Inside and out, Planet Earth is in motion. My passion lies in unraveling the dynamics of the Earth’s interior and its profound influence on the surface of our planet. From the hidden complexities of mantle convection to the captivating ascent of magma towards the surface, I strive to understand the motion and ongoing evolution of the Earth's interior. My research focuses primarily on sub-marine volcanism and related phenomena, where I develop techniques to extract insights from the rich flow of data captured by our instruments. Leading teams of scientists and technicians, I embark on expeditions aboard research ships, collecting new data in remote parts of the world to make new images of the Earth’s interior. But often I spend my time working with students and fellow researchers to help along their own scientific discoveries. I have a BSc in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics and a PhD in Geophysics; I was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Brown University before moving to Hawaii. As Chair of the Geophysics and Tectonics Division, my role is to help unlock the mysteries of the dynamic forces that shape our planet and promote the next generation of scientists.
Study sites include the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the Reykjanes Ridge, the Arctic Mohns Ridge, the East Pacific Rise, the Tonga-Lau subduction and back-arc spreading systems, Iceland, and the Hawaii-Emperor Seamount Chain. For more information on the Hawaii-Emperor project see the Hawaii-Emperor Project Site
Courses
Undergraduate Courses
101: Dynamic Earth
323: Physics of the Earth and Planets
399: Directed Reading
499: Undergraduate Thesis
Graduate Courses
610: Graduate Seminar
611: Introduction to Earth Sciences
630: Numerical Modeling
631: Geophyics: Solid,Fluid,& Wave Mechanics
635: Seismology
699: Directed Research
700: Thesis Research
800: Dissertation Research
Cruise Reports
MGL1902 - Seismic Study of the Emperor Seamounts at Jimmu (link)
MGL1806 - Seismic Study of the Hawaiian Ridge (link)
KM1810 - Ka'ena and Wai'alu Ridge Geophysical Studies, aboard the R/V Kilo Moana
KM1710 - Maui Nui Geophysical Studies: Pa‘uwela Ridge, aboard the R/V Kilo Moana
FK140418 - Maui Nui Geophysical Studies, aboard the R/V Falkor
MGL1305 - MARINER Geophysical Studies of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge 36˚N, aboard the R/V Marcus Langseth
MGL0903 - L-SCAN Geophysical Studies of the Lau back arc spreading centers, aboard the R/V Marcus Langseth
Publications
Dunn, RA, ME Cryder, and C Xu (2025) Integrated Bayesian Approach for Station Location and Orientation in Marine Active-Source Seismic Studies. Geophysics. GEO-2024-0406, in press. (soest no. 11895)
Yang, J, H Zhu, Z Zhao, J Huang, D Lumley, R Stern, RA Dunn, AF Arnulf, and J Ma. Asymmetric magma plumbing system beneath Axial Seamount based on full waveform inversion of seismic data, Nature Communications 15, 4767, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49188-y (soest no. 11813)
Jian, H, JP Canales, R Dunn, MR Nedimović. Hydrothermal flow and serpentinization in oceanic core complexes controlled by mafic intrusions. Nature Geoscience, May 6, 2024. (soest no. 11791)
Dunn, RA, AB Watts, C Xu, and DJ Shillington. A seismic tomography, gravity, and flexure study of the crust and upper mantle structure across the Hawaiian Ridge: 2. Ka'ena. J. Geophys. Res. - Solid Earth, 129, e2023JB028118, 2024. (soest no. 11769) (Received an Editor’s Highlight Article in EOS.)
MacGregor, BG, RA Dunn, AB Watts, C Xu, and DJ Shillington. A seismic tomography, gravity, and flexure study of the crust and upper mantle structure of the Hawaiian Ridge, 1, J. Geophys. Res. - Solid Earth, 128, e2023JB027218, 2023. (soest no. 11761)
Dunn, RA (2022) A dual-level magmatic system beneath the East Pacific Rise, 9°N. Geophysical Research Letters, 49, e2022GL097732. https://doi. org/10.1029/2022GL097732. (soest no. 11606)
Xu, C, Dunn, R.A, Watts, AB, Shillington, DJ, Grevemeyer, I, Gómez de la Peña, L, & Boston, BB (2022) A seismic tomography, gravity, and flexure study of the crust and upper mantle structure of the Emperor Seamounts at Jimmu guyot. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, e2021JB023241. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JB023241. (soest no. 11521)
Watts, AB, I Grevemeyer, DJ Shillington, RA Dunn, B Boston, & L Gómez de la Peña (2021) Seismic structure, gravity anomalies and flexure along the Emperor Seamount chain. J. Geophys. Res. - Solid Earth, 126, 2021. (soest no. 11212)
Watts, A. B., B. Tozer , H. Harper , B. Boston , D. J. Shillington , R. Dunn, (2020). Evaluation of shipboard and satellite-derived bathymetry and gravity data over seamounts in the northwest Pacific Ocean, J. Geophys. Res. - Solid Earth, 125(10) (soest no. 11117)
Lata, C. and R. A. Dunn (2020). Uppermost crustal structure across the eastern Lau spreading center from P‐to‐S converted waves, Marine Geophysical Research, 41:20, doi:/10.1007/s11001-020-09419-5 (soest no. 11107)
Horning, G, R Sohn, JP Canales and RA Dunn, (2018). Local Seismicity of the Rainbow massif on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. J. Geophys. Res., doi: 10.1002/2017JB015288. (soest no. 10309)
Sohn, R, JP Canales and RA Dunn, (2018). Hypocenter Catalog Data from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge - Rainbow Vent Field acquired in 2013. Integrated Earth Data Applications (IEDA). doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1594/IEDA/324328.
Dunn, RA, R Arai, DE Eason, JP Canales, RA Sohn, Three-dimensional seismic structure of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: an investigation of tectonic, magmatic, and hydrothermal processes in the Rainbow area, J. Geophys. Res., doi: 10.1002/2017JB015051, 2017. (soest no. 10284)
Canales, JP, RA Dunn, R Arai, RA Sohn, Seismic imaging of magma sills beneath an ultramafic-hosted hydrothermal system, Geology, doi:10.1130/G38795.1, 2017. (soest no. 9904)
Eason, DE, RA Dunn, JP Canales, RA Sohn, Segment-scale variations in seafloor volcanic and tectonic processes from multibeam sonar imaging, Mid-Atlantic Ridge Rainbow region (35˚45’-36˚35’N), Geochem., Geophys., Geosys., 17, doi:10.1002/2016GC006433, 2016. (soest no. 9693)
Dunn, RA, DE Eason, JP Canales, RA Sohn, Seafloor reflectivity of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge Rainbow region (35°45' - 36°35'N) (2016). Integrated Earth Data Applications (IEDA). doi:10.1594/IEDA/323563, 2016.
Dunn, RA, Ocean acoustic reverberation tomography, J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 138 (6), 3458-3469, 2015. (soest no. 9547)
Paulatto, M, JP Canales, RA Dunn, RA Sohn, Heterogeneous and asymmetric crustal accretion: new constraints from multi-beam bathymetry and potential field data from the Rainbow area of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (35°50’N - 36°35’N), Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 16, doi:10.1002/2015GC005743, 2015. (soest no. 9964)
Eason, DE and Dunn, RA, Petrogenesis and structure of oceanic crust in the Lau Back-Arc Basin, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 429, 128-138, 2015. (soest no. 9480)
Ito, G, RA Dunn, A Li, The origin of shear wave splitting beneath Iceland, Geophys. J. Int., 201, 1297-1312, 2015. (soest no. 9268)
Wei, SS, DA Wiens, Y Zha, T Plank, SC Webb, DK Blackman, RA Dunn, JA Conder, Seismic evidence of effects of water on mantle melt transport in the Lau back-arc mantle, Nature, doi:10.1038/nature14113, 2015. (soest no. 10204)
Dunn, RA, Crust and lithospheric structure – seismic structure of mid-ocean ridges. In (eds. B. Romanowicz and A. Dziewonski) Treatise on Geophysics, vol. 1 – Seismology and Structure of the Earth 2nd Edition, Elsevier Science, UK, 2015. (soest no. 9088)
Dunn, RA, Tracking stress and hydrothermal activity along the Eastern Lau Spreading Center using seismic anisotropy, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 410,105-116, 2015. (soest no. 9220)
Brodie, D and RA Dunn, Low frequency baleen whale calls detected on an ocean-bottom seismometer array in the Lau basin, South Pacific Ocean, J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 137(1), 53-62. 2015. (soest no. 9040)
Zha, Y, SC Webb, SS Wei, DA Wiens, DK Blackman, W Menke, RA Dunn, JA Conder, Seismological imaging of ridge-arc interaction beneath the Eastern Lau Spreading Center from OBS ambient noise tomography, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 408, 194-206, 2014. (soest no. 9935)
Arai, R and RA Dunn, Seismological study of Lau back arc crust: mantle water, magmatic differentiation, and a compositionally zoned basin, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 390, 314-317, 2014. (soest no. 8998)
Ito G, RA Dunn, A Li, CJ Wolfe, A Gallego, Y Fu, Seismic anisotropy and shear-wave splitting associated with mantle plume-plate interaction, J. Geophys. Res., 119, doi: 10.1002/2013JB010735, 2014. (soest no. 9095)
Canales, JP, RA Dunn, G Ito, RS Detrick, V Sallarès, Effect of variations in magma supply on the crustal structure of mid-ocean ridges: insights from the western Galápagos Spreading Center. In (eds. KS Harpp, E Mittelstaedt, N d’Ozouville, DW Graham) The Galapagos: A Natural Laboratory for the Earth Sciences. Amer. Geophys. Union, 2014. (soest no. 8489)
Gallego, A, G Ito, RA Dunn, Investigating seismic anisotropy beneath the Reykjanes Ridge using models of mantle flow, crystallographic evolution, and surface wave propagation, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., doi: 10.1002/ggge.20204, 2013. (soest no. 8950)
Dunn, RA, F Martinez, JA Conder, Crustal construction and magma chamber properties along the Eastern Lau Spreading Center, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 371-372, 112-124, 2013. (soest no. 8915)
Conley, MM, and RA Dunn, Seismic shear wave structure of the uppermost mantle beneath the Mohns Ridge, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 12, Q0AK01, doi:10.1029/2011GC003792, 2011. (soest no. 10115)
Dunn, RA and F Martinez, Contrasting crustal production and rapid mantle transitions beneath back-arc ridges, Nature, 469, 198-202, doi:10.1038/nature09690, 2011. (soest no. 8620)
Dunn, RA and O Hernandez, Tracking blue whales in the eastern tropical Pacific with an ocean-bottom seismometer and hydrophone array, J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 126(3), 1084-1094, 2009. (soest no. 6770)
Ito, G and RA Dunn, Mid-Ocean Ridges: Mantle Convection and Formation of the Lithosphere, Encyclop. Ocean Sci, 4030-4044, doi: 10.1016/B978-012374473-9.00654-8, 2009. (soest no. 6780)
Dunn, RA and DW Forsyth, Crust and Lithospheric Structure – Seismic Structure of Mid-Ocean Ridges, in Treatise on Geophysics, eds. A. Dziewonski and B. Romanowicz, Elsevier Science Ltd., 6054 pp., 2007. (soest no. 6279)
Delorey, AA, RA Dunn, and JB Gaherty, Surface wave tomography of the upper mantle beneath the Reykjanes Ridge with implications for ridge–hot spot interaction, J. Geophys. Res., 112, B08313, doi: 10.1029/2006JB004785, 2007. (soest no. 6273)
Gaherty, JB, and RA Dunn, Evaluating hotspot-ridge interaction in the Atlantic from regional-scale seismic observations, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 8, Q05006, doi: 10.1029/2006GC001533, 2007. (soest no. 6302)
Toomey, DR, D Jousselin, RA Dunn, RS Detrick, WSD Wilcock, Skew of mantle upwelling beneath the East Pacific Rise governs segmentation, Nature, 446; doi: 10.1038/nature05679; 22 March 2007. (soest no. 6401)
Genz, AS, CH Fletcher, RA Dunn, LN Frazer, JJ Rooney, The predictive accuracy of shoreline change rate methods and alongshore beach variation on Maui, Hawaii, J. Coastal Res., 23(1), 87-105, 2007. (soest no. 6317)
Dunn, RA, V Lekic, RS Detrick, and DR Toomey, Three-dimensional seismic structure of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 35˚N: focused melt supply and non-uniform plate spreading, J. Geophys. Res., 110, B09101, doi: 10.1029/2004JB003473, 2005. (soest no. 5435)
Dunn, RA, and DW Forsyth, Imaging the transition between the region of mantle melting and the crustal magma chamber beneath the southern East Pacific Rise with short-period Love waves, J. Geophys. Res., 108(B7), 2352, doi: 10.1029/2002JB002217, 2003. (soest no. 6217)
Cherkaoui, ASM, WSD Wilcock, RA Dunn, and DR Toomey, A numerical model of hydrothermal cooling and crustal accretion at a fast spreading mid-ocean ridge, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 4(9), 8616, doi: 10.1029/2001GC000215, 2003. (soest no. 5171)
Jousselin, D, RA Dunn, DR Toomey, Modeling the seismic signature of structural data from the Oman Ophiolite: Can a mantle diapir be detected beneath the East Pacific Rise?, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 4(7), 8610, doi: 10.1029/2002GC000418, 2003. (soest no. 6218)
Dunn, RA, and DR Toomey, Crack-induced seismic anisotropy in the oceanic crust across the East Pacific Rise (9°30'N), Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 189, 9-17, 2001.
Dunn, RA, DR Toomey, RS Detrick, and WSD Wilcock, Continuous mantle melt supply beneath an overlapping spreading center on the East Pacific Rise, Science, 291, 1955-1958, 2001.
Dunn, RA, DS Scheirer, and DW Forsyth, A detailed comparison of repeated bathymetric surveys along a 300-km-long section of the southern East Pacific Rise, J. Geophys. Res., 106, 463-472, 2001.
Dunn, RA, DR Toomey, and SC Solomon, Three-dimensional seismic structure and physical properties of the crust and shallow mantle beneath the East Pacific Rise at 9°30'N, J. Geophys. Res., 105, 23,537-23,555, 2000.
Dunn, RA and DR Toomey, Seismological evidence for three-dimensional melt migration beneath the East Pacific Rise, Nature, 388, 259-262, 1997.
Cuny, J, RA Dunn, ST Hackstadt, CW Harrop, HH Hersey, AD Malony, and DR Toomey, Building domain-specific environments for computational science: a case study in seismic tomography, Inter. J. Supercomp. App. High Perf. Comp., 11, 179-196, 1997.
Dunn, RA, Three-dimensional seismic structure and physical properties of the crust and shallow mantle beneath the East Pacific Rise at 9°30'N, Doctoral Thesis, University of Oregon, Eugene, 1999.