Martin C. Chapman
Professor Martin Chapman at the Worldwide Standard Seismograph Station, housed in a Cold War era fallout shelter near the Virginia Tech Executive Airport and the Huckleberry Trail.
I work in two distinct topical areas. The first is the study of seismicity and tectonics of plate interiors. The second is strong-motion seismology. My goal is to combine results from both areas and contribute an improved scientific basis for assessment and mitigation of earthquake hazards, particularly for plate-interior areas such as eastern North America. There is a strong observational element in my work. I am director of the Virginia Tech Seismological Observatory (VTSO). I study the geologic causes of the earthquakes and the characteristics of seismic wave propagation in the region using data from VTSO stations as well as other seismic stations in eastern North America. As a strong-motion seismologist, I make extensive use of the world-wide collection of strong motion data from large earthquakes to characterize and predict damaging motions in the near-fault distance range in a variety of tectonic environments.
Education
Ph.D., Geophysics, Virginia Tech, 1998
M.S., Geophysics, Virginia Tech, 1979
B.S., Geophysics, Virginia Tech, 1977
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Publications:
For selected publication history please visit the VTSO Publications page