Adam Dziewonski, a towering figure in solid Earth geophysics and a pioneer of global seismic tomography, passed away on 1 March 2016. He was 79.
Seismology
Posted inNews
Tiny, Deep Quakes Increase on San Andreas as Tides Tug on Fault
When the gravity of the Sun and Moon causes Earth's crust to bulge every 2 weeks, slow-moving earthquakes proliferate in the lower reaches of the San Andreas, a new study finds.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Flash Heating May Lubricate Rubbing Rock Faces in Earthquakes
A new laboratory study examines the small-scale physics at play as two pieces of granite are smashed together in a scaled-down version of a real earthquake.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Variable Mantle Lies Below Ancient Pieces of Earth's Crust
Underneath old and stable pieces of Earth's crust in North America, the mantle's uppermost portion contains multiple layers that change the velocities of seismic waves.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Understanding the Formation and Primordial Evolution of the Earth
The processes that formed the infant Earth set the stage for its subsequent evolution into the dynamic and habitable planet we know today.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
P Wave Amplitude Decay Offers a Glimpse of Earth's Structure
Scientists look at deep earthquake signals to map how seismic waves lose energy in the upper mantle across the United States.
Posted inNews
Quake or Bomb? Seismic Waves Speak Truth, Even If Nations Don't
When the Earth rumbles and no one knows why, seismologists can analyze the seismic event's waveforms to determine whether a hidden explosion or an earthquake caused the shaking.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Hawaii's Swelling Lava Lake Charts a Volcano's Hidden Plumbing
Geophysicists used unique seismic signatures to track the cyclic rise and fall of lava inside Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park's Overlook crater.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Probing for Earthquakes' Origins
To better understand how earthquakes nucleate, scientists spy on the Alpine Fault in New Zealand.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
A Modified Technique to Remotely Detect Subsurface Melt
Adapting a much-used analytical method to consider anisotropy opens up the approach to new uses.