Clare Donaldson

My research uses seismology to study volcanoes in Hawai'i and Iceland, under the supervision of Professor Robert White. I use ambient noise interferometry to measure seismic velocity variations of the shallow crust. Ambient noise refers to the parts of the seismogram which are not traditionally used by volcano seismologists; about 15 years ago it was discovered that cross-correlation of pairs of seismographs could extract coherent information from this noise. Continuous measurement of seismic velocity from noise is an exciting new tool in volcano monitoring, since velocity is sensitive to magma pressurisation and other stresses affecting the subsurface. At Kīlauea, I observed that the seismic velocity of the summit correlates with deformation in so-called deflation-inflation events. I am currently applying this technique to the Northern Volcanic Zone in Iceland and hope to investigate how noise interferometry could be used as a monitoring tool there. I also study volcanic tremor and long-period seismicity in Iceland.

Professor Robert White