Dr Miriam Gauntlett

I am an observational seismologist, interested in using seismic techniques to elucidate and understand the structure and dynamics of the crust and mantle. Currently, I am working on the WA Array with Dr Caroline Eakin. This continental-wide array of seismometers will provide unprecedented insights into the structure of the Western Australian lithosphere. I am investigating seismic anisotropy in south-western WA using shear-wave splitting to uncover information about past and present mantle deformation events.

For my PhD thesis, I investigated the crust and mantle beneath the Afro-Arabian Rift System using three different seismological techniques: local earthquake tomography, receiver function analysis and shear-wave splitting. I found that the crustal structure throughout the region is highly complex and heterogeneous. Despite this, large-scale mantle dynamics underlying the AARS are remarkably simple. Extensional processes in the region have facilitated magmatism throughout the crust and upper mantle, producing volcanic episodes such as Nabro volcano’s June 2011 eruption.

Publications

• Gauntlett, M., Stephenson, S. N., Kendall, J-M., Ogden, C., Hammond, J. O. S., Hudson, T., Goitom, B., Ogubazghi, G. (2024). The dynamic crust of northern Afar and adjacent rift margins: new evidence from receiver function analysis in Eritrea and Ethiopia. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 25(6), e2023GC011314. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GC011314 
• Gauntlett, M., Stephenson, S. N., Kendall, J-M., Ogden, C., Hammond, J. O. S., Hudson, T., Goitom, B., Ogubazghi, G. (2024). The dynamic crust of northern Afar and adjacent rift margins: new evidence from receiver function analysis in Eritrea and Ethiopia. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 25(6), e2023GC011314. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GC011314