Paula Koelemeijer

Research Interests

As a seismologist I am interested in using seismic waves to understand the world around us, ranging from planetary-scale processes to social seismology. The tiny signals recorded by seismometers at the Earth’s surface allow us to answer fundamental questions about its deep interior, and yet also provide detailed information about human and animal behaviour. Recent research topics include the development of seismic tomography models with uncertainties, background seismicity in London, phase transitions in the deep mantle, the topography of the core-mantle boundary and lockdown effects on seismic noise. To be able to work on such a wide range of applications, I collaborate intensively with geodynamicists and mineral physicists, as well as zoologists and computer scientists. Much of my research is hypothesis driven, often combining analysis of seismic data, forward and inverse modelling, with a strong emphasis on data uncertainties.

Potential PhD projects topics include (1) seismological proxies for phase transitions in the mantle, (2) the effect of theoretical approximations in normal mode theory for retrieving mantle density, (3) the potential of using seismic monotoring for tunneling activities, (4) constraining compressional-wave anisotropy in the Earth's mantle

Have a look at currently advertised DPhil topics in Earth Sciences by following this link:

https://www.earth.ox.ac.uk/teaching/graduates/dphil-projects/

 

Qualifications and Experience

PhD in seismology (University of Cambridge, 2014). National accredited teaching qualification (SEDA PDF Descriptor 2 Award).

Supervisor of MSc / PhD research projects since 2016.
Senior research fellow / lecturer (associate professor) since 2018.

Personal Research Keywords

Observational seismology, Normal modes, Seismic tomography, Seismic noise, Geodynamics, Inverse problems