IRIS Recruitment Lecture Series at the Department of Mathematics at New York City College of Technology

1. PATHWAYS INTO
GEOPHYSI
CS &
SEISMOLO
GY
JOSH RUSSELL
LAMONT-DOHERTY EARTH OBSERVATORY – COLUMBIA
UNIVERSITY

2. WHAT IS GEOPHYSICS?
Application of physics & mathematics to study the Earth System
Data-driven science.
▸ Make observations create physics-based models to explain
http://www.seismicsoundlab.org/

3. FLAVORS OF GEOPHYSICISTS
▸Seismologist
▸Study of earthquakes and the
propagation of elastic waves through
the earth
▸Geodesist
▸Study Earth’s shape, gravity field, and
rotational properties
▸Planetary physicist
▸Applied geophysicist
▸Petroleum geophysicist
▸Mining geophysicist
▸Environmental geophysicist
▸Exploration geophysicist
Data Used
▸Active source seismic
▸Passive source seismic
▸GPS
▸Electrical resistivity
▸Magnetic fields
▸Gravity fields
▸Infrasound
▸Full wavefield computer
models

4. GEOSCIENTIST EMPLOYMENT
SECTORS

5. WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO WITH A
DEGREE IN GEOPHYSICS?
▸ Data Science
▸ Oil and Gas
Exploration
▸ Environmental
Consulting
▸ Quantitative Finance
▸ Research and
Development
▸ Government Lab
▸ Teaching
Geophysicists possess quantitative/computational skills that are
highly sought after in industry
We find patterns in large, messy, incomplete datasets and build
physical/mathematical models to explain these patterns

6. RELEVANT FIELDS OF MATHEMATICS &
PHYSICS
Physics
▸ Wave mechanics
▸ Continuum
mechanics
▸ Electromagnetism
▸ Sometimes quantum
(mainly the
mathematical “tricks”)
Mathematics
▸ Inverse theory
▸ Linear algebra
▸ ODEs / PDEs
▸ Calculus
▸ Statistics
Computation
▸ Machine learning
▸ Data mining
▸ Digital signal
processing
▸ Parallel computing
▸ Supercomputing for
full-wave simulations

7. MY PATH TO GEOPHYSICS
B.S. Physics
2011 start
PhD Geophysics
2015 start
Summer 2013
(rising junior)
Summer 2014
(rising senior)

8. IRIS INTERNSHIP
Research experience in seismology▸ 11 weeks
▸ 4 weeks at University of Indiana
▸ 7 weeks at Purdue University
▸ Paid! (~$650 per week)
▸ Work directly with faculty mentor
▸ Funding to attend the Fall AGU conference
in San Francisco
Receiver function imagining of crustal structure

9. RESESS INTERNSHIP
Research experience in “solid earth” science
Day Before
Eruption
Day After
Eruption
▸ 11 weeks in Boulder, CO
▸ Paid! (~$650 per week)
▸ Work with faculty mentor and student
mentor
▸ Writing/communication workshop
▸ Free GRE prep classes
▸ Funding to attend the GSA Meeting in
Vancouver BC, Canada
Using GPS signal-to-noise ratio to track volcanic plumes

10. OPPORTUNITIES FOR FIELDWORKGeophysicists travel the world!
(if they want to)

11. STUDYING EARTH’S INTERIOR
www.oregongeology.org/pubs/ims/ims-028/tectonics.htm

12. STUDYING EARTH’S INTERIOR (THE
MODEL) http://www.seismicsoundlab.org/
3D homogeneous, uniform,
isotropic, linear elastic medium:

13. STUDYING EARTH’S INTERIOR (THE
DATA)
http://ds.iris.edu/ds/products/gmv/

14. OCEAN BOTTOM SEISMOLOGY (THE
“NOMELT" EXPERIMENT)
Dropped 25 seismometers in the
Pacific Ocean in 2012.
Earthquakes and the seismic
wavefield recorded for 1 year
Returned in 2013 to retrieve the
data (~1TB)

15. Scattered waves generated by nonlinear coupling of ocean waves with
seafloor
These waves constantly travel between stations sitting on the seafloor
AMBIENT SEISMIC NOISE

16. We can extract these waves by
cross-correlating time series
recorded at two stations (A and
B)
Waves emerge when stacking
over many months/years of
data.
AMBIENT SEISMIC NOISE

17. THE DATA
When we do this for all station pairs in the array… extract velocity of the
seismic wavefield!

18. MODELING ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF
THE EARTH!
Flow DirectionFlow Strength
We use perturbations in these
measured velocities to directly map
flow patterns in the Earth’s mantle
FSD

19. INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
▸ Flexible length - 9 to 14 weeks research
placements
▸ Single year only
▸ Participants distributed both within the
US and abroad
▸ Virtual communication among cohort
emphasized
▸ Research projects include all specialties
within seismology
▸ Travel, competitive weekly stipend, and
housing support
▸ Full funding to present research at the
Fall AGU conference
▸ Multi-summer diversity-focused
▸ 11 weeks research placement/summer
▸ First year interns located in Boulder, CO
(2nd year interns anywhere)
▸ Research projects include a variety of
solid Earth science topics
▸ Travel, lodging, and competitive stipend
included
▸ Academic year support:
▸ GRE finical support
▸ Funding for conference attendance
▸ Graduate school application
assistance
Deadline for both programs is February 1

21. OIL & GAS DEMANDS

22. THE BREAKDOWN: WORKFORCE
TRENDS

23. THE BREAKDOWN: WORKFORCE
TRENDS
US Geoscience degrees granted (1973-2017)

24. GEOSCIENTISTS IN THE WORKFORCE