My principal area of interest is the study of microseismicity.
Large earthquakes are rare occurrences.
However, regions of high seismic hazard which eventually rupture in large earthquakes often produce great numbers of small earthquakes on a nearly continuous basis. Most of these microearthquakes are much too small to be felt, but are easily recorded by modern seismic instruments. If one can accommodate disadvantages associated with lack of source control, microearthquakes have some very desirable properties as tools to probe the Earth. Seismology is the most fruitful method of probing the structure of the deep Earth. Another area of study that I have been involved in for many years is volcanic seismology.