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I use seismic waveforms, typically recorded at or near the surface, to infer physical processes associated with active faulting. I often work to understand earthquake sequences, their underlying interactions, and their tectonic implications through analysis of small earthquakes in aftershocks sequences or earthquake swarms.
I earned my Ph.D. from Stanford University, examining the mechanism of "non-volcanic tremor" in the Nankai subduction zone. After finishing my Ph.D., I was a Miller Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Berkeley and a Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow in the USGS Earthquake Science Center, where I focused on detecting and understanding tremor beneath the San Andreas Fault. From 2010-2018 I was a Research Geophysicist with the USGS Volcano Science Center in Menlo Park, California, where I initiated new work on earthquake swarms and fluid-faulting interactions in volcanic and hydrothermal regions, including Yellowstone and Long Valley Calderas.
Since 2018, I am a member of the Geologic Hazards Science Center in Golden, Colorado, with a broad research portfolio that includes earthquake sequences and source physics, tectonics, monitoring (detection, location, magnitudes, focal mechanisms), tectonic tremor, and volcano seismology.
Absolute versus relative earthquake locations associated with 2019 Ridgecrest, California, foreshock and aftershock sequence. Animated GIF image compares the routine catalog earthquake locations with those from an enhanced catalog employing precise relative locations. Depths are color-coded as shown. Triangles indicate seismic stations.
Absolute versus relative earthquake locations associated with 2019 Ridgecrest, California, foreshock and aftershock sequence. Animated GIF image compares the routine catalog earthquake locations with those from an enhanced catalog employing precise relative locations. Depths are color-coded as shown. Triangles indicate seismic stations.
Focal mechanism determined by moment tensor analysis, which uses a model to fit the long-period (~10 s period or greater) ground motion records recorded at multiple locations.
Focal mechanism determined by moment tensor analysis, which uses a model to fit the long-period (~10 s period or greater) ground motion records recorded at multiple locations.
Schematic cross section of the magmatic and hydrothermal systems underlying Yellowstone Caldera, showing magmatic volatiles emitted during crystallization of the rhyolitic magma and/or from basalt intrusions or convection, and the hypothesized relation with earthquake swarms on the caldera margins. The exsolved fluids accumulate at lithostatic pressures in the
Schematic cross section of the magmatic and hydrothermal systems underlying Yellowstone Caldera, showing magmatic volatiles emitted during crystallization of the rhyolitic magma and/or from basalt intrusions or convection, and the hypothesized relation with earthquake swarms on the caldera margins. The exsolved fluids accumulate at lithostatic pressures in the
Left hand plot shows a focal mechanism from an earthquake where the fault is horizontal (red line), and the motion is right-lateral strike skip. The initial direction of wave motion (either back toward the source or away from the source is shown by the arrows. Right hand plot shows the associated beachball diagram, with compressional (“C”) and tensional
Left hand plot shows a focal mechanism from an earthquake where the fault is horizontal (red line), and the motion is right-lateral strike skip. The initial direction of wave motion (either back toward the source or away from the source is shown by the arrows. Right hand plot shows the associated beachball diagram, with compressional (“C”) and tensional
Map showing earthquake focal mechanisms in the Yellowstone region.
Map showing earthquake focal mechanisms in the Yellowstone region.
Absolute versus relative earthquake locations associated with 2019 Ridgecrest, California, foreshock and aftershock sequence. Animated GIF image compares the routine catalog earthquake locations with those from an enhanced catalog employing precise relative locations. Depths are color-coded as shown. Triangles indicate seismic stations.
Absolute versus relative earthquake locations associated with 2019 Ridgecrest, California, foreshock and aftershock sequence. Animated GIF image compares the routine catalog earthquake locations with those from an enhanced catalog employing precise relative locations. Depths are color-coded as shown. Triangles indicate seismic stations.
Focal mechanism determined by moment tensor analysis, which uses a model to fit the long-period (~10 s period or greater) ground motion records recorded at multiple locations.
Focal mechanism determined by moment tensor analysis, which uses a model to fit the long-period (~10 s period or greater) ground motion records recorded at multiple locations.
Schematic cross section of the magmatic and hydrothermal systems underlying Yellowstone Caldera, showing magmatic volatiles emitted during crystallization of the rhyolitic magma and/or from basalt intrusions or convection, and the hypothesized relation with earthquake swarms on the caldera margins. The exsolved fluids accumulate at lithostatic pressures in the
Schematic cross section of the magmatic and hydrothermal systems underlying Yellowstone Caldera, showing magmatic volatiles emitted during crystallization of the rhyolitic magma and/or from basalt intrusions or convection, and the hypothesized relation with earthquake swarms on the caldera margins. The exsolved fluids accumulate at lithostatic pressures in the
Left hand plot shows a focal mechanism from an earthquake where the fault is horizontal (red line), and the motion is right-lateral strike skip. The initial direction of wave motion (either back toward the source or away from the source is shown by the arrows. Right hand plot shows the associated beachball diagram, with compressional (“C”) and tensional
Left hand plot shows a focal mechanism from an earthquake where the fault is horizontal (red line), and the motion is right-lateral strike skip. The initial direction of wave motion (either back toward the source or away from the source is shown by the arrows. Right hand plot shows the associated beachball diagram, with compressional (“C”) and tensional
Map showing earthquake focal mechanisms in the Yellowstone region.
Map showing earthquake focal mechanisms in the Yellowstone region.