Aron MELTZNER
Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor, Asian School of the Environment
Faculty Representative
Fax:
(+65) 6790 1585
Email:
meltzner@ntu.edu.sg
Office Location:
N2-01a-05
Research Group:
- Tectonics, Climate
Team:
My research interests lie in active tectonics and in intricately related topics such as past sea level and glacial isostatic adjustment, which bear on questions of tectonic deformation at timescales from centuries to millennia. Broadly, my work involves applications of neotectonics, paleoseismology, and paleogeodesy to address fundamental questions of earthquake hazard, earthquake recurrence and repeatability, fault segmentation, fault interactions, and past sea-level change.
Many of my studies involve the use of coral microatolls to infer past changes in relative sea level, which we can use to infer past land-level change, glacial isostatic adjustment, and tectonic deformation. I have ongoing research using coral microatolls in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. I am also building a research program in Myanmar involving terrestrial paleoseismology to quantify deformation and assess hazard across the complex plate boundary there.
I am a geologist by training, but I collaborate extensively with the Geodesy Group at EOS, in order to apply geodetic modeling techniques to more rigorously interpret the geological data that we collect. I also collaborate extensively with the Coastal Lab and Sea Level Research groups. For more details, see my group webpage.
Education:
- Doctor of Philosophy in Geology, California Institute of Technology, 2010
- Master of Science (Geological Sciences), San Diego State University, 2006
- Bachelor of Science with honor (Geology), California Institute of Technology, 2000
Professional Experience:
Assistant Professor (Dec 2017 to present)
Asian School of the Environment | Earth Observatory of Singapore | Nanyang Technological University
Senior Research Fellow (Jul 2013 to Dec 2017)
Research Fellow (Feb 2010 to Jun 2013)
Earth Observatory of Singapore | Nanyang Technological University
Professional Activities:
- American Geophysical Union; Geological Society of America; Seismological Society of America; Asia Oceania Geosciences Society; Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society
- 2018 Asia Oceania Geosciences Society 15th Annual Meeting convener for the special session, “Bridging Observations from Geology and Geodesy to Understand Tectonic Deformation over Multiple Timescales”
- 2018 Asia Oceania Geosciences Society 15th Annual Meeting co-convener for the special session, “Where History and Geology Intercept: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Extending our Chronology of Catastrophic Geologic Events”
- 2014 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting co-convener for the special session, “Science and Societal Lessons from a Decade of Giant Megathrust Earthquakes”
- External examiner for the PhD defense of Jennifer Weil Accardo, IPGP, France, June 2014
- Participant, GeoPRISMS Subduction Cycles & Deformation (SCD) Implementation Workshop, Austin, TX, January 2011
- 2010 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting co-convener for the special session, “Subduction-Zone Segmentation over Multiple Earthquake Cycles”
- 2009 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting co-convener for the special session, “Paleogeodesy at Subduction Zones”
- 2006 Seismological Society of America Annual Meeting co-convener for the special session, “The Giant Sumatran Earthquakes of 2004 and 2005”
- Development of a website, educational exercises (undergraduate level), and a trail guide for the lay public for the offset of Wallace Creek along the San Andreas fault in the Carrizo Plain. The website URL is http://www.scec.org/wallacecreek/ and the brochure and class exercises are available in PDF format from the website
University Service:
- Co-advised a post-doc at the Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) at NTU, 2017-present
- Co-advised 3 PhD students in the Asian School of the Environment (ASE) at NTU, 2012-present
- Co-advised a post-undergraduate research assistant interning at EOS, 2015-present
- Advised 2 undergraduates through NTU's CN Yang Scholars Undergraduate Research Experience program, 2016-present
- Advised 3 undergraduates through NTU's Undergraduate Research Experience on Campus (URECA) program, 2012-2015
- Advised 7 undergraduates through Caltech's Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) program, 2013-2014
- Organized a geological field trip for CN Yang Scholars at NTU to eastern California, July 2016
Courses Taught:
- Co-teach ES1003: Solid Earth
Honours and Awards:
- 2015 Exceptional Reviewer for Geosphere
- 2007 recipient of the Outstanding Student Paper Award, Seismology Section, American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, December 2007, San Francisco, CA
- 2006 recipient of the Outstanding Student Presentation Award, Seismological Society of America Annual Meeting, April 2006, San Francisco, CA
- 2005 recipient of the Outstanding Student Presentation Award, Seismological Society of America Annual Meeting, April 2005, Incline Village, NV
- 2003–2004 recipient of the Special Institute Fellowship in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences at Caltech
- National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship 2002 Honorable Mention awardeerecipient of various awards and scholarships in the Department of Geological Sciences at SDSU, 2001–2003
- winner of the 2000 Deans’ Cup award (at Caltech), in recognition of efforts to improve the quality of undergraduate life at Caltech and to establish lines of communication with members of the faculty and administration; accompanied by a $200 prize
- 1999–2000 recipient of the Ian Campbell Award in Geology (at Caltech), for outstanding performance in field geology courses during the 1999–2000 academic year; accompanied by the award of a Brunton Compass
- 1998–1999 recipient of the Fritz Burns Prize in Geology (at Caltech), in recognition of one’s potential to make a significant contribution in the earth sciences through research; accompanied by a $2500 grant to support ongoing research
Publications:
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(2021). Long-lived shallow slow-slip events on the Sunda megathrust. Nature Geoscience.
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(2020). Diverse Slip Behavior of the Banyak Islands Subsegment of the Sunda Megathrust in Sumatra, Indonesia. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth.
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(2020). Segmentation and supercycles: A catalog of earthquake rupture patterns from the Sumatran Sunda Megathrust and other well-studied faults worldwide. Quaternary Science Reviews. 241,
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(2019). Tide Gauge Records Show That the 18.61‐Year Nodal Tidal Cycle Can Change High Water Levels by up to 30 cm. Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans. 124, 736-749.
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(2019). Dynamic Rupture Scenarios in the Brawley Seismic Zone, Salton Trough, Southern California. Journal of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth. 124(4),
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(2019). Spatiotemporal variations of extreme sea levels around the South China Sea: assessing the influence of tropical cyclones, monsoons and major climate modes. Natural Hazards. 98(3), 969-1001.
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(2018). Holocene relative sea-level records from coral microatolls in Western Borneo, South China Sea. Holocene. 28(9), 1431-1442.
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(2018). Relative sea-level changes above the Manila Subduction Zone Interface Recorded by Coral Microatolls in West Luzon Island, Philippines. 10th South China Sea Tsunami Workshop.
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(2018). Comparison of sea level reconstructions with glacio isostatic adjustment model predictions for Southeast Asia. IGCP Project 639, Taranto, Italy.
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(2018). Relative sea-level changes recorded by coral microatolls above the Manila trench in Ilocos region (West Luzon, Philippines). European Geosciences Union General Assembly, Vienna, Austria.
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(2018). Dates of the Two Most Recent Surface Ruptures on the Southernmost San Andreas Fault Recalculated by Precise Dating of Lake Cahuilla Dry Periods. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 108(5A), 2634-2649.
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(2017). Half-metre sea-level fluctuations on centennial timescales from mid-Holocene corals of Southeast Asia. Nature Communications. 8(14387),
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(2017). Sibling earthquakes generated within a persistent rupture barrier on the Sunda megathrust under Simeulue Island. Geophysical Research Letters. 44, 2159–2166.
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(2015). Coral microatolls. (Shennan, I., Long A. J., & Horton B. P., Ed.).Handbook of Sea-Level Research. 125-145.
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(2015). Time-varying interseismic strain rates and similar seismic ruptures on the Nias–Simeulue patch of the Sunda megathrust. Quaternary Science Reviews. 258–281.
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(2015). Earthquakes: The rise and fall of an island. Nature Geoscience. 8, 501-502.
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(2015). A paleogeodetic record of variable interseismic rates and megathrust coupling at Simeulue Island, Sumatra. Geophysical Research Letters. 42(24),
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(2015). A 15 year slow-slip event on the Sunda megathrust offshore Sumatra. Geophysical Research Letters. 42(16), 6630-6638.
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(2015). The rise and fall of an island. Nature Geoscience. 8(7), 501-502.
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(2014). Deposits of the most recent eruption in the southern Mono Craters, California: description, interpretation and implications for regional marker tephras. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 275, 114-131.
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(2014). Ambiguous correlation of precisely dated coral detritus with the tsunamis of 1861 and 1907 at Simeulue Island, Aceh Province, Indonesia.. Marine Geology. 375, 384-391.
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(2014). Coral-based history of lead and lead isotopes of the surface Indian Ocean since the mid-20th century. Earth And Planetary Science Letters. 398, 37-47.
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(2012). Persistent termini of 2004- and 2005-like ruptures of the Sunda megathrust. Journal of Geophysical Research. 117,
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(2010). Coral evidence for earthquake recurrence and an A.D. 1390–1455 cluster at the south end of the 2004 Aceh–Andaman rupture. Journal of Geophysical Research. 115,
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(2009). Paleoseismology of the North Anatolian fault near the Marmara Sea: implications for fault segmentation and seismic hazard. (Reicherter, K. R., Michetti A. M., & Barroso P. Gabriel Si, Ed.).Paleoseismology of the North Anatolian fault near the Marmara Sea: implications for fault segmentation and seismic hazard. 316, 31-54.
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(2009). Kinematic behavior of southern Alaska constrained by westward decreasing postglacial slip rates on the Denali Fault, Alaska. Journal of Geophysical Research. 114,
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(2008). Variation of initial 230Th/232Th and limits of high precision U–Th dating of shallow-water corals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica. 72, 4021-4223.
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(2008). Rupture across arc segment and plate boundaries in the 1 April 2007 Solomons earthquake. Nature Geoscience. 1, 253-257.
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(2008). Earthquake supercycles inferred from sea-level changes recorded in the corals of West Sumatra. Science. 322, 1674-8.
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(2008). Partial rupture of a locked patch of the Sumatra megathrust during the 2007 earthquake sequence. Nature. 456, 631-5.
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(2007). Rupture Kinematics of the 2005 Mw 8.6 Nias-Simeulue Earthquake from the Joint Inversion of Seismic and Geodetic Data. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 97, S307-S322.
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(2006). Recent and Long-Term Behavior of the Brawley Fault Zone, Imperial Valley, California: An Escalation in Slip Rate?. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 96, 2304-2328.
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(2006). Plate-boundary deformation associated with the great Sumatra–Andaman earthquake. Nature. 440, 46-51.
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(2006). Deformation and Slip Along the Sunda Megathrust in the Great 2005 Nias-Simeulue Earthquake. Science. 311, 1897-1901.
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(2006). Uplift and subsidence associated with the great Aceh-Andaman earthquake of 2004. Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth. 111,
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(2006). Plate-boundary deformation associated with the great Sumatra-Andaman earthquake. Nature. 440, 46-51.
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(2004). The Tejon Pass Earthquake of 22 October 1916: An M 5.6 Event on the Lockwood Valley and San Andreas Faults, Southern California. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 94, 1293-1304.
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(2003). Aftershocks and Triggered Events of the Great 1906 California Earthquake. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 93, 2160-2186.
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(2003). Assessing changes in elemental mass as a result of chemical weathering of granodiorite in a Mediterranean (hot summer) climate. Journal of Sedimentary Research. 73, 434-443.
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(2003). Paleoseismic evidence of characteristic slip on the western segment of the North Anatolian fault, Turkey. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 93, 2317-2332.
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(2000). Preliminary report on the 16 October 1999 M 7.1 Hector Mine, California, earthquake. Seismological Research Letters. 71(1), 11-23.
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(1999). Foreshocks and aftershocks of the great 1857 California earthquake. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 89, 1109-1120.
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(1998). Foreshocks and aftershocks of the great 1857 California earthquake. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 98-465. 115.
Publications:
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(2020). An investigation of sea-level variability over short distances at Cabugao, Ilocos Sur, Philippines. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting.
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(2020). Strategies to improve geochronologic constraints on coral microatolls in the Philippines. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting.
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(2020). Tectonic uplift and subsidence inferred from coral archives of relative sea level in Balaoan, La Union, Philippines. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting.
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(2020). Mid-Holocene sea-level and paleoseismic histories in Badoc, Ilocos Norte, Philippines. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting.
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(2020). A preliminary relative sea-level history from fossil corals at Cabugao, Ilocos Sur, Philippines. American Geophysical Union.
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(2017). Relative Sea Level Proxy Records From Fossil Coral Microatolls In Western Borneo, South China Sea: Sea-level Stability By 7 Ka And Possible Holocene Faulting.. Asia Oceania Geosciences Society 14th Annual Meeting.
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(2016). Slip variability and temporal clustering along the Imperial fault at Mesquite Basin, Imperial Valley, California, and possible through-going rupture to the San Andreas fault. Southern California Earthquake Center Annual Meeting.
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(2015). Over decades to centuries, interseismic coupling and deformation rates along subduction zones are not steady. 2015 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting.
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(2015). Over decades to centuries, interseismic coupling and deformation rates along subduction zones are not steady. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting.