Searching for the structure of Earth’s subsurface
Ettore Biondi uses fiber sensing technologies and dense seismic sensor networks to understand the underlying mechanisms and subsurface structures driving geophysical processes such as volcanic system dynamics and earthquake physics.
As told to Danielle Torrent Tucker
I'm Italian, originally – I am from Genoa. I wanted to go abroad and try to open up my mind. But when you go abroad, you need to come with an open mindset and be open to question your beliefs, question whatever you think. And be open in being able to say, "Okay, maybe I was wrong in thinking in this way," and learn from other people and other cultures.
While at Stanford for my PhD, I studied seismic imaging for subsurface exploration. As a postdoc at Caltech, I started working on fiber sensing, especially distributed acoustic sensing. That is not super new technology, but it's changing seismology quite a bit because we can transform telecommunication fibers into dense seismic arrays. Using just a single instrument you attach to an existing fiber that goes in the subsurface, you can see earthquakes, vibration from cars, whatever.
The beauty is that it's so simple – the hard part is just to deploy the fiber. Once it's deployed, you can sense the deformation at a very, very high resolution on the fiber. You collect some data and you have a model of how waves propagate at a given wave speed. You can then try to find the structure of the subsurface, based on whatever arrival time, like how fast the waves from an earthquake arrive at the receiver.
It's interesting to see how many things can be done, and I think there’s way more to do.
In Earth science, you have to put together a lot of different things. You have to know a little bit of the engineering behind an instrument. You have to know a little bit of math, physics, chemistry. Then you'll be able to go to the field and try to observe and synthesize all the information. That's one thing that I really like about Earth science as a whole, whether it's geology, geophysics, or whatever, and that's the reason why I keep on doing what I do.
What inspires me? In general, I have a big faith in humanity. I mean, we have to evolve, or we're going to eventually probably disappear from this planet. It's the way it is. Geology tells us what happens to species that don't evolve. I think I've been very lucky throughout my career – I've always met great people, very great minds.
Explore More
-
Halleh Balch develops nanoscale environmental sensors to probe the molecular mechanisms that underlie ocean-climate interactions and explore paths to improve water security and sustainability.
-
Brooke Weigel studies ecosystem interactions that are invisible to the naked eye. Scientists in her lab examine kelp’s microscopic forms, their role in carbon sequestration, and how climate change will impact the future of these vast underwater forests.
-
Xavier Basurto explores how small-scale fisheries and other communities come to value the future and their environment ahead of short-term personal gain.
