Monica Wolfson-Schwehr

My research interests focus on bringing together different technologies and data types to further our understanding of marine tectonic environments.  During my PhD, I combined multibeam bathymetry, earthquake relocation techniques, statistical analysis, and finite element modeling to investigate how physical fault structure relates to seismic behavior and the underlying thermal structure of mid-ocean ridge transform faults.

I love pushing boundaries and using technologies in novel ways. As a post-doctoral researcher at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in Moss Landing, CA, I used a prototype ultra-high-resolution mapping system flown on an ROV to observe how submarine canyon processes shape the seafloor on a sub-meter scale. The mapping system includes a multibeam sonar, a dual-head wide-swath sub-sea lidar, and a stereocamera package that enables us to simultaneously map the seafloor at resolutions of 5 centimeters, 1 centimeter, and 2 millimeters, respectively. These data enable us to observe sub-meter features in the seafloor (e.g., erosional features and worm pits) that cannot be imaged by more traditional deep-sea mapping methods (AUV and surface vessel). Data collected at these scales help bridge the gap between what we can observe on seafloor and what is preserved in the rock record.