Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Geophysics and Seismology
Deep seismo-volcanic tremors constrain the magma supply from the mantle
Published: 2026-09-24
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Volcanology
Volcanic eruptions are driven by magma supplied from the mantle, yet deep magmatic flux remains poorly constrained. Here we propose to quantify it based on deep seismic tremors. We adopt a model of tremor generation by rapid growth of gas bubbles in response to magma decompression and establish a physical relationship between the cumulative seismic moment and the volume of the ascending magma. By [...]
MilAMin in the browser: a million unknowns a minute in TypeScript and WebAssembly
Published: 2026-09-22
Subjects: Geophysics and Seismology, Numerical Analysis and Scientific Computing, Tectonics and Structure
In 2008 MILAMIN showed that a finite element code written in native MATLAB, a language then held to be too slow for large problems, could set up, solve and post-process one million unknowns per minute on a desktop, provided every stage of the pipeline gets equal care. This note brings the same pipeline to the web browser: Triangle meshing, 7-node Crouzeix-Raviart elements, supernodal Cholesky [...]
Geodesic Location–Allocation for Liquefaction Investigation Coverage in Uttarakhand, India
Published: 2026-09-20
Subjects: Geographic Information Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Geotechnical Engineering, Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering, Physical and Environmental Geography, Spatial Science
Site-scale liquefaction investigations in Uttarakhand are concentrated in the Roorkee–Haridwar and Rudrapur–Khatima corridors. This article asks a narrower, operational question: where should a limited reconnaissance programme investigate next to reduce geographic gaps in that evidence? Fifteen settlement-centred nodes were represented as a complete weighted graph, with four literature-supported [...]
Compound Supershear Rupture During the 2026 Venezuela Earthquake Doublet
Published: 2026-09-18
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The 24 June 2026 Venezuela earthquake doublet occurred along a complex transform-fault system. Teleseismic P waves encompassing both cataloged events were analyzed using potency density tensor inversion with seven structure models. All models indicate predominantly eastward rupture over approximately 220 km, including several stages of supershear propagation. Three apparent rupture stalls [...]
Seasonal variation of earthquake source characteristics of the long-duration Palghar swarm, western India
Published: 2026-09-18
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Tectonics and Structure
A swarm sequence initiated in November 2018 in the Palghar region near the western coast of India, and continued with high intensity for two years. About 8300 earthquakes were found with horizontal and depth uncertainties of ≤ 1.5 km after relocation. The earthquakes were distributed along two narrow N-S oriented clusters, separated by ~5 km. We performed time-domain regional waveform full moment [...]
Undrained fault-zone poroelastic feedback enables the 2011 Prague earthquake cascade
Published: 2026-09-17
Subjects: Geophysics and Seismology
Subsurface fluid injection supports wastewater disposal, geothermal energy, and geological storage but can trigger damaging earthquakes. Predicting whether an injection-triggered rupture stops or spreads across multiple faults remains challenging. In the 2011 Prague, Oklahoma, sequence, the mechanism enabling rupture transfer to the fault hosting the third large earthquake has remained [...]
Surface-wave sensitivity to anisotropy in a 3D seismogeodynamics mantle plume model.
Published: 2026-09-14
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology
High-resolution anisotropic seismic images of the upper mantle provide fundamental constraints on mantle plume dynamics and mantle deformation. Seismic tomography has come far by using travel-time and waveform (phase) information but has exploited amplitude information only to a limited extent. Here, we calculate adjoint sensitivity kernels to assess the value of incorporating amplitude [...]
The explosive engine of the 2022 Hunga submarine eruption
Published: 2026-09-10
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Volcanology
The 2022 submarine eruption of Hunga volcano, Tonga, was among the largest volcanic eruptions in the modern era, yet the processes controlling its explosive sequence remain poorly understood. Here we present the first detailed insight into the internal mechanics of an explosive cycle from teleseismic waveforms. Four eruptive episodes repeat an implosion-explosion cycle, separated by a 3-minute [...]
Can human seismologists verify machine-learning detected earthquakes?
Published: 2026-09-08
Subjects: Geophysics and Seismology
Routine seismic network catalogues are reviewed event by event by analysts, whereas machine-learning catalogues, which contain five to fifty times more events, leave most of their detections unexamined. Whether those detections are earthquakes can nevertheless be measured, because each one can be checked blind against its own waveforms. Human seismologists returned 4,800 blind verdicts on 1,200 [...]
Linear geophysical inversion with seismic image-guided kriging
Published: 2026-09-07
Subjects: Geophysics and Seismology
Linear geophysical inversions, such as the mapping of surface gravity anomaly to subsurface density anomaly, are a cornerstone of geophysical practice. However, the high degree of ill-posedness of such problems makes interpretation of the resulting subsurface models challenging. I develop a methodology to combine surface potential field measurements, direct subsurface sampling through scout [...]
AxiSEM3D: efficient 3D wave propagation across scales and worlds
Published: 2026-09-06
Subjects: Geophysics and Seismology
We present a new, unified release of the AxiSEM3D seismic modelling code, which is able to rapidly and efficiently compute synthetic seismograms for the Earth and many other worlds. Over the past decade, separate and incompatible versions of AxiSEM3D's main branch have been developed and individually benchmarked, including new capabilities such as the inclusion of fluid oceans and atmospheres, [...]
Magnitude-order improvements to the measurement precision of Antarctic grounding zone dynamics using SAR satellite constellations
Published: 2026-09-04
Subjects: Aerospace Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Geophysics and Seismology, Glaciology
Glacier loss in Antarctica is strongly influenced by melt in the grounding zone, the transition between grounded and floating ice. Thwaites Glacier is a critical region, with 65 cm of sea-level-equivalent ice. A recent dataset tracks grounding line retreat for Thwaites and other Antarctic ice streams over 30 years. Despite this long-term record, significant uncertainty remains in predictions of [...]
Asthenosphere rheology and the continental-scale interseismic deformation driven by repeated megathrust earthquakes: Insights from the South American plate
Published: 2026-09-04
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology
This study presents a framework for quantifying large-scale interseismic deformation of a tectonic plate overlying a viscoelastic asthenosphere. We explain and compare four common methods for modelling upper-plate surface deformation induced by time-dependent slip on the subduction interface. One method is a widely used, purely elastic model. The other three are viscoelastic models, in which slip [...]
Seismoacoustic recovery of the SpaceX CRS-32 Dragon re-entry with a proof-of-concept for automated detection
Published: 2026-09-02
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Atmospheric re-entries of human-made objects are increasing in frequency, yet detailed information on their trajectory, fragmentation, and debris footprint is rarely made publicly available. This creates an information asymmetry in which regulators, independent agencies, and the scientific community lack the means to verify that re-entries occurred as reported or to characterize their physical [...]
The Current State of Research on Deformation, Strain, and Velocity across the Alpine-Himalayan Belt Using Transcontinental Sentinel-1 InSAR and GNSS
Published: 2026-08-31
Subjects: Geophysics and Seismology, Tectonics and Structure
Research on present-day deformation across the Alpine-Himalayan belt has crossed a methodological threshold. Regional Sentinel-1 studies in Anatolia, Iran, and Tibet have now been joined by the first transcontinental three-dimensional velocity and horizontal strain-rate field, derived from more than 222,000 radar images acquired during 2016-2024 and a belt-wide GNSS compilation. The result [...]