Our Group

We offer a unique perspective for monitoring and modeling the Earth's deformation as manifested by earthquakes, volcanism, glacier dynamics and tsunamis.

The faculty and research scientists who comprise the Seismology and Geodesy research group pursue research around the globe, while remaining directly connected to seismic and geodetic measurements of Alaska's dynamic tectonics. We study earthquakes in the solid Earth and glaciers, crustal and mantle structure, active tectonics and deformation of the Earth. The Alaska Earthquake Information Center, located on site, is in charge of monitoring earthquakes in mainland Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. Center personnel educate residents about earthquakes throughout Alaska the most seismically active state in the nation. As part of the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation program, AEIC informs Alaska communities on the risks of tsunamis and provides inundation mapping for many of Alaska's coastal communities.

Many faculty and staff from the group are affiliated with the Alaska Volcano Observatory, which is responsible for understanding and monitoring volcanic activity across the North Pacific.

We collaborate with the following groups at UAF:

Faculty and Staff

Faculty

Douglas Christensen
Professor of Geophysics
Associate Director of Geophysical Institute
doug [at] giseis [dot] alaska [dot] edu
907-474-7426
Elvey 413C

David Fee
Assistant Professor of Geophysics
dfee [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu
907-474-7564
Elvey 506G

Jeffrey Freymueller
Professor of Geophysics
jeff [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu
907-474-7286
Elvey 413B

Carl Tape
Assistant Professor of Geophysics
carltape [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu
907-474-5456
Elvey 413D

Michael West
Alaska State Seismologist
Research Associate Professor of Geophysics
mewest [at] alaska [dot] edu
907-474-6977
Elvey 301J

Staff

Natalia Kozyreva
Lead Seismic Data Analyst
nkozyreva [at] alaska [dot] edu
907-474-6873
Elvey 301L

Sara Meyer
Research Technician
sara [at] giseis [dot] alaska [dot] edu
907-474-5421
Elvey 301H

Dara Merz
Research Technician
dkmerz [at] alaska [dot] edu
907-474-7353
Elvey 301F

Dmitry Nicolsky
Tsunami Modeler
dmitry [at] giseis [dot] alaska [dot] edu
907-474-7397
Elvey 301E

Mitch Robinson
System Administrator
mrrobinson [at] alaska [dot] edu
907-474-7440
Elvey 301G

Natalia Ruppert
Seismic Network Manager / Seismologist
natasha [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu
907-474-7472
Elvey 301I

Scott Stihler
Seismic Data Analyst
Alaska Volcano Observatory
scott [at] giseis [dot] alaska [dot] edu
907-474-5450
Elvey 301L

Elena Suleimani
Tsunami Modeler
ensuleimani [at] alaska [dot] edu
907-474-7997
Elvey 301C

Christopher Bruton
Research Technician
cpbruton [at] alaska [dot] edu
907-474-5161
Elvey 301F

Ed Clark
Research Technician
Alaska Transportable Array
eclark [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu
907-474-1149
Elvey 307B

Scott Dalton
Seismic Network Engineer
sdalton4 [at] alaska [dot] edu
907-474-7356
Elvey 301D

Ian Dickson
AEIC Staff
ijdickson [at] alaska [dot] edu
907-474-5185
Elvey 301K

Steve Estes
Seismic Network Engineer
estes [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu
907-460-1000
Elvey 301A

Matt Gardine
Seismologist
mgardin2 [at] alaska [dot] edu
907-474-7611
Elvey 301C

Sharon Hansen
Research Technician / E & O Support
sharon [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu
907-474-5481
Elvey 301H

Max Kaufman
Research Assistant
amkaufman [at] alaska [dot] edu
907-474-6574
Elvey 413A

Students and Postdocs

Postdocs

Helena Buurman
helena [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu
907-474-7538
Elvey 301D

Ken Macpherson
kamacpherson [at] alaska [dot] edu
907-474-5096
Elvey 301E

Students

Celso Alvizuri
alvizuri [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu
Seismic moment tensor inversion

Ulrika Cahayani
ucahayani [at] alaska [dot] edu
Influence of topography on the seismic wavefield

Kimberly DeGrandpre
kimberdgp [at] gmail [dot] com
Vertical crustal motion and relative sea level in western Alaska

Laura Hutchinson
lkhutchinson [at] alaska [dot] edu

Summer Miller
summer [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu
Volcano deformation at Okmok using InSAR

Colin Rowell
crrowell [at] alaska [dot] edu
Volcanology and infrasound

Vipul Silwal
silwal [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu
Seismic source and structure modeling in Alaska

Recent Graduates

Branden Chistensen

Chloe Peterson

Ophelia George

Anna Bellesiles

Matt Gardine, PhD

Nicole DeRoin, PhD

Helena Buurman, PhD

Julie Elliott, 2011 PhD, Active Tectonics in Southern Alaska and the Role of the Yakutat Block Constrained by GPS Measurements

Ronni Grapenthin, 2012 PhD, Volcano Deformation and Subdaily GPS Products

Yuning Fu, 2012 PhD, The Effects of Using Inconsistent Ocean Tidal Loading Models on GPS Coordinate Solutions, and Seasonal Hydrological Loading Deformation In the Nepal Himalaya and Southern Alaska Observed by GPS and Grace Measurements