NASA Postdoctoral Program - California fault processes constrained by InSAR and GPS observations

The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) offers unique research opportunities to highly-talented scientists to engage in ongoing NASA research projects at a NASA Center, NASA Headquarters, or at a NASA-affiliated research institute. These one- to three-year fellowships are competitive and are designed to advance NASA's missions in space science, Earth science, aeronautics, space operations, exploration systems, and astrobiology. This specific postdoctoral position focuses on relating spatiotemporal variation of surface deformation from comprehensive analysis of satellite and airborne interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) and GPS to infer slip and mechanical variations of faults, earthquake and anthropogenic sources, landslide processes, and the mechanics and rheology of the lithosphere along the plate boundary zone in California. The candidate will combine improved spatiotemporal deformation maps derived from satellite and airborne InSAR and GPS time series with advanced numerical modeling techniques to better constrain fault slip/locking, source parameters of solid-Earth dynamic events, local stress/strain changes due to tectonic and non-tectonic perturbations, and to constrain models of lithosphere rheology with the ultimate goal of an improved understanding of lithospheric processes and earthquake-cycle dynamics. The position is located at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, with advisors Dr. Zhen Liu and Dr. Paul R. Lundgren.