Our seismology group in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Syracuse University focuses on imaging Earth’s crust and upper mantle using seismic waves to understand tectonic processes. We are interested in questions pertaining to the mechanics of extensional environments (from continental rifting to seafloor spreading), the role of melt and volatiles in the upper mantle, and Earth’s thermodynamic state and how it contributes to and reflects mantle dynamics. We study these processes by building tomographic models of Earth’s interior that incorporate geochemical, geodynamic, and mineral physics constraints.

Seismic data can also be used as a tool for environmental sensing. Our group has interest in using seismic data in new ways to understand environmental processes occuring at Earth’s surface, such as the effect of lake ice on microseism noise in the Great Lakes region. We are also affiliated with the Syracuse University Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy and Astrophysics where we are actively working on site selection for the next-generation gravitational-wave observatory Cosmic Explorer.

We are currently looking for motivated students to join our research group. Please reach out to find out more about research opportunities and life at Syracuse University.

OBSrange

Tool for accurately locating OBS on the seafloor using acoustic ranging data

Simple_X

A seismologist-friendly Matlab wrapper for the thermodynamic tool Perple_X that estimates Vp and Vs for a desired composition

MATnoise

Calculate ambient noise empirical Green’s functions and measure phase velocities

mat-LRTdisp

Measure multimode phase velocity dispersion using the Linear Radon Transform

MINEOS_synthetics

Calculate synthetic seismograms for layered Earth models using the mode summation code MINEOS. Also outputs dispersion curves, sensitivity kernels, and eigenfunctions

invSWani-GBHE

Invert anisotropic phase velocities for anisotropy depth functions G, B, H, and E

ASWMS-Q

Automated Surface-Wave Measurement System of Jin & Gaherty (2015), adapted for attenuation, amplification, and azimuthal anisotropy.

ATaCR

Automated Tilt and Compliance Removal to clean OBS data.

VBR

The Very Broadband Rheology calculator estimates mechanical behavior of olivine on timescales ranging from elastic to fully viscous.

jbrussell’s contributions