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I'm an assistant professor at the University of New Mexico, where I use geodetic data to measure motion of the earth's surface — before, during and after earthquakes, as well as slow motion related to human activities like water extraction. I use these data to create numerical models that enable us to better understand the underlying physical processes, and allow us to provide key information about subsurface hazards to communities at risk.

My work involves new advances in InSAR processing, collection of new GPS data, and some novel numerical modeling techniques. See my research page for more.

Recent highlights

Our work on rates of land subsidence in 48 major cities worldwide is out! Read it in Nature Sustainability here, along with an associated commentary. We processed a large InSAR dataset to show that a number of cities are sinking far faster than global average rates of sea level rise, greatly accelerating the problem of coastal flooding and land loss.

 

Two new papers out in Nature Geoscience! The first one presents a new, more accurate method for determining slip rate deficit on megathrusts based on the physics of stress interactions on the fault, and shows that shallow slip deficits could be much higher globally than previously recognized. It has been featured in the news, and here is an especially great summary. The second one revisits some coral paleo-geodetic data from Simeulue Island offshore Sumatra, and we show that this area experienced the longest-ever-recorded slow slip event - 32 years! This paper received a news & views commentary, as well as press coverage here and here

 

In 2021, I started at the University of New Mexico as an Assistant Professor. I am always looking for motivated students - contact me if you are interested! See the instructions on how to apply for more info.

Our work on the Main Himalayan Thrust in Nepal has been published in JGR. We showed that the pattern of interseismic coupling follows primary geologic features visible at the surface, indicating a long-lived and geometrically-controlled pattern of fault frictional behavior. We also showed that most previous geodetic models have significantly over-estimated the long-term slip rate on the fault, and our new estimate brings the predicted moment release rate more in line with paleoseismic estimates. 

Our model showing the strong effect of the stress shadow during the interseismic period on shallow megathrusts has been published in GRL. We demonstrate that virtually all shallow megathrusts are highly coupled (kinematic coupling ratio above 0.8) whenever there is even a small area of down-dip locking.

We have significantly expanded our survey GPS network in Myanmar, with more than 110 sites now surveyed. Stay tuned for updates and follow the adventure on instagram.

See all research.

More about me.

Shan State, Myanmar
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