Author: admin

EM Lab graduate student Dan Blatter led a new paper on joint Bayesian inversion for marine magnetotelluric (MT) and controlled-source EM (CSEM) data to image submarine groundwater aquifers. The MT data is preferentially sensitive to the conductive parts of the model while the CSEM data is more sensitive of the more resistive low salinity aquifer. Joint inversion of the data yields the best resolution, as demonstrated with Bayesian uncertainty analysis.

Geophysical Journal International, Volume 218, Issue 3, September 2019, Pages 1822–1837, https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggz253

The paper is available for free here: https://academic.oup.com/gji/article/218/3/1822/5510458

PI Samer Naif led a large team that included Lamont graduate students Christine Chesley, Bar Oryan, and Daniel Blatter onboard the R/V Roger Revelle in the waters east of North Island, New Zealand to carry out a marine electromagnetic (EM) survey of the Hikurangi subduction zone. The project includes over 168 seafloor EM receiver stations and over 400 line-km of transmitter deep-tow tows, making it the largest marine EM experiment at a subduction zone yet.  The data will allow the team to assess the role that fluids play in both generating subduction zone earthquakes, and in controlling the seismic behavior of faults more generally.

Click here to see photos and read the cruise blog.

 

Graduate student Chloe Gustafson and Prof. Kerry Key camped on the Whillans Ice Stream for six weeks as part of a four person team using geophysics to study the subglacial environment. The team collected 44 magnetotelluric (MT) stations that will be used to image groundwater at Subglacial Lake Whillans and the nearby grounding zone.

Click here to learn more about their epic trip that included driving snowmobiles over 900 miles across the ice stream and hauling over 15,000 pounds of cargo between three different camps.