Anna Kelbert, Ph.D.
In 2006, I joined Oregon State University (OSU) in Corvallis, OR as a postdoctoral scholar.
While at OSU, I was a leading developer of the Modular Electromagnetic Inversion Software (ModEM), and supported a growing user base for this code. I contributed to the NSF's EarthScope USArray MT program through quality control, processing and archiving of the data in the years 2006-2015. I also contributed to multiple NSF projects focused in magnetotellurics, global electromagnetics, and development of metadata standards and cyberinfrastructure. I became an Assistant Professor (Senior Researcher) at OSU in July 2014, and joined the USGS Geomagnetism Program in Golden, CO in May 2015.
Research Interests
Geophysics
Composition of the Earth's crust and mantle as inferred from electrical conductivity of the solid Earth; magnetotelluric and other electromagnetic data interpretation and inversion at regional to global scales; water content and processes in global subduction settings; tectonics and magmatism of the North America; joint interpretation of electromagnetic, seismic and geodynamic models of the Earth's interior.
Hazards
Effects of space weather on electric power grids and pipelines; geomagnetic storms; geomagnetically induced currents (GIC); volcano imaging using electromagnetics.
Computing
Physics-based numerical modeling and high-performance computing; scientific workflows; semantics and controlled vocabularies for science; databases and frameworks for long-term sharing and storage of numerical models and data.
Active Projects
In the past 5 years, I developed a suite of data sharing tools for magnetotellurics, including a modern XML-based file format for transfer functions, open-source tools for data format conversions and the first publicly accessible, searchable database (SPUD EMTF), as well as a strategy for credit attribution with citable Data Object Identifiers (DOIs). Through these efforts, I am hoping to develop the culture of data sharing in the worldwide magnetotelluric community, and thereby enable next generation of scientific analysis. I continue to contribute, solicit external data contributions and provide support for data uploads and generation of citable DOIs for such data sets. If you have historic or recently collected magnetotelluric data in any format, and are willing and able to share your data set with the worldwide scientific community, I'd love to hear from you!
In my current role as a Research Geophysicist at the USGS Geomagnetism Program, I provide technical support to the NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) Geoelectric Field Maps data product that is currently in development. I provide scientific
Education and Certifications
2006 - Ph.D. in Mathematical Geophysics, Cardiff University, UK
2002 - B.A. in Mathematics, Cambridge University, UK
Science and Products
A 100-year geoelectric hazard analysis for the U.S. high-voltage power grid
Empirical estimation of natural geoelectric hazards
The first 3D conductivity model of the contiguous US: Reflections on geologic structure and application to induction hazards
Data sharing in magnetotellurics
Extreme‐value geoelectric amplitude and polarization across the northeast United States
Geoelectric hazard maps for the Pacific Northwest
On the feasibility of real-time mapping of the geoelectric field across North America
Calculation of voltages in electric power transmission lines during historic geomagnetic storms: An investigation using realistic earth impedances
Geoelectric hazard maps for the Mid-Atlantic United States: 100 year extreme values and the 1989 magnetic storm
Some results from ModEM3DMT, the freely available OSU 3D MT inversion code
Methodology for time-domain estimation of storm time geoelectric fields using the 3-D magnetotelluric response tensors
Geoelectric hazard maps for the continental United States
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 25
A 100-year geoelectric hazard analysis for the U.S. high-voltage power grid
A once-per-century geoelectric hazard map is created for the United States high-voltage power grid. A statistical extrapolation from 31 years of magnetic field measurements is made by identifying 84 geomagnetic storms with the Kp and Dst indices. Data from 24 geomagnetic observatories, 1079 magnetotelluric survey sites, and 17,258 transmission lines are utilized to perform a geoelectric hazardAuthorsGreg M. Lucas, Jeffrey J. Love, Anna Kelbert, Paul A. Bedrosian, E. Joshua RiglerEmpirical estimation of natural geoelectric hazards
Geoelectric field time series can be estimated by convolving estimates of Earth‐surface impedance, such as those obtained from magnetotelluric survey measurements, with historical records of geomagnetic variation obtained at magnetic observatories. This straightforward procedure permits the mapping of geoelectric field variation during magnetic storms. Statistical analysis of the time series allowAuthorsJeffrey J. Love, Paul A. Bedrosian, Anna Kelbert, Greg M. LucasThe first 3D conductivity model of the contiguous US: Reflections on geologic structure and application to induction hazards
Estimation of ground level geoelectric fields has been identified by the National Space Weather Action Plan as a key component of assessment and mitigation of space weather impacts on critical infrastructure. Estimates of spatially and temporally variable electric fields are used to generate statistically based hazard maps and show promise toward monitoring and responding to geomagnetic disturbancAuthorsAnna Kelbert, Paul A. Bedrosian, Benjamin S. MurphyData sharing in magnetotellurics
Here, we introduce the first openly available comprehensive database of magnetotelluric (MT) and related electromagnetic data that we developed and matured over the past decade, explain how to access the data, and describe the challenges that had to be overcome to make MT data sharing possible. The database is a helpful tool for MT scientists, and is widely used by the international scientific comAuthorsAnna Kelbert, Svetlana Erofeeva, Chad Trabant, Rich Karstens, Mickey C. Van FossenExtreme‐value geoelectric amplitude and polarization across the northeast United States
Maps are presented of extreme‐value geoelectric field amplitude and horizontal polarization for the Northeast United States. These maps are derived from geoelectric time series calculated for sites across the Northeast by frequency‐domain multiplication (time‐domain convolution) of 172 magnetotelluric impedance tensors, acquired during a survey, with decades‐long, 1‐min resolution time series of gAuthorsJeffrey J. Love, Greg M. Lucas, Paul A. Bedrosian, Anna KelbertGeoelectric hazard maps for the Pacific Northwest
Maps of extreme value, horizontal component geoelectric field amplitude are constructed for the Pacific Northwest United States (and parts of neighboring Canada). Multidecade long geoelectric field time series are calculated by convolving Earth surface impedance tensors from 71 discrete magnetotelluric survey sites across the region with historical 1‐min (2‐min Nyquist) geomagnetic variation timeAuthorsJeffrey J. Love, Greg M. Lucas, Anna Kelbert, Paul A. BedrosianOn the feasibility of real-time mapping of the geoelectric field across North America
A review is given of the present feasibility for accurately mapping geoelectric fields across North America in near-realtime by modeling geomagnetic monitoring and magnetotelluric survey data. Should this capability be successfully developed, it could inform utility companies of magnetic-storm interference on electric-power-grid systems. That real-time mapping of geoelectric fields is a challengeAuthorsJeffrey J. Love, E. Joshua Rigler, Anna Kelbert, Carol A. Finn, Paul A. Bedrosian, Christopher C. BalchCalculation of voltages in electric power transmission lines during historic geomagnetic storms: An investigation using realistic earth impedances
Commonly, one-dimensional (1-D) Earth impedances have been used to calculate the voltages induced across electric power transmission lines during geomagnetic storms under the assumption that much of the three-dimensional structure of the Earth gets smoothed when integrating along power transmission lines. We calculate the voltage across power transmission lines in the mid-Atlantic region with bothAuthorsGreg M. Lucas, Jeffrey J. Love, Anna KelbertGeoelectric hazard maps for the Mid-Atlantic United States: 100 year extreme values and the 1989 magnetic storm
Maps of extreme value geoelectric field amplitude are constructed for the Mid‐Atlantic United States, a region with high population density and critically important power grid infrastructure. Geoelectric field time series for the years 1983–2014 are estimated by convolving Earth surface impedances obtained from 61 magnetotelluric survey sites across the Mid‐Atlantic with historical 1 min (2 min NyAuthorsJeffrey J. Love, Greg M. Lucas, Anna Kelbert, Paul A. BedrosianSome results from ModEM3DMT, the freely available OSU 3D MT inversion code
At the 3DEM-5 workshop in 2013, we presented a paper entitled "ModEM: developing 3D EM inversion for the masses", outlining our then recent development of a modular system for inversion of EM geophysical data, called ModEM. As promised in that presentation, we made a version of the code that is suitable for 3D modeling and inversion of magnetotelluric data freely available for academic use shortlyAuthorsGary D. Egbert, Naser Meqbel, Anna KelbertMethodology for time-domain estimation of storm time geoelectric fields using the 3-D magnetotelluric response tensors
Geoelectric fields at the Earth's surface caused by magnetic storms constitute a hazard to the operation of electric power grids and related infrastructure. The ability to estimate these geoelectric fields in close to real time and provide local predictions would better equip the industry to mitigate negative impacts on their operations. Here we report progress toward this goal: development of robAuthorsAnna Kelbert, Christopher Balch, Antti Pulkkinen, Gary D. Egbert, Jeffrey J. Love, E. Joshua Rigler, Ikuko FujiiGeoelectric hazard maps for the continental United States
In support of a multiagency project for assessing induction hazards, we present maps of extreme-value geoelectric amplitudes over about half of the continental United States. These maps are constructed using a parameterization of induction: estimates of Earth surface impedance, obtained at discrete geographic sites from magnetotelluric survey data, are convolved with latitude-dependent statisticalAuthorsJeffrey J. Love, Antti Pulkkinen, Paul A. Bedrosian, Seth Jonas, Anna Kelbert, Erin (Josh) Rigler, Carol Finn, Christopher Balch, Robert Rutledge, Richard Waggel, Andrew Sabata, Janet Kozyra, Carrie Black - Software
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