Geophysics News

A collection of research and insights from Stanford experts on where and how earthquakes happen, why prediction remains elusive, advances in detection and monitoring, links to human activities, how to prepare for "The Big One," and more.

Tiny movements in Earth’s outermost layer may provide a Rosetta Stone for deciphering the physics and warning signs of big quakes. New algorithms that work a little like human vision are now detecting these long-hidden microquakes in the growing mountain of seismic data.

A school focused on climate and sustainability, announced last May, is beginning to take shape. Leaders anticipate blueprints for the school’s academic structure by winter quarter.

Dean Stephan Graham co-authored an op-ed with the deans of the School of Humanities and Sciences and the School of Engineering urging readers to "vote for the party and candidate of your choice, but by all means vote."

The sustainability initiative that arose out of the Long-Range Vision has awarded 17 seed grants providing one year of funding to faculty pursuing groundbreaking ideas for sustainability solutions.

A new fault simulator maps out how interactions between pressure, friction and fluids rising through a fault zone can lead to slow-motion quakes and seismic swarms.

The Summer Undergraduate Research in Geoscience and Engineering (SURGE) program celebrates 10 years of bringing students from diverse backgrounds to Stanford for a summer of Earth science research and graduate school preparation.

New imagery reveals the causes of seismic activity deep beneath the Himalaya region, contributing to an ongoing debate over the continental collision process when two tectonic plates crash into each other.

Simon Klemperer discusses recurring earthquakes around the “Roof of the World” and how Himalayan quakes of the future collectively threaten millions of people across Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet and India. 

“It’s important to keep in mind that this is a regional problem, we need regional solutions,” said Jenny Suckale. “You can’t do it piece by piece.”

“It’s the road network that really is the key,” said Indraneel Kasmalkar, lead author of a new study with Jenny Suckale analyzing how coastal flooding impacts commute delays.

Researchers have modeled how coastal flooding will impact commutes in the Bay Area over the next 20 years. Regions with sparse road networks will have some of the worst commute delays, regardless of their distances from the coast.

Stanford researchers contributed to a study that found that the coronavirus shutdowns led to “the longest and most coherent global seismic noise reduction in recorded history.”

Stanford’s Haas Center for Public Service has connected students to remote learning, service and career opportunities – from Darel Scott, Earth systems BS ’17, MS ’19, speaking during a mini career fair to the class Shaping the Future of the Bay Area (GEOPHYS 218Z), for which instructors arranged remote collaborations with local governments and nonprofits.

The Stanford Impact Labs accelerator is advancing a collaboration to help Bay Area residents that will be disproportionally impacted by the effects of climate change. The project is led by Jenny Suckale and includes courses taught by Derek Ouyang and Gabrielle Wong-Parodi.

Rob Dunbar, Nicole Ardoin and Jenny Suckale are among the recipients of 2020 Environmental Venture Projects (EVP) and Realizing Environmental Innovation Program (REIP) grants awarded by the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.