “Deciphering the injected fluid pathways and distinguishing fluid flow from pore pressure diffusion.” This study focuses on the Shuangshi Town in the Weiyuan shale gas field and investigates the migration patterns of injection-induced seismicity as well as structural constraints. Based on field observations, the study identifies fluid migration pathways and assesses their impact on fault activation and low-frequency seismic waveforms. It also distinguishes between pore pressure diffusion and fluid migration processes, reveals their respective roles in fault weakening and waveform attenuation.

The review panel carefully listened to Dr. Aqeel Abbas’s presentation, engaged in in-depth discussions on his postdoctoral research, and offered valuable comments and suggestions. His supervisor, Prof. Hongfeng Yang, provided a concise summary of the key points raised by the experts. Finally, the defense committee experts unanimously agreed that Dr. Aqeel Abbas, as an international postdoctoral researcher, demonstrates exceptional research capability and strong scientific potential, with outstanding overall performance, and the evaluation result was rated as "Excellent."

Dr. Aqeel Abbas's stage research results during postdoc:

1.     Abbas. A, J. Zi, H. Yang (2026), 3D Attenuation Constraints on HF induced Microseismicity in the Weiyuan Shale Gas Field, Abstract accepted in AOGS, Japan (Session: SE36)

2.  Abbas. A, J. Zi, H. Yang (2026), Seismic Attenuation as Direct Evidence Tracking Fluid Movement, Abstract accepted in AOGS, Japan (Session: SE36)

The Seismology Laboratory at the CUHK-SZRI is dedicated to studying subduction-zone earthquakes and dynamics using ocean-bottom seismometers, imaging fault-zone structures with dense-array seismometers, detecting and investigating mechanisms of induced seismicity, and simulating earthquake rupture processes to assess seismic hazard. The lab is led by Prof. Hongfeng Yang, Research Fellow at CUHK-SZRI and faculty member of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, CUHK, and currently hosts two postdoctoral fellows.