Joshua Russell is an Assistant Professor of seismology in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. His research utilizes measurements of ground vibrations from seismic waves to image Earth’s interior, illuminating its structure, composition, and dynamics. This involves collecting new datasets from unexplored locations and developing leading-edge computational and analytical tools for imaging Earth’s material properties. His research aims to improve our understanding of the plate tectonic processes that shape our planet.

My research involves using seismic waves to image the crust and upper mantle to investigate Earth’s tectonic processes. My work targets fundamental questions regarding the structure and evolution of tectonic plates; dynamics of extensional environments (mid-ocean ridges, continental rifts); scale/vigor of mantle convection and its impact on the lithosphere; and abundance of melt and volatiles in Earth’s mantle and their role in tectonic processes.

To address these questions, my group collects new datasets from unexplored regions of the world to map temperature, composition, and flow in the mantle beneath. Much of this work takes place in the oceans, which cover most of our planet and span the entire plate lifecycle but are only sparsely instrumented. We develop models of seismic wavespeed, attenuation, and anisotropy that incorporate information from disciplines such as mineral physics and rock mechanics to quantify the physical state of the mantle and its dynamics. State-of-the-art high performance computing facilities at SU support this work.

Additional areas of research include: ground motion and amplification of seismic waves, which play a key role in seismic hazard; use of seismic signals produced by environmental processes at Earth’s surface to investigate interactions between the hydrosphere, cryosphere, atmosphere, and solid earth.

Geophysics, seismic imaging, tectonics, ocean-bottom seismology, geophysical inverse theory