Tim Wright Home Page

My research focuses on trying to understand the physics of continental deformation and the earthquake cycle, with emphasis on developing novel techniques for observing such deformation.

The earthquake cycle is poorly understood. Earthquakes continue to occur on previously unrecognised faults. Earthquake prediction seems impossible. These remain the facts despite nearly a hundred years of intensive study since the earthquake cycle was first conceptualised. Using data acquired from satellites in orbit 800 km above the earth, a new technique - radar interferometry (InSAR) - has the potential to solve these problems.

I use InSAR to create detailed maps of the warping of the earth's surface that occurs in different phases of the earthquake cycle. In addition to mapping the strain release from several earthquakes, including the 1999 Izmit (Turkey) earthquake, I have used InSAR to map the slow accumulation of interseismic strain at the eastern end of the North Anatolian Fault. I use these data to place constraints on competing models of the earthquake cycle.

Wright, T.J., C. Ebinger, J. Biggs, A. Ayele, G. Yirgu, D. Keir, A. Stork,

Magma-maintained rift segmentation at continental rupture in the 2005 Afar dyking episode, Nature, 442, 291-294, 2006

[Printable article (0.4 Mb); Supplementary Information (1.1Mb); News and Views by Freysteinn Sigmundsson (0.4Mb); More information]

Biggs, J., E. Bergman, B. Emmerson, G.J. Funning, J. Jackson, B. Parsons, T.J. Wright,

Fault identification for buried strike-slip earthquakes using InSAR:The 1994 and 2004 Al Hoceima, Morocco earthquakes, Geophys. J. Int., 2006

[Printable article (0.8 Mb)]

Jackson, J., M. Bouchon, E. Fielding, G.J. Funning, M. Ghorashi, D. Hatzfeld, H. Nazari, B. Parsons, K. Priestley, M. Talebian, M. Tatar, R. Walker, T.J. Wright,

Seismotectonic, rupture process, and earthquake-hazard aspects of the 2003 December 26 Bam, Iran, earthquake, Geophys. J. Int., 2006

[Printable article (2.9 Mb)]

Parsons, B., T.J. Wright, P. Rowe, J. Andrews, J. Jackson, R. Walker, M. Khatib, M. Talebian, E. Bergman, E. R. Engdahl,

The 1994 Sefidabeh (eastern Iran) earthquakes revisited: new evidence from satellite radar interferometry and carbonate dating about the growth of an active fold above a blind thrust fault, Geophys. J. Int.,164(1), 202-217, doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2005.02655.x, 2006

[Printable article (1.4 Mb)]

Funning, G.J., B. Parsons, T.J. Wright, J.A. Jackson, E.J. Fielding,

Surface displacements and source parameters of the 2003 Bam (Iran) earthquake from Envisat advanced synthetic aperture radar imagery, J. Geophys. Res., 110, B09406, doi:10.1029/2004JB003338, 2005

[Printable article (3.1 Mb)]

Resor, P.G., D.D. Pollard, T.J. Wright, G.C. Beroza,

Integrating high-precision aftershock locations and geodetic observations to model coseismic deformation associated with the 1995 Kozani-Grevena earthquake, Greece, J. Geophys. Res., B09402, doi:10.1029/2004JB003263, 2005

[Printable article (2.6 Mb)]

Funning, G.J., R. Barke, S. Lamb, E. Minaya, B. Parsons, T.J. Wright,

The 1998 Aiquile, Bolivia earthquake: A seismically active fault revealed with InSAR, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 232, 39-49, 2005

[Printable article (4.4 Mb)]

Wright, T.J., Z. Lu and C. Wicks,

Constraining the Slip Distribution and Fault Geometry of the Mw 7.9, 3 November 2002, Denali Fault Earthquake with Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar and Global Positioning System Data, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 94(6B), S175-S189, 2004

[Printable article (2.4 Mb)]

Wright, T.J., B. Parsons, P.C. England, and E.J. Fielding,

InSAR observations of low slip rates on the major faults of western Tibet, Science, 305, 236-239, 2004

[Printable article (326 kb); Supporting Online Material (2.3 Mb); Science News Article (153 kb)]

Fielding, E.J., T.J. Wright, J. Muller, B.E. Parsons, and R. Walker,

Aseismic deformation of a fold-and-thrust belt imaged by synthetic aperture radar interferometry near Shahdad, southeast Iran, Geology, 32(7), 577-580, doi:10.1130/G20452.1, 2004

[Printable article (524 kb); Auxilliary Material (2.4 Mb)]

Talebian, M., E.J. Fielding, G.J. Funning, M. Ghorashi, J.A. Jackson, H. Nazari, B. Parsons, K. Priestley, P.A. Rosen, R. Walker, and T.J. Wright,

The 2003 Bam (Iran) earthquake: Rupture of a blind strike-slip fault, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31(11), L11611, doi:10.1029/2004GL020058, 2004

[Printable article (443 kb); Auxilliary Material (0.8 Mb)]

Wright, T.J., B.E. Parsons and Z. Lu,

Toward mapping surface deformation in three dimensions using InSAR, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31(1), L01607, doi:10.1029/2003GL018827, 2004

[Printable article (1.4 Mb); Auxilliary Material (1.2 Mb)]

Wright, T.J., Z. Lu and C. Wicks,

Source model for the Mw 6.7, 23 October 2002, Nenana Mountain Earthquake (Alaska) from InSAR, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30(18), 1974, doi:10.1029/2003GL018014, 2003.
[Printable article (475 kb); Auxilliary Figures (780 kb)]

Lu, Z., T.J. Wright and C. Wicks,

Deformation of the 2002 Denali Fault Earthquakes, Mapped by Radarsat-1 Interferometry, Eos, 84(41), 425,430-431, 2003.
[Printable article (3.8 Mb)]

Wright, T.J.,: Remote monitoring of the earthquake cycle using satellite radar interferometry. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A, 360, 2873-2888, 2002.; [ Printable article (1.7 Mb); In 2002 Triennial Issue "Visions of the Future by Young Scientists: Astronomy and Earth Science"]
Burgmann, R., M.E. Ayhan, E.J. Fielding, T.J. Wright, S. McClusky, B. Aktug, C. Demir, O. Lenk, and A. Turkezer,: Deformation during the 12 November 1999 Duzce, Turkey, Earthquake, from GPS and InSAR Data, Bull. Seis. Soc. Am., 92, 161-171., 2002.; [ Printable article (880 kb)]

Wright, T.J., B.E. Parsons and E.J. Fielding,: Measurement of interseismic strain accumulation across the North Anatolian Fault by satellite radar interferometry, Geophys. Res. Lett., 28(10), 2117-2120, 2001.; [ Printable article (2.1 Mb)]

Berberian, M., J.A. Jackson, E.J. Fielding, B.E. Parsons, K. Priestley, M. Qorashi, M. Talebian, R. Walker, T.J. Wright and C. Baker,: The 1998 March 14 Fandoqa earthquake (Mw 6.6) in Kerman province, southeast Iran: re-rupture of the 1981 Sirch earthquake fault, triggering of slip on adjacent thrusts and the active tectonics of the Gowk fault zone, Geophys, J. Int, 146, 371-398, 2001.; [ Printable article (2.6 Mb)]

Wright, T.J., E.J. Fielding and B.E. Parsons,: Triggered slip: observations of the 17 August 1999 Izmit (Turkey) earthquake using radar interferometry, Geophys. Res. Lett., 28(6), 1079-1082, 2001.; [ Printable article (3.2 Mb)]

Wright, T.J.,: Crustal Deformation in Turkey from Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry, D. Phil. Thesis, Oxford University, 2000.; [ Contact me for a copy; Supported by a CASE studentship from Natural Environment Research Council with Nigel Press Associates ]

Wright, T.J., B. Parsons, J. Jackson, M. Haynes, E. Fielding, P. England, P. Clarke,: Source parameters of the 1 October 1995 Dinar (Turkey) earthquake from SAR interferometry and seismic bodywave modelling, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 172, 23-37, 1999; [ Printable article (2.2 Mb)]

Internet Links
Friday Seminars in Physical Earth Sciences
COMET (Centre for the Observation and Modelling of Earthquakes and Tectonics)
Earthquake and Volcano Deformation and Stress Triggering Group at the USGS

Last Updated: 16/12/2002