Date of Award

2026-05-01

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Geology

Advisor(s)

Marianne S. Karplus

Abstract

The collection of passive and active-source seismic data remains central to the detailed investigation and understanding of complex Earth processes across diverse and often inaccessible environments. Of equal importance is the selection of methodologies that must be tailored to the geological setting and dataset resolution to accurately depict the subsurface. In this dissertation, we apply a range of classic and/or "newly" developed algorithms, unique to each chapter, on seismic datasets from distinct glaciological and geothermal settings to evaluate their performance and enhance subsurface interpretation. In Chapter 1, we analyze active-source seismic data from Lemon Creek Glacier in Juneau, Alaska, using an amplitude-based method to characterize spatial variations in ice-bed interface sediments, identifying areas where dilatant tills predominate. In Chapter 2, we apply a waveform-based clustering algorithm to a passive seismic event catalog from 2017 from the Blue Mountain geothermal site in Nevada, revealing seismic event connectivity classified into unique families, including events linked to their annual maintenance power plant outage. We also demonstrate the ability of the algorithm to include seismic events in these families that are typically rejected by other clustering methods. Lastly, Chapter 3 integrates machine-learning-aided detection with traditional location and relocation methods to a passive seismic dataset collected between 2019 and 2021 at Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica, uncovering potential evidence of tectonic activity and dynamic triggering following teleseismic earthquakes. Together, this study demonstrates that the effectiveness and limitations of seismic analysis depend on methodological choices informed by dataset resolution, parameterization, and the characteristics of the targeted seismic sources, and provides a framework for future refinement of seismic cataloging and subsurface characterization to enhance the understanding of glacial and geothermal processes.

Language

en

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Size

159 p.

File Format

application/pdf

Rights Holder

Lucia Fernanda Gonzalez

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