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Cecily J. Wolfe, Ph.D.

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

Authors
Peter J. Haeussler, William S. Leith, David J. Wald, John R. Filson, Cecily Wolfe, David Applegate
By
Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Alaska Science Center

Ambient 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 s
Authors
Silke Ballmer, Cecily Wolfe, Paul G. Okubo, Matthew M. Haney, Clifford H. Thurber
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center

High‐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 netw
Authors
Ellen M. Syracuse, Clifford H. Thurber, Cecily Wolfe, Paul G. Okubo, James H. Foster, Benjamin A. Brooks
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Earthquake Hazards Program, Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center, Earthquake Science Center

Kiholo 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 t
Authors
Takuji Yamada, Paul G. Okubo, Cecily Wolfe
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Earthquake Hazards Program, Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center, Earthquake Science Center

Magmatically 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 occurre
Authors
Benjamin A. Brooks, James Foster, David Sandwell, Cecily Wolfe, Paul G. Okubo, Michael P. Poland, David Myer
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center
link
map of Alaska area with 2020-2021 earthquakes, showing circles for earthquake locations

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.
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Earthquake Hazards Program
link

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.
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Science and Products