Zach Eilon | Earth Science - UC Santa Barbara

Associate Professor

eilon@geol.ucsb.edu

CV_2019_01_DeptWebsite.pdf

Office Hours:

Tuesday 10-11 am

Thursday 1-2 pm

Office Location:

Webb 2116

Website:

Research Website

Specialization:

Seismology, Tectonophysics, Inverse Theory

Education:

Columbia University (Ph.D., 2016; M.Phil. 2014)
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Thesis committee: Geoffrey Abers (advisor), Jim Gaherty, Roger Buck, William Menke

Harvard University (Special Studentship, 2011)

University of Cambridge (B.A. 2009; M.Sci. 2010)
Natural Sciences (Geology and Geophysics)

Research:

My research covers several aspects of structural seismology, with a focus on answering fundamental questions about tectonic processes using seismic tools. My research areas include zones of extension (continental rifts, passive margins, and mid-ocean ridges), cratons, and the not-so-boring-after-all interiors of oceanic plates. I have worked on research projects in the central Pacific Ocean, Papua New Guinea, Iceland, Greece, Cascadia, and Ethiopia (the list seems to grow by the year...). My primary areas of expertise are seismic tomography, inverse theory, anisotropy, and attenuation. I've recently been working on models that incorporate a wide range of seismic data types to harness their distinct and complementary constraints on Earth structure.

Projects:

Lithosphere-scale anisotropic imaging across the Eastern North American Margin’s ocean-continent transition
Seismicity and seismic structure of the Santa Ynez mountains
The context for rifting in East Africa - melt distribution and lithospheric removal imaged from axis to flank
Imaging small- scale convection and structure of the mantle in the south Pacific: a US contribution to an international PacificArray
Thermal and melt structure of the Juan de Fuca plate from ridge to trench to arc, inferred from seismic attenuation across the Amphibious Array

Publications:

Eilon, Z., K. M. Fischer, and C. A. Dalton, (2018) “An adaptive Bayesian inversion for upper mantle structure using surface waves and scattered body waves”, Geophysical Journal International, 214, 232-253, doi:10.1093/gji/ggy137

Eilon, Z. and G. A. Abers, (2017) “High seismic attenuation at a mid-ocean ridge reveals the distribution of deep melt”, Science Advances, 3, e1602829, doi:10.1126/sciadv.1602829.

Dannberg, J., Z. Eilon, U. Faul, R. Gaßm ?oller, P. Moulik, R. Myhill∗, (2017) “Investigating the geodynamic and seismological importance of grain size in the Earth”, Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, doi:10.1002/2017GC006944

Eilon, Z., G. A. Abers, and J. B. Gaherty, (2016) “A Joint Inversion for V_S and Anisotropy: The Woodlark Rift, Papua New Guinea”, Geophysical Journal International, doi:10.1093/gji/ggw177

Abers, G. A., Z. Eilon, J. B. Gaherty, G. Jin, YH. Kim, M. Obrebski, and C. Dieck, (2016) “Southeast Papuan crustal tectonics: imaging extension and buoyancy of an active rift”, Journal of Geophysical Research, 125, 951-971, doi:10.1002/2015JB012621

Eilon, Z., G. A. Abers, J. B. Gaherty, and G. Jin, (2015) “Imaging Continental Breakup using Teleseismic Body Waves: The Woodlark Rift, Papua New Guinea”, Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 16, doi:10.1002/2015GC005835

Jin, G., J. B. Gaherty, G. A. Abers, YH Kim, Z. Eilon, and W. R. Buck, (2015) “Crust and upper mantle structure associated with extension in the Woodlark Rift, Papua New Guinea from Rayleigh-wave tomography”, Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, doi:10.1002/2015GC005840

Menke, W. and Z. Eilon, (2015) “Relationship between data smoothing and the regularization of inverse problems”, Pure and Applied Geophysics, doi:10.1007/s00024-015-1059-0

Eilon, Z., G. A. Abers, G. Jin, and J. B. Gaherty, (2014) “Anisotropy beneath a highly extended continental rift”, Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems , 15 , doi:10.1002/2013GC005092

Janiszewski, H. J., J. B. Gaherty, G. A. Abers, H. Gao, and Z. Eilon, (submitted) “Amphibious surface-wave phase-velocity measurements of the Cascadia subduction zone”, Geophys. J. Int..

Bezada, M., J. Byrnes, and Z. Eilon, (submitted) “Implications of measurement parameters on estimates of seismic attenuation: a case study using the North Korean nuclear test”, Geophys. J. Int..

Russell, J., Z. Eilon, and S. Mosher, (submitted) “A new tool for the precise remote location of ocean bottom seismometers”, Seismological Research Letters.

Eilon, Z., K. M. Fischer, and C. A. Dalton, (in prep.) “The deep structure of North American lithosphere imaged by adaptive Bayesian inversion”.

Courses:

EARTH 2 - Introduction to Physical Geology
EARTH 133 - Plate Tectonics and Mantle Dynamics
EARTH 254 - Advanced Seismology Seminar
EARTH 256 - Geophysical Inverse Theory
EARTH 270 - Seminar in Geophysical Methods