Victor C. Tsai

Victor Tsai email: vtsai[at]post.harvard.edu address:   U.S. Geological Survey                 MS 966, Box 25046, DFC                    Denver, CO 80225 phone: office: x8558 (at the NEIC)

Where Am I Now?
I am currently a Mendenhall postdoc on the Geologic Hazards Team at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Education
Ph.D., Earth and Planetary Sciences (Geophysics), Harvard University, 2009
M.A., Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, 2006
B.S., Geophysics with Honors, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), 2004

Advisors (Current and Past): Dan McNamara, Jim Rice, Adam Dziewonski, John Wettlaufer, Goran Ekstrom, David Stevenson, Hiroo Kanamori

Academic Interests
I am interested in many different aspects of solid earth geophysics, including but not limited to: earthquakes, glaciers, seismic imaging techniques, solid earth/atmosphere interactions, melting processes, earth structure, mantle convection, and planetary formation/processes. My major focus right now is on understanding short-timescale glacier physics and microseism generation although I am working on a number of other projects as well. For more details about individual projects, click on the links below:

• On the Accuracy of Noise Tomography
• Understanding Glacial Earthquakes
• The Role of Fluids in Fault Zones
• The Formation of 'Lake Stars'
• Multiple CMT Analysis of the 2004 Sumatran Earthquake
• True Polar Wander - Theoretical Constraints
• Solid Earth/Atmosphere Interactions - the Morning Glory of Southern California

Publications:

• Tsai, V. C., and M. P. Moschetti (2009). "An Explicit Relationship Between Time-Domain Noise Correlation and Spatial Autocorrelation (SPAC) Results",
  Submitted to GJI (Dec 10, 2009).
  
  
• Tsai, V. C., and J. R. Rice (2009). "Turbulent Hydraulic Fracture and Applications to Glacial Crack Propagation",
  Submitted to JGR - Earth Surface (July 31, 2009).
  
  
• Tsai, V. C. (2009). "The Use of Simple Physical Models in Seismology and Glaciology",
  Harvard University, Ph.D. Thesis, advised by J. R. Rice. PDF
  
  
• Tsai, V. C. (2009). "On Establishing the Accuracy of Noise Tomography Travel-Time Measurements in a Realistic Medium",
  Geophys. J. Int., 178, 1555-1564, doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2009.04239.x (Published June 26, 2009). PDF
  
  
• Tsai, V. C., J. R. Rice, and M. Fahnestock (2008). "Possible Mechanisms for Glacial Earthquakes",
  J. Geophys. Res., 113, F03014, doi:10.1029/2007JF000944. PDF
  
  
• Joughin, I., I. Howat, R. B. Alley, G. Ekstrom, M. Fahnestock, T. Moon, M. Nettles, M. Truffer, and V. C. Tsai (2008).
  "Ice-front variation and tidewater behavior on Helheim and Kangerdlugssuaq Glaciers, Greenland",
  J. Geophys. Res., 113, F01004, doi:10.1029/2007JF000837. PDF
  
  
• Tsai, V. C. and J. S. Wettlaufer (2007). "The Formation of Lake Stars",
  Physical Rev. E, 75, doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.75.066105. PDF
  
  
• Tsai, V. C. and D. J. Stevenson (2007). "Theoretical Constraints on True Polar Wander",
  J. Geophys. Res., 112, B05415, doi:10.1029/2005JB003923. PDF
  
  
• Tsai, V. C. and G. Ekström (2007). "Analysis of Glacial Earthquakes",
  J. Geophys. Res., 112, F03S22, doi:10.1029/2006JF000596. PDF
  
  
• Ekström, G., M. Nettles, and V. C. Tsai (2006). "Seasonality and Increasing Frequency of Greenland Glacial Earthquakes",
  Science, 311, 5768, 1756-1758, doi:10.1126/science.1122112. PDF
  
  
• Tsai, V. C., M. Nettles, G. Ekström, and A. M. Dziewonski (2005). "Multiple CMT source analysis of the 2004 Sumatra earthquake",
  Geophys. Res. Lett., 32 (17), L17304, doi:10.1029/2005GL023398. PDF
  
  
• Tsai, V. C., H. Kanamori, and J. Artru (2004). "The morning glory wave of southern California",
  J. Geophys. Res.-Solid Earth, 109 (B2), B02307, doi:10.1029/2003JB002596. PDF
  
  
• Tsai, V. C., A. Weinstein, and D. Ugolini (2001). "LIGO Physical Environment Monitoring at the 40-meter Prototype",
  LIGO document T010161-00-R.
  
  

Selected Posters and Presentations:
Presentation on glacial earthquakes given at AGU Fall 2005
Presentation on thermal pressurization of fault gouge given at AGU Fall 2005
Presentation on TPW given at AGU Joint Assembly Spring 2005
Poster on TPW given at AGU Fall 2004
Poster on the Morning Glory given at AGU Fall 2002
Presentation on the Morning Glory given at SCCUR (Southern California Conference on Undergraduate Research)

For more information about my publications and presentations, please see my CV.


Last update 11:49AM December 24th, 2009