Michael S Thorne portrait
  • Associate Professor, Geology & Geophysics
801-585-9792

Research Statement

• Global Seismic Structure • Core Mantle Boundary Layer Structure • 2 & 3 dimensional Seismic Wave propagation techniques • Scattering of the Seismic Wavefield • Array processing techniques • Volcano Seismology

Geographical Regions of Interest

  • Germany
    I work with colleagues at the University of Muenster, Germany and spent 2 months in 2016 visiting this university.
  • Japan
  • United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
    I received an Outstanding Faculty Visitor (OFV) award to work at the University of Leeds in June and July of 2016.

Publications

  • Pachhai, S., Thorne, M.S. & Rost, S. (2023). Improved characterization of ultralow-velocity zones through advances in Bayesian inversion of ScP waveforms. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. Vol. 128. Published, 01/2023.
  • Ward, J., Thorne, M.S, Nowacki, A. & Rost, S. (2023). Upper mantle structure beneath the contiguous US resolved with array observations of SKS multipathing and slowness vector perturbations. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. Vol. 128. Published, 01/2023.
  • Pachhai, S., Thorne, M.S. & Nissen-Meyer, T. (2022). Quantification of small-scale heterogeneity at the core-mantle boundary using sample entropy of SKS and SPdKS synthetic waveforms. Minerals. Vol. 12. Published, 01/2022.
  • Pachhai, S., Li, M., Thorne, M.S., Dettmer, J. & Tkalcic, H. (2022). Internal structure of ultralow-velocity zones consistent with origin from a basal magma ocean. Nature Geoscience. Vol. 15, 79-84. Published, 01/2022.
  • Krier, J., Thorne, M.S., Leng, K. & Nissen-Meyer, T. (2021). A compositional component to the Samoa ultralow-velocity zone revealed through 2- and 3-D waveform modeling of SKS and SKKS differential travel-times and amplitudes. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. Vol. 126. Published, 01/2021.
  • Ward, J., Thorne, M.S., Nowacki, A. & Rost, S. (2021). Automatic slowness vector measurements of seismic arrivals with uncertainty estimates using bootstrap sampling, array methods and unsupervised learning. Geophysical Journal International. Vol. 226, 1847-1857. Published, 01/2021.
  • Haugland, S.M., Ritsema, J., Kaneshima, S. & Thorne, M.S. (2017). Estimate of the rigidity of eclogite in the lower mantle from waveform modeling of broadband S-to-P wave conversions. Geophysical Research Letters. Vol. 44. Published, 01/2017.
  • Bentham, H.L.M., Rost, S. & Thorne, M.S. (2017). Fine-scale structure of the mid-mantle characterised by global stacks of PP precursors. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. Vol. 472, 164-173. Published, 01/2017.
  • Vanacore, E.A., Rost, S., and Thorne, M.S. (2016), Ultralow-velocity zone geometries resolved by multidimensional waveform modelling, Geophysical Journal International, 206, 659-674, doi: 10.1093/gji/ggw114. Published, 03/30/2016.
  • Whittaker, S., Thorne, M.S., Schmerr, N.C., and Miyagi, L. (2015), Seismic array constraints on the D" discontinuity beneath Central America, Journal of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth, 120, 1-18, doi: 10.1002/2015JB012392. Published, 12/07/2015.
  • Starr, A.M., Moore, J.R., and Thorne, M.S. (2015), Ambient resonance of Mesa Arch, Canyonlands National Park, Utah, Geophysical Research Letters, 42, 1-7, doi:10.1002/2015GL064917. Published, 08/05/2015.
  • Yao, Y., Whittaker, S., and Thorne, M.S. (2015), D" discontinuity structure benath the North Atlantic from Scd observations, Geophysical Research Letters, 42, 1-9, doi:10.1002/2015GL063989. Published, 05/05/2015.
  • Brown, S.P., Thorne, M.S., Miyagi, L., and Rost, S. (2015), A compositional origin to ultralow-velocity zones, Geophysical Research Letters, 42, 1-7, doi:10.1002/2014GL062097. Published, 01/14/2015.
  • Brown, S., and Thorne, M.S. (2013), Viterbi Sparse Spike Detection, Geophysics, 78 (4), V157-V169, doi:10.1190/GEO2012-0209.1. Published, 06/24/2014.
  • Jensen, K.J., Thorne, M.S., and Rost, S., (2013), SPdKS analysis of ultralow-velocity zones beneath the western Pacific, Geophysical Research Letters, 40, 1-5, doi:10.1002/grl.50877. Published, 08/13/2013.