Invited Speak Seminar: Characterizing Submarine Hazards Using Novel Data from Underwater Vehicles, Dr. Alex Hughes (University of British Columbia)

Abstract: In this talk, I will explore the application of centimeter-scale 3D models created using structure-from-motion techniques on seafloor video imagery in conjunction with meter-scale bathymetric data to investigate submarine earthquake hazards and links between submarine earthquakes and erosion. Focusing on the 2004 Mw 6.3 Les Saintes Earthquake in the Lesser Antilles, I will present a unique method for mapping submarine earthquake ruptures and explore the implications for submarine landslide triggering, submarine paleoseismicity, tsunami propagation modelling, and earthquake magnitude-scaling relationships. 

Bio: I studied geology at the University of Manchester before working for a couple of years as a geo-environmental engineer at RSK in the UK. I returned to academia and obtained my PhD from Imperial College London where I studied active tectonics in Southern California using topographic analysis, structural analysis, and cosmogenic nuclides. My first postdoc was at IPGP in Paris, where I investigated submarine active tectonics and links between earthquakes and seafloor processes. I am currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia where I study paleoseismicity and links between earthquakes and seafloor processes along the BC continental margin.