Ninfa L. Bennington, Ph.D.
I am a volcano seismologist at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Broadly, I am interested in developing new seismic methods as well as applying more standard seismic techniques to clarify magma storage and transport at active volcanic systems. Part of this work centers on developing real time forecasting tools for identifying when a volcano is entering into or moving out of a period unrest.
Education and Certifications
PhD - University of Wisconsin-Madison, January 2011
Science and Products
Joint inversion of seismic and magnetotelluric data in the Parkfield Region of California using the normalized cross-gradient constraint Joint inversion of seismic and magnetotelluric data in the Parkfield Region of California using the normalized cross-gradient constraint
We present jointly inverted models of P-wave velocity (Vp) and electrical resistivity for a two-dimensional profile centered on the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD). Significant structural similarity between main features of the separately inverted Vp and resistivity models is exploited by carrying out a joint inversion of the two datasets using the normalized cross...
Authors
Ninfa L. Bennington, Haijiang Zhang, Cliff Thurber, Paul A. Bedrosian
Three-dimensional seismic velocity structure and earthquake relocations at Katmai, Alaska Three-dimensional seismic velocity structure and earthquake relocations at Katmai, Alaska
We invert arrival time data from local earthquakes occurring between September 2004 and May 2009 to determine the three-dimensional (3D) upper crustal seismic structure in the Katmai volcanic region. Waveforms for the study come from the Alaska Volcano Observatory's permanent network of 20 seismic stations in the area (predominantly single-component, short period instruments) plus a...
Authors
Rachel Murphy, Clifford Thurber, Stephanie G. Prejean, Ninfa Bennington
Tracking changes in volcanic systems with seismic Interferometry Tracking changes in volcanic systems with seismic Interferometry
The detection and evaluation of time-dependent changes at volcanoes form the foundation upon which successful volcano monitoring is built. Temporal changes at volcanoes occur over all time scales and may be obvious (e.g., earthquake swarms) or subtle (e.g., a slow, steady increase in the level of tremor). Some of the most challenging types of time-dependent change to detect are subtle...
Authors
Matthew M. Haney, Alicia J. Hotovec-Ellis, Ninfa L. Bennington, Silvio De Angelis, Clifford Thurber
Earthquake studies reveal the magmatic plumbing system of the Katmai volcanoes Earthquake studies reveal the magmatic plumbing system of the Katmai volcanoes
The 1912 eruption of Novarupta was the largest of the 1900s (Fierstein and Hildreth 2001, Hildreth et al. 2003). A century later, fundamental questions remain regarding the source of the magma for that eruption. A previous seismic study of the Katmai area (Jolly et al. 2007) identified a single large area of anomalous structure in the subsurface centered beneath Katmai Pass (Figure 2)...
Authors
Clifford Thurber, Rachel Murphy, Stephanie G. Prejean, Matthew M. Haney, Ninfa Bennington, Lee Powell, John F. Paskievitch
Aftershock distribution as a constraint on the geodetic model of coseismic slip for the 2004 Parkfield earthquake Aftershock distribution as a constraint on the geodetic model of coseismic slip for the 2004 Parkfield earthquake
Several studies of the 2004 Parkfield earthquake have linked the spatial distribution of the event’s aftershocks to the mainshock slip distribution on the fault. Using geodetic data, we find a model of coseismic slip for the 2004 Parkfield earthquake with the constraint that the edges of coseismic slip patches align with aftershocks. The constraint is applied by encouraging the curvature...
Authors
Ninfa Bennington, Clifford Thurber, Kurt Feigl
Science and Products
Joint inversion of seismic and magnetotelluric data in the Parkfield Region of California using the normalized cross-gradient constraint Joint inversion of seismic and magnetotelluric data in the Parkfield Region of California using the normalized cross-gradient constraint
We present jointly inverted models of P-wave velocity (Vp) and electrical resistivity for a two-dimensional profile centered on the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD). Significant structural similarity between main features of the separately inverted Vp and resistivity models is exploited by carrying out a joint inversion of the two datasets using the normalized cross...
Authors
Ninfa L. Bennington, Haijiang Zhang, Cliff Thurber, Paul A. Bedrosian
Three-dimensional seismic velocity structure and earthquake relocations at Katmai, Alaska Three-dimensional seismic velocity structure and earthquake relocations at Katmai, Alaska
We invert arrival time data from local earthquakes occurring between September 2004 and May 2009 to determine the three-dimensional (3D) upper crustal seismic structure in the Katmai volcanic region. Waveforms for the study come from the Alaska Volcano Observatory's permanent network of 20 seismic stations in the area (predominantly single-component, short period instruments) plus a...
Authors
Rachel Murphy, Clifford Thurber, Stephanie G. Prejean, Ninfa Bennington
Tracking changes in volcanic systems with seismic Interferometry Tracking changes in volcanic systems with seismic Interferometry
The detection and evaluation of time-dependent changes at volcanoes form the foundation upon which successful volcano monitoring is built. Temporal changes at volcanoes occur over all time scales and may be obvious (e.g., earthquake swarms) or subtle (e.g., a slow, steady increase in the level of tremor). Some of the most challenging types of time-dependent change to detect are subtle...
Authors
Matthew M. Haney, Alicia J. Hotovec-Ellis, Ninfa L. Bennington, Silvio De Angelis, Clifford Thurber
Earthquake studies reveal the magmatic plumbing system of the Katmai volcanoes Earthquake studies reveal the magmatic plumbing system of the Katmai volcanoes
The 1912 eruption of Novarupta was the largest of the 1900s (Fierstein and Hildreth 2001, Hildreth et al. 2003). A century later, fundamental questions remain regarding the source of the magma for that eruption. A previous seismic study of the Katmai area (Jolly et al. 2007) identified a single large area of anomalous structure in the subsurface centered beneath Katmai Pass (Figure 2)...
Authors
Clifford Thurber, Rachel Murphy, Stephanie G. Prejean, Matthew M. Haney, Ninfa Bennington, Lee Powell, John F. Paskievitch
Aftershock distribution as a constraint on the geodetic model of coseismic slip for the 2004 Parkfield earthquake Aftershock distribution as a constraint on the geodetic model of coseismic slip for the 2004 Parkfield earthquake
Several studies of the 2004 Parkfield earthquake have linked the spatial distribution of the event’s aftershocks to the mainshock slip distribution on the fault. Using geodetic data, we find a model of coseismic slip for the 2004 Parkfield earthquake with the constraint that the edges of coseismic slip patches align with aftershocks. The constraint is applied by encouraging the curvature...
Authors
Ninfa Bennington, Clifford Thurber, Kurt Feigl