Seismology, geophysics, global and regional seismic tomography. Dynamics and evolution of the lithosphere and underlying mantle. Seismic thermography. Earthquakes and seismic hazard, origins of intraplate volcanism and geothermal energy resources.
Research Area
The structure and dynamics of the lithosphere and underlying mantle control tectonic processes, earthquakes, volcanoes, and geothermal and mineral resources. In my group, we develop new methods for seismic tomography, from regional to global scales, and build cutting-edge tomographic models that are used by earth scientists around the world. We also develop novel multi-disciplinary methods for mapping the thermal structure of the Earth's interior. With these tools, and in collaboration with experts in different fields, we work on numerous topics including the origin and evolution of continents, deep origins of intraplate magmatism, geothermal and mineral resource assessment at reginal and global scales, and - together with the European Space Agency - on thermo-chemical structure and dynamics of the entire planet.
In their fieldwork, my PhD students collect seismic data both on land and on research cruises at sea. They also use massive datasets from other networks around the world and learn to handle the big data and get the most out of it. We aim at fundamental discoveries and at establishing basic mechanisms that control tectonic processes, distributions of seismicity and seismic hazard, magmatism, and geothermal and critical-mineral resources. My PhD students get opportunities to invent something (new methods and approaches) and to discover something important - see the past PhD students' papers at https://homepages.dias.ie/~sergei/publications.html
Project Interests
I am keen to develop projects in the areas including 1) Global and regional seismic tomography. There are exciting opportunities now for methodological advances that will substantially increase the resolution and accuracy of the models and of the quantitative inferences from them. 2) " Seismic Thermography" - an important, rapidly developing new field. Seismic observations are related directly, and more accurately than previously, to temperature in the mantle and, through that, to density, viscosity, lithospheric thickness and strength and their controls on tectonics and magmatism, and to convection in the sub-lithospheric mantle. 3) Lithospheric controls on intraplate seismicity. Seismicity in Britain and Ireland was recently discovered to be controlled by the thickness of the lithosphere, and this appears to be a key basic mechanism controlling earthquakes and seismic hazard around the world. With our high-resolution tomography and thermography, we have the tools to apply this conceptual model globally and quantify the basic mechanisms. In Britain, geophysical imaging and new seismometer deployments in its remote corners will also reveal its tectonic and geodynamic evolution and island-wide geothermal energy resource potential.
