Cecily Wolfe is a geophysicist who serves as Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) Coordinator and Associate Coordinator for Earthquake Hazards, Global Seismographic Network, and Geomagnetism Programs.
Cecily Wolfe is Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) Coordinator and Associate Coordinator for Earthquake Hazards, Global Seismographic Network, and Geomagnetism Programs. She joined the USGS in 2012 and has helped oversee the development of the ANSS and its ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system. Before joining the USGS, she was a professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (2000-2012), a scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (1997-2000), and a postdoctoral fellow at the Carnegie Institution of Washington (1994-1996). She has over 50 publications in areas of seismology, marine seismology, earthquake studies, and volcanology.
Professional Experience
2012 - Present USGS Earthquake Hazards Program
2000 - 2012 University of Hawaii at Manoa
1997 - 2000 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
1994 - 1996 Carnegie Institution of Washington
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program, 1994
B.A., Brown University, 1986
Science and Products
Geophysical advances triggered by 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake
A little more than 50 years ago, on 27 March 1964, the Great Alaska earthquake and tsunami struck. At moment magnitude 9.2, this earthquake is notable as the largest in U.S. written history and as the second-largest ever recorded by instruments worldwide. But what resonates today are its impacts on the understanding of plate tectonics, tsunami generation, and earthquake history as well as on the d
Ambient seismic noise interferometry in Hawai'i reveals long-range observability of volcanic tremor
High‐resolution locations of triggered earthquakes and tomographic imaging of Kilauea Volcano's south flank
Kiholo Bay, Hawaii, earthquake sequence of 2006: Relationship of the main shock slip with locations and source parameters of aftershocks
Magmatically triggered slow slip at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii
External Grants - Overview
Science and Products
- Publications
Geophysical advances triggered by 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake
A little more than 50 years ago, on 27 March 1964, the Great Alaska earthquake and tsunami struck. At moment magnitude 9.2, this earthquake is notable as the largest in U.S. written history and as the second-largest ever recorded by instruments worldwide. But what resonates today are its impacts on the understanding of plate tectonics, tsunami generation, and earthquake history as well as on the d
AuthorsPeter J. Haeussler, William S. Leith, David J. Wald, John R. Filson, Cecily Wolfe, David ApplegateAmbient seismic noise interferometry in Hawai'i reveals long-range observability of volcanic tremor
The use of seismic noise interferometry to retrieve Green's functions and the analysis of volcanic tremor are both useful in studying volcano dynamics. Whereas seismic noise interferometry allows long-range extraction of interpretable signals from a relatively weak noise wavefield, the characterization of volcanic tremor often requires a dense seismic array close to the source. We here show that sAuthorsSilke Ballmer, Cecily Wolfe, Paul G. Okubo, Matthew M. Haney, Clifford H. ThurberHigh‐resolution locations of triggered earthquakes and tomographic imaging of Kilauea Volcano's south flank
The spatiotemporal patterns of seismicity beneath Kilauea's south flank give insight to the structure and geometry of the decollement on which large, tsunamigenic earthquakes have occurred, and its relation to slow slip events (SSEs), which have been observed every 1 to 2 years since 1997. In order to record earthquakes triggered by a SSE that was predicted to occur in March 2007, a temporary netwAuthorsEllen M. Syracuse, Clifford H. Thurber, Cecily Wolfe, Paul G. Okubo, James H. Foster, Benjamin A. BrooksKiholo Bay, Hawaii, earthquake sequence of 2006: Relationship of the main shock slip with locations and source parameters of aftershocks
We study the source process of the Kīholo Bay earthquake (MW 6.7), which occurred beneath the northwest part of the Island of Hawai‘i on 15 October 2006, and static stress drops of small earthquakes that occurred in 2006 and 2007 around the main shock including aftershocks. We relocate the aftershocks to determine the fault plane from the two nodal planes. The relocated aftershocks define an E‐W tAuthorsTakuji Yamada, Paul G. Okubo, Cecily WolfeMagmatically triggered slow slip at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii
We demonstrate that a recent dike intrusion probably triggered a slow fault-slip event (SSE) on Kilauea volcano's mobile south flank. Our analysis combined models of Advanced Land Observing Satellite interferometric dike-intrusion displacement maps with continuous Global Positioning System (GPS) displacement vectors to show that deformation nearly identical to four previous SSEs at Kilauea occurreAuthorsBenjamin A. Brooks, James Foster, David Sandwell, Cecily Wolfe, Paul G. Okubo, Michael P. Poland, David Myer - Science
External Grants - Overview
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides support for research that will assist in achieving the goals of the Earthquake Hazards Program. The goal is to mitigate earthquake losses that can occur in many parts of the nation by providing earth science data and assessments essential for land-use planning, engineering design, and emergency preparedness decisions.