Comparison of vertical GPS motion measured at station HUSB (top) with earthquake depth (bottom). Red line is a 60-day average of the cleaned GPS time series plotted in gray. Earthquakes are plotted with respect to their magnitudes. The swarm in 2004 represents the vast majority of earthquake in the vicinity of the deforming region.
Weston Thelen
I love earthquakes. I love volcanoes. And I know for a fact that volcano seismology is the best seismology.
As a research geophysicist at the Cascades Volcano Observatory, I undertake and facilitate research on Cascade Range Volcanoes; monitor seismicity on Cascade Range Volcanoes to assess volcanic hazard; and assist in planning, prioritization and execution of maintenance and growth of volcano monitoring networks in Oregon and Washington.
My education is in both geology and geophysics with a focus more recently on volcanoes. I have experience on both stratovolcanoes and basaltic volcanoes in Russia, Alaska, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii. I've worked in eruptive scenarios at Mount St. Helens in 2004-2008, Redoubt in 2008 and Kilauea from 2011 till 2020. In addition, I've held positions at the Nevada Seismological Network, the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network and the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, which have all had components of network seismology to them.
Professional Experience
2011 - 2016, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Seismic Network Manager/ Supervisory Geophysicist
Responsibilities: Maintain and improve real-time monitoring and operations of the seismic network at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Interpret seismic data for changes in volcanic activity. Analyze earthquake data.
Education and Certifications
2004: University of Nevada, B.S. in Geophysics with high distinction 2004
2004: University of Nevada, B.S. in Geology with high distinction 2004
2009: University of Washington, Ph.D in Geophysics
2009: University of Washington, Network Seismology, Post Doc
2010: USGS Cascade Volcano Observatory, Volcano Seismology, Post Doc
Science and Products
High resolution earthquake catalogs from the 2018 Kilauea eruption sequence
Comparison of vertical GPS motion measured at station HUSB (top) with earthquake depth (bottom). Red line is a 60-day average of the cleaned GPS time series plotted in gray. Earthquakes are plotted with respect to their magnitudes. The swarm in 2004 represents the vast majority of earthquake in the vicinity of the deforming region.
Explosive 2018 eruptions at Kīlauea driven by a collapse-induced stomp-rocket mechanism
Seismometer records of ground tilt induced by debris flows
Trends in volcano seismology: 2010 to 2020 and beyond
Earthquake-derived seismic velocity changes during the 2018 caldera collapse of Kīlauea volcano
The cascading origin of the 2018 Kīlauea eruption and implications for future forecasting
Deep long-period earthquakes generated by second boiling beneath Mauna Kea volcano
Seismic and geodetic progression of the 2018 summit caldera collapse of Kīlauea Volcano
Local earthquake Vp and Vs tomography in the Mount St. Helens region with the iMUSH broadband array
Anatomy of a caldera collapse: Kīlauea 2018 summit seismicity sequence in high resolution
Lava lake thermal pattern classification using self organizing maps and relationships to eruption processes at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii
The 2018 rift eruption and summit collapse of Kilauea Volcano
Seismic and acoustic signatures of surficial mass movements at volcanoes
covdetect - network covariance event detector (Version 0.0.0)
Science and Products
High resolution earthquake catalogs from the 2018 Kilauea eruption sequence
Comparison of vertical GPS motion measured at station HUSB (top) with earthquake depth (bottom). Red line is a 60-day average of the cleaned GPS time series plotted in gray. Earthquakes are plotted with respect to their magnitudes. The swarm in 2004 represents the vast majority of earthquake in the vicinity of the deforming region.
Comparison of vertical GPS motion measured at station HUSB (top) with earthquake depth (bottom). Red line is a 60-day average of the cleaned GPS time series plotted in gray. Earthquakes are plotted with respect to their magnitudes. The swarm in 2004 represents the vast majority of earthquake in the vicinity of the deforming region.