27. Advanced Assessment of Earthquake and Volcano Hazards by Numerical Modeling of Large InSAR Data Sets

The Mendenhall Fellow will participate in the USGS InSAR initiative by selecting a project that fully utilizes available InSAR data to study deformation processes related to earthquake or volcano hazards. The Fellow should be familiar with InSAR processing or modeling deformation processes using InSAR or other geodetic data sets. Familiarity with the nuances of processing RADARSAT-1 and JERS-1 data is a plus. A wide range of numerical techniques, ranging from a point source in an elastic half-space, to finite element models of distributed sources in a heterogeneous earth will be applied or developed by the Fellow. BEOWULF and AppleSeed clusters in Menlo Park, CA are available for intensive numerical modeling.

Among promising projects in volcano hazards is a study of Mauna Loa and Kilauea volcanoes on the island of Hawaii. This would require combining available ground-based measurements with large RADARSAT-1 and ENVISAT data sets from different beam modes and trajectories for comprehensive measurements of the changing deformation fields. Subsurface structure from tomographic studies of the volcanoes is sufficiently well known that finite element methods might be profitably applied. A potential project in earthquake hazards is a tectonic study of the Puget Sound area in the state of Washington. An extensive existing data set of ERS, RADARSAT-1 and JERS-1 data would be used to form images of deformation in the urban Puget Sound area with the aim of separating seasonal and man-made signal from tectonic deformation. Familiarity or interest in learning point scattering techniques would enable the study to be expanded to suburban and rural areas in western Washington, including an active seismic zone west of Mount Rainier volcano and possibly to the mostly ice-covered upper slopes of the volcano itself.

Potential candidates are strongly encouraged to speak with any or all of the advisors at the InSAR Working Group workshop to be held October 20-22, 2004 in Oxnard, California (http://solidearth.jpl.nasa.gov/insar/).

Proposed Duty Station: Menlo Park, CA or Vancouver, WA or Sioux Falls, SD

Areas of Ph.D.: Geophysics

Qualifications: Applicants must meet one of the following qualifications: Research Geophysicist

(This type of research is performed by those who have backgrounds for the occupations stated above. However, other titles may be applicable depending on the applicant's background, education, and research proposal. The final classification of the position will be made by the Personnel specialist.)

Research Advisor(s): Chuck Wicks, (650) 329-4874, cwicks@usgs.gov; Dan Dzurisin, (360) 993-8909, dzurisin@usgs.gov; Zhong Lu, (605) 594-6063, lu@usgs.gov; Wayne Thatcher, (650) 329-4810, thatcher@usgs.gov

Personnel Office contact: Marie Guillory, (650) 329-4112, guillory@usgs.gov

Summary of Opportunities