Research

Galapagos Plume-Ridge Interaction

Students and faculty from University of Hawaiʻi, Univ. of Oregon, and Univ. Rhode Island conducted an ocean bottom seismometer experiment to reveal how the Galapagos mantle plume is interacting with the Galapagos Spreading Center. Research includes body- and surface-wave tomography, receiver function analysis, shear-wave splitting and geodynamic modeling.

Creation of the seafloor by faulting and magmatism at mid-ocean ridges

Postdoctoral researchers, students, and numerous collaborators and I use high-performance computer simulations to explore the physical causes for the formation of abyssal hills on the seafloor, the placement of enormous detachment faults in the oceans, and how magmatism impacts the orthogonal versus oblique spreading ridges. [e.g., Schierjott et al. 2023, Tian et al. 2024, Ito et al. 2026; Howell et al. 2019, Olive et al. 2015] (click image to view video)

Magma-assisted flexing of the lithosphere beneath the Hawaiian ridge

My graduate students and used evidence from seafloor topography, gravity, and active-source seismology for the flexing of the lithosphere beneath the Hawaiian Ridge and young Hawaiian Islands. We found that the amount of bending can be explained by unusually hot and weak lithosphere beneath the islands from magma that fed the volcanoes [Pleus et al. 2020; Douglas et al. 2025] . These results corraborate geothermobarometric results of mantle xenoliths indicating higher-than-expected temperatures in the lithosphere [Guest et al. 2020].

Mechanics of accretionary prism faulting at subduction zones

My graduate students and other collaborators used computational models to simulate thrust faulting at sedimentary wedges forming on the seafloor at subduction zones. These areas deform in a variety of ways, including via large earthquakes, which pose seismic and tsunami risks [Ito & Moore, 2021; Weiss et al. 2018]

Assessment of Hawaiʻi's Geothermal Energy Resources

An extensive and ongoing survey of geophysical, geologic, hydrologic, and geochemical data reveal the probability of Hawaiʻi's geothermal energy resources. Geothermal energy provides the steady clean electrical power needed to meet the States mandate of achieving 100% renewable energy by 2045. Visit the Hawaiʻi Groundwater and Geothermal Research Center.

Page updated

Report abuse