I am interested in understanding the relationships between upper mantle flow dynamics and crustal plate tectonics, particularly in regions undergoing extension. My primary tool is the broadband seismometer.

My recent work on Shear Wave Splitting (SWS) analysis of seismic anisotropy in the Great Basin region of western North America has revealed the presence of a lithospheric drip beneath the central Great Basin, and was published in Nature Geoscience.

I am also working on a new software project called EMERALD (Explore, Manage, Edit, Reduce and Analyze Large Datasets) which will (1) simplify the management of large seismic datasets, and (2) provide automatic detection and alert the user to any changes in station or instrument metadata, and (3) serve as an extensible platform for development of automated seismic analysis methods.

In addition, I am working on a joint program between SESE and Engineering to develop new, inexpensive, small-footprint seismic instrumentation for lunar, planetary, and terrestrial applications.

I was an active participant in field work on the High Lava Plains Project in central Oregon, and have developed a web site documenting the station design and procedures from that experiment.

I am working with a new processing method called Integrated Ground Motion (IGM), which can be used to investigate long-term trends in background seismicity. IGM processing involves creating a new time series by filtering and integrating the envelope of a sliding window of raw seismic data. The resulting time series are normalized, plotted and animated. The animations can be downloaded from this page.