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 have moved to the Seismological Laboratory at Caltech!
My webpage is now: www.gps.caltech.edu/~tsai. Please update your links!
Mendenhall postdoc
on the Geologic Hazards Team
at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) --->
EPS)
at Harvard University -->
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
CV (updated January 2008)
-->
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 noise correlation measurements, 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:
Modeling Rapid Lake Drainage in Glaciers
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. (2011).
"Understanding the Amplitudes of Noise Correlation Measurements",
J. Geophys. Res., accepted and in press (June 22, 2011).
Preprint
Tsai, V. C. (2011).
"A Model for Seasonal Changes in GPS Positions and Seismic Wave Speeds due to Thermoelastic and Hydrologic Variations",
J. Geophys. Res., 116, B04404, doi:10.1029/2010JB008156 published (April 19, 2011).
PDF
Love, J. J., V. C. Tsai, and J. L. Gannon (2010).
"Averaging and sampling for magnetic-observatory hourly data",
Ann. Geophys., 28, 2079-2096, doi:10.5194/angeo-28-2079-2010.
PDF
Tsai, V. C., and J. R. Rice (2010).
"A Model for Turbulent Hydraulic Fracture and Application to Crack Propagation at Glacier Beds",
J. Geophys. Res., 115, F03007, doi:10.1029/2009JF001474.
PDF
Tsai, V. C. (2010).
"The Relationship Between Noise Correlation and the Green's Function in the Presence of Degeneracy and the Absence of Equipartition",
Geophys. J. Int., 182, 1509-1514, doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2010.04693.x.
PDF
Tsai, V. C., and M. P. Moschetti (2010).
"An Explicit Relationship Between Time-Domain Noise Correlation and Spatial Autocorrelation (SPAC) Results",
Geophys. J. Int., 182, 454-460, doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2010.04633.x.
PDF
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.
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. Ekstrm (2007).
"Analysis of Glacial Earthquakes",
J. Geophys. Res., 112, F03S22, doi:10.1029/2006JF000596.
PDF
Ekstrm, 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. Ekstrm, 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.