Geophysics News

The technique helps us understand ice sheets right here on Earth -- and whether there could be life far, far beyond. (Source: Stanford Engineering)

Across Antarctica, some parts of the base of the ice sheet are frozen, while others are thawed. Scientists show that if some currently frozen areas were also to thaw, it could increase ice loss from glaciers that are not currently major sea-level contributors.

Stanford geophysicist Paul Segall discusses the Fagradalsfjall volcano currently erupting 20 miles southwest of Reykjavík, Iceland. (Source: Stanford News)

Motivated to increase revenue and contribute to climate impact, livestock farmers are planting more trees on pastureland with the help of Working Trees, a venture co-founded by John Foye, MBA ’22/MS E-IPER, and Aakash Ahamed, a PhD candidate in geophysics.

“AI can be very fast – it can give more warning time for people,” said Mostafa Mousavi, an artificial intelligence researcher at Stanford who specializes in geophysics and earthquakes. “Even ten seconds can save a lot of lives.”

The award recognizes individuals who go above and beyond their role to create a more inclusive, just, and welcoming community at the Stanford School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences.

In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, geophysicist Eric Dunham details how new types of data collection and faster computers are helping our knowledge of earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes – and how to prepare for them. (Source: Stanford Engineering)

More than any class before, the 2022 graduates of the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences are prepared to navigate uncertainties in the pursuit of a life that brings happiness and meaning, according to Dean Stephan Graham.

To help find potential groundwater recharge sites, helicopters deploy spaceship-sized antennas and ping the ground with electromagnetic signals, mapping the geology deep below the surface. The technique was piloted in California by researchers at Stanford, led by Rosemary Knight.

"Much of the modeling that's been done in preparation of groundwater sustainability plans throughout the state assumes that if you stop the water level going down, the subsidence is going to stop. But that's wrong," says Stanford geophysicist Rosemary Knight.

In a new study, Stanford's Rosemary Knight and Matt Lees examined the sinking in one area of the San Joaquin Valley over 65 years and projected that subsidence will likely continue for decades or centuries, even if aquifer levels were to stop declining.

A Stanford University study simulates 65 years of land subsidence, or sinking, caused by groundwater depletion in California’s San Joaquin Valley. The results suggest significant sinking may continue for centuries after water levels stop declining but could slow within a few years if aquifers recover.

Underground disposal of wastewater from fossil fuel production in the nation’s largest oil field is causing long-dormant faults to slip in a way that could damage wells, according to new analyses of satellite and seismicity data.

A new certificate program provides a framework for Stanford Earth graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to learn new skills, gain practical experience, and produce portfolio pieces that will broaden their professional preparedness. The program will be carried into the new school focused on climate and sustainability.

Aydin was a field geologist who loved nothing more than leading teams of researchers and students into remote locations – the Valley of Fire, Point Reyes, Zion National Park, a Hawaiian volcano, Sicily – to study prehistoric rock formations.

A new hypothesis reveals that a global sedimentary cycle driven by seasons could explain the formation of landscapes on Saturn’s moon Titan. The research shows the alien world may be more Earth-like than previously thought.