[iris-bulk] New Zealand Seismicity: Student Research Assistanceship

[IRIS]

Research student (MSc or possibly PhD) to study Seismicity in New  
Zealand’s Central Volcanic Region


Euan Smith and Martha Savage (Institute of Geophysics, Victoria  
University of Wellington) have a research grant from the New Zealand  
Earthquake Commission (EQC) that will pay the local New Zealand fees  
and a stipend for a research student for one year.

Our project aims to develop probability models for earthquake  
sequences that occur in New Zealand’s Central Volcanic Region. This  
region has earthquakes that are followed by ‘normal’ aftershocks, but  
it also has earthquake sequences called ‘swarms’ that cluster in  
space and time without a clearly defined main event.  Earthquake  
occurrence data will come from GeoNet’s earthquake database  
(www.geonet.org.nz ).  The models will describe, probabilistically,  
the magnitude and spatial distribution of the swarms, and their  
evolution in time.  These models are intended to give emergency  
managers the ability to make quantitative assessments for the ongoing  
development of earthquake sequences.

The project is also intended to be the first stage of a wider  
programme that will attempt to understand the physical processes that  
give rise to earthquake swarms, including their relationship to  
volcanic and plutonic processes.

MSc students from New Zealand, Australia, Germany or France, and PhD  
students from any country, can attend Victoria University for local  
fees (paid for by the grant).  Any others must be able to pay  
additional international fees of around NZ$19,000. Interested  
students with backgrounds in any of Earth science, physics,  
mathematics or statistics are invited to contact Euan Smith for  
further details.  Please include a CV and a list of courses taken and  
grades achieved.  (An unofficial transcript is acceptable)   
(euan.smith at vuw.ac.nz; ph +644 4636422,
http://www.victoria.ac.nz/geo/people/euan-smith/index.html ; http:// 
www.victoria.ac.nz/geo/people/martha-savage/index.html )