About Zack Spica

I am an observational seismologist. My research aims to gain a better understanding of the Earth via a combination of observational and interpretational work on seismic data. I am interested in imaging the Earth at every scale – i.e., from the shallow sub-surface to the deepest Earth interfaces such as the core-mantle boundary -, understanding volcanic and hydrothermal systems, and predicting ground motion caused by earthquakes. I am also interested in a newborn seismological method called Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) that turns fiber optic cables into thousands of seismic sensors by injecting laser pulses at one end of a cable and analyzing the backscattered light. I develop capabilities for extracting high-density seismic measurements from these fiber networks and demonstrate their use to evaluate seismic hazard in different areas. More broadly, the integration of my research helps to mitigate the risks that certain and inevitable natural hazards pose to human populations.

Group Members

Our research is often interdisciplinary, and we work in collaboration with numerous institutions around the world.

Past Group Members

Loïc Viens, now working at Los Alamos National Laboratory