News

Every month VPGE puts a spotlight on one graduate student in order to highlight the many achievements and experiences of the Stanford graduate population. This month we are featuring Ethan Lopes, a PhD student in Geophysics. Ethan is a 2021 EDGE Fellow.

A Stanford geophysicist and lawyer team up to use big data for water quality monitoring and governance (Source: Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment)

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.

According to Stanford geophysicist Dustin Schroeder's new research, similarities between Jupiter's moon Europa and Greenland suggest Europa might be able to sustain life.

Ice-penetrating radar data from Greenland suggests that shallow water pockets may be common within Europa’s ice shell, increasing the potential habitability of the Jovian moon’s ice shell.

“Liquid water near to the surface of the ice shell is a really provocative and promising place to imagine life having a shot," says Stanford Earth geophysicist Dustin Schroeder. "The idea that we could find a signature that would suggest a promising pocket of water like this might exist, I think, is very exciting." 

New research shows how the impact that created the Moon’s South Pole–Aitken basin is linked to the stark contrast in composition and appearance between the two sides of the Moon.

The state pumps too much groundwater, especially during droughts. Now it's learning to refill the overdrawn bucket. "It's the simplest math in the world," says Stanford professor Rosemary Knight.

“New technologies that may enable deep drilling are exciting, but they will likely encounter surprises as they go deeper than we have been before," says Stanford geophysicist William Ellsworth.

By analyzing the chemistry of over 200 geothermal springs, researchers have identified where the Indian Plate ends beneath Tibet, debunking some long-debated theories about the process of continental collision.

Using autonomous drones and machine-learning models, geophysicist Dustin Schroeder and a multidisciplinary team are working to quickly and efficiently collect ice sheet data that can improve our understanding of melt rates. (Source: Stanford HAI)

Geophysics lecturer Derek Ouyang, who works with community leaders through the Stanford Future Bay Initiative, shares how disadvantaged communities in San Mateo County are increasingly vulnerable to climate change impacts due to socioeconomic circumstances.

Nicole Ardoin and Mark Horowitz discuss exciting new programs and courses within the new school, which will focus on climate and sustainability. 

Stanford Earth geophysicist Jenny Suckale collaborated to help pilot, test and scale interventions to slow the spread of COVID-19 cases in vulnerable communities.

The fourth annual Stanford Earth Photo Contest drew images of a dramatic sunset, a menacing shark, an intriguing frog, and a perennial favorite – the Milky Way. The winners were selected among 101 submissions. 

Professor of geophysics Rosemary Knight researches the potential of natural groundwater basins to store and keep water as extended droughts threaten California's water supply.

New modeling suggests giant, cool blobs of titanium-rich rocks sinking down to the ancient Moon’s hot core could have produced intermittently strong magnetic fields for the first billion years of the Moon’s history.

The lecture is presented annually in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of seismology. Beroza will discuss how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing studies of seismicity.

An upcoming lunar mission holds promise for elucidating geologic processes, including Sonia Tikoo's 2018 work to show how heating associated with magmatic activity within the Moon might have amplified localized magnetic fields.

The geophysicist and Wayne Loel Professor of Earth Science, whose work has covered a breadth of topics in earthquake seismology, is recognized for his research and teaching excellence.

Water resources could be pushed beyond recovery in a region that provides about a quarter of the U.S. food supply.

Stanford water experts discuss lessons learned from previous droughts, imperatives for infrastructure investment and pathways for the state to achieve dramatically better conservation and reuse of its most precious resource.

New technologies that detect motion in the Earth’s crust are emerging in surprising places and reshaping our understanding of earthquakes.

Scott Fendorf, Jane Willenbring, Howard Zebker, Alex Konings, Steve Gorelick and Gabrielle Wong-Parodi received awards from the Woods Institute for interdisciplinary research to solve major environmental challenges.

The new school will include transitional academic divisions, university-wide cross-cutting themes organized into institutes and an accelerator focused on solutions.

A new analysis of the 2018 collapse of Kīlauea volcano’s caldera helps to confirm the reigning scientific paradigm for how friction works on earthquake faults. The model quantifies the conditions necessary to initiate the kind of caldera collapse that sustains big, damaging eruptions of basaltic volcanoes like Kīlauea and could help to inform forecasting and mitigation.

This summer, 19 undergraduate students are participating in faculty research projects through the Stanford Earth Summer Undergraduate Research program.

A new method for seeing through ice sheets using radio signals from the sun could enable cheap, low-power and widespread monitoring of ice sheet evolution and contribution to sea-level rise.

Researchers examined the number of households unable to pay for damages from coastal flooding to reveal how sea-level rise could threaten the fabric of Bay Area communities over the next 40 years.

The geophysics PhD student has been awarded by the Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST) competition. 

Stanford Earth's Isabel Carrera, Rosie Ries and Allegra Scheirer discussed living with disabilities that might not be visually perceived and how the university could make campus more welcoming.

Much about Earth’s closest planetary neighbor, Venus, remains a mystery. Algorithms and techniques pioneered by Stanford Professor Howard Zebker’s research group will help to guide a search for active volcanoes and tectonic plate movements as part of a recently announced NASA mission to Venus.

The award from the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) is given to a researcher who has made distinguished contributions both to the advancement of the science and to the profession of exploration geophysics.

Faculty at Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences recommend these 29 books for your summer reading.

Derek Ouyang is among a team of scientists, students and community organizers who organized a five-year study to examine the social and psychological effects of climate exposure, while building relationships with the families as warming alters their lives.

Because foreshocks precede larger quakes, they have long presented the tantalizing prospect of warning of potentially damaging earthquakes. But to date, they have only been recognized in hindsight, and scientists for decades have sought to understand the physical processes that drive them. Computer modeling by Stanford geophysicists finds answers in the complex geometry of faults.

Rapidly worsening drought and a mandate to bring aquifer withdrawals and deposits into balance by 2040 have ignited interest in replenishing California groundwater through managed aquifer recharge. Stanford scientists demonstrate a new way to assess sites for this type of project using soil measurements and a geophysical system towed by an all-terrain vehicle.

Graduates of the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences have the skills and knowledge to persevere in the face of new challenges and uncertainty, according to Dean Stephan Graham.

Recipients of the school’s annual Excellence in Teaching Awards are selected based on nominations from students, faculty, and alumni.

As the most-used building material on the planet and one of the world’s largest industrial contributors to global warming, concrete has long been a target for reinvention. Stanford scientists say replacing one of concrete’s main ingredients with volcanic rock could slash carbon emissions from manufacture of the material by nearly two-thirds.

Disruptions from sea level rise and coastal flooding events have significant indirect impacts on urban traffic networks and road safety.

Ellsworth was recognized for his critical contributions to earthquake location, earthquake nucleation, earthquake recurrence and induced seismicity research.

Seyed Mostafa Mousavi, a research scientist at Google and adjunct professor at Stanford, has conducted pioneering works in the emerging field of machine learning applications in seismology. 

Stanford Earth graduate students Amanda Zerbe, Carl Ziade, Ian Field, Jenna Louie, Krishna Rao, Lauren Abrahams and Marie-Cristine Kaptan have received 2021 Community Impact Awards from the Stanford Alumni Association (SAA) for campus contributions.

Researchers have detected groundwater beneath a glacier in Greenland for the first time using airborne radar data. If applicable to other glaciers and ice sheets, the technique could allow for more accurate predictions of future sea-level rise.

Geophysics student Alex Miltenberger was selected for the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Graduate Student Research Program. Miltenberger will research how snowmelt affects groundwater discharge into streams.

Stanford scientists simulated the local risk of damaging or nuisance-level shaking caused by hydraulic fracturing across the Eagle Ford shale formation in Texas. The results could inform a new approach to managing human-caused earthquakes.

In an address to Congress, President Joe Biden pitched a wide-ranging initiative called the American Jobs Plan. Stanford researchers discuss how and why climate change resilience is central to the initiative.

A deep neural network developed at Stanford and trained on more than 36,000 earthquakes offers a new way to quickly predict earthquake shaking intensity and issue early warnings of strong shaking.

“If you were to get to know 100 families in East Palo Alto, maybe 50 out of 100 already are right at that point at which savings are so low that ... a flood event ... could be that tipping point,” said Derek Ouyang, a program manager and lecturer at the Stanford Future Bay Initiative.

Researchers have deciphered a trove of data that shows one season of extreme melt can reduce the Greenland Ice Sheet’s capacity to store future meltwater – and increase the likelihood of future melt raising sea levels.

“This is really one of the first cases where you can say, shockingly, in some ways, these slow, calm ice sheets care a lot about a single extreme event in a particularly warm year," Dusty Schroeder, said. 

In a podcast series hosted by The Stanford Daily, Dean Stephan Graham discussed the new climate and sustainability school and other topics affecting the Stanford community.

Dustin Schroeder used a unique modeling technique that captured meltwater data near the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet.

Page Chamberlain, DEI director Lupe Carrillo and former postdoctoral researcher Grace Bulltail discuss diversity and postdoc success in the context of the NSF-supported Research University Alliance collaboration.

The Biden administration’s ambitious plans for environmental progress face complex obstacles. The findings, expertise and policy experience of Stanford researchers working across multiple fields could help contribute to sustainable, cost-effective solutions.

Dean Stephan Graham and Nicole Ardoin presented an update on the structure of the new school at the Faculty Senate meeting on March 11th. The plans include a Sustainability Accelerator that will translate policy and technology solutions.

A decade after a powerful earthquake and tsunami set off the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown in Japan, Stanford experts discuss revelations about radiation from the disaster, advances in earthquake science related to the event and how its devastating impact has influenced strategies for tsunami defense and local warning systems.

Stephan Graham, Noah Diffenbaugh, Sally Benson and Anjana Richards served as panelists at a recent Deliberative Polling event to discuss proposals for the new school focused on climate and sustainability.

Lees has paved the way for understanding how the complex relationship between groundwater levels, subsurface structure and subsurface properties leads to the sinking of the Earth’s surface.

Following deliberations by a Blueprint Advisory Committee in the fall, leaders are seeking faculty input on proposals for the new school’s structure, composition and areas of focus.

Stanford Earth research scientist Mostafa Mousavi found a way of teasing out evidence of tiny earthquakes that went unnoticed but still left a record in the data.

Geophysicist Sonia Tikoo discussed the Moon's early magnetic field, which scientists can constrain by dating magnetized rock samples.

Looking back at what has been a turbulent year, the Stanford community has found new ways to come together to learn and to work, while also advancing research. 

Our list includes a mix of favorites, high-impact stories and some of our most-read research coverage from a tumultuous year.

Stanford researchers used millimeter-sized crystals from the 1959 eruption of Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano to test models that offer insights about flow conditions prior to and during an eruption.

Stanford researchers, in collaboration with groundwater managers, are leading an airborne survey effort to investigate where water from the Sierra Nevada Mountains could recharge groundwater aquifers in California’s Central Valley.

Research led by Rosemary Knight uses a spider web-shaped device hanging from a helicopter to map underground water supplies.

Stanford Earth’s 2020 photo contest drew 156 photographs from faculty, students, and staff. The images captured experiences coping with COVID-19, as well as close encounters with nature from activities before the pandemic.

The plumes seen erupting from Jupiter's moon Europa might be fed by water trapped in the world's crust, according to a new study led by Stanford Earth postdoctoral researcher Gregor Steinbrügge.

Supercomputer simulations of planetary-scale interactions show how ocean storms and the structure of Earth’s upper layers together generate much of the world’s seismic waves. Decoding the faint but ubiquitous vibrations known as Love waves could yield insights about Earth’s storm history, changing climate and interior.

A new model shows how brine on Jupiter’s moon Europa can migrate within the icy shell to form pockets of salty water that erupt to the surface when freezing. The findings, which are important for the upcoming Europa Clipper mission, may explain cryovolcanic eruptions across icy bodies in the solar system.

“We developed a way that a water pocket can move laterally – and that’s very important,” said Stanford geophysicist Gregor Steinbrügge. “It can move along thermal gradients, from cold to warm, and not only in the down direction as pulled by gravity.”

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."

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 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.

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.

Geophysics PhD student Ryan Schultz explained how hydraulic fracturing can cause earthquakes and how to build better practices to manage and mitigate their risks.

“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.”

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.

“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.

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.

Faculty at Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences recommend these 24 books for your summer reading.

As a Boren Scholar, Maxwell Meyer will study Arabic language, literature and Arab/Muslim history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel.

Recipients of the school’s annual Excellence in Teaching Awards are selected based on nominations from students, faculty, and alumni.

Graduates of the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences have the knowledge and skills to create an environmentally just and sustainable world for everyone, according to Dean Stephan Graham.

The Chicxulub impact crater that is linked to the extinction of the dinosaurs hosted a hydrothermal system that chemically and mineralogically modified more than 100,000 cubic kilometers of Earth’s crust, according to new research.

The Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) has honored new research on retrieving the subsurface speed of sound, studying waveguide properties of shale gas reservoirs, and using machine learning to characterize rock properties in the subsurface from seismic images.

Geophysics professor Greg Beroza has co-authored a major new report from the National Academies of Sciences outlining priority research questions for Earth sciences in the next decade.

New research by scientists including Stanford Earth's Jenny Suckale shows how artificial rolling green hills can help protect vulnerable stretches of coast.

Careful engineering of low, plant-covered hills along shorelines can mitigate tsunami risks with less disruption of coastal life and lower costs compared to seawalls.

When a tsunami slams into a coast, parks with rolling hills could provide about as much protection as towering seawalls, according to research by Stanford Earth geophysicist Jenny Suckale.

Earthquakes caused by hydraulic fracturing can damage property and endanger lives. Stanford researchers have developed new guidelines for when to slow or halt fracking operations based on local risks.

A new stress map that reveals the forces acting on the planet’s crust will contribute to safer energy exploration, updated seismic hazard maps and improved knowledge about the Earth.

Mark Zoback and former PhD student Jens-Erik Lund Snee scientists have produced a comprehensive map of the tectonic stresses acting on the North American continent.

“The images really drew attention to a system that’s out of balance,” says Rosemary Knight, who uses geophysical techniques to find promising areas for groundwater recharge.

As people stopped commuting and traveling, the Earth’s surface vibrated less – and seismologists tracked the change. Stanford Earth's Nate Lindsey and Siyuan Yuan comment.

"The virtual lab is a way to provide them a lab where they can practice any time. If we can make the learning curve less steep and shorten the learning time, then students can focus sooner on research," Vanorio said.

Tyler Kukla, Chayawan Jaikla, Indraneel Kasmalkar, and Anna Broome have been honored with 2019 OSPAs from the American Geophysical Union.

Scientists exploring space are bringing back insights about Earth’s deep past, its complicated relationship with life and our planet’s future.

Through the course of her career, Xyoli Pérez-Campos has worked to improve the lives of Mexico’s citizens and guide seismological research. Now, the geophysics PhD alumna is the public face of earthquake science and monitoring in Mexico.

Stanford University IT highlighted a project with geophysics professor Biondo Biondi to transform fiber optic cables buried under the university into seismic sensors for tracking and analyzing ground motions.

"We know that when human activity initiates an earthquake it grows in magnitude," says Stanford Earth's Bill Ellsworth. "As with natural earthquakes, most end up small, but a few grow large."

Paul Segall used ground deformation measurements to create a simplified model of caldera collapse that can explain several surprising features observed in the 2018 Kīlauea eruption.