Geodesy Research
3D perspective view of the Hawaii Islands with an interferogram overlay showing deformation at Mauna Loa and Kilauea Volcanoes. 1 color cycle = 2.3 cm of LOS displacement
My current research invloves using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), GPS, and seismic methods to study tectonic and magmatic processes, and I am particularly interested in the deformation of volcanic regions.
The focus of my research here at UM thus far has been using InSAR to study the Galapagos Island volcanoes and Hawaii along with inversion modeling methods to determine the magmatic processes taking place in and around these volcanoes. InSAR allows for precise measurements of ground displacement, providing a way to measure the movement on the surface of the volcanoes. Using repeat pass interferometry, we obtain time series showing the rates of deformation as well as the magnitude.
In addition to InSAR on Hawaii, continuous GPS has been utilitized to further constrain deformation patterns on Kilauea. The GPS stations are limited in spatial extent by only providing measurements at a single point, but provide better temporal resolution with ability to provide daily solutions.
SBAS and GPS example at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii