Sergei Lebedev

Seismic tomography and thermography with diverse multi-disciplinary applications: icesheet-solid Earth interactions, earthquakes and seismic hazard, intraplate volcanism, and geothermal-energy and mineral source assessment.

Research Area

In my group, we develop and apply new approaches for seismic and thermal imaging of the Earth. Our global and regional Earth models are used widely, by Earth scientists around the world. In collaboration with international experts in different Earth-science fields, we also work on the solid-Earth controls on icesheet dynamics, evolution of continents, origins of intraplate magmatism of different types, geothermal and mineral resource assessment, and - together with the European Space Agency - on the thermo-chemical structure and dynamics of the entire planet. 

At the moment, we are planning fieldwork with new seismic station deployments across Scotland and its islands and on the North Atlantic seafloor (research cruises). We also use massive datasets from other networks around the world and develop methods to get the most out of the data. We aim at fundamental discoveries and at establishing basic mechanisms that control tectonic processes, distributions of seismicity and seismic hazard, magmatism, and natural resources. My students get opportunities to invent something (new methods and approaches) and to discover something important - see our team’s papers at https://homepages.dias.ie/~sergei/publications.html

Project Interests

I am keen to develop projects in 1) Seismic tomography. There are exciting opportunities for advances that will substantially increase the resolution and accuracy of the imaging. 2) Seismic Thermography - an important, rapidly developing new field. Seismic observations are related directly to temperature in the mantle and, through that, to density, viscosity, lithospheric thickness and strength and their controls on tectonics and magmatism. 3) Icesheet-solid Earth interactions, in Greenland and Antarctica. 4) Lithospheric controls on intraplate seismicity and natural resources. High-resolution new models reveal previously unrecognised relationships and promise important improvements in hazard and resource-potential mapping.