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Kawai Lab
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The lab explores the structure and dynamics of the deep Earth using seismic waveforms.
AboutAbout the lab
Seeing deep into the Earth with seismic waves.
The Kawai Lab studies the structure of the Earth's interior by analyzing records of earthquake shaking (seismic waveforms).
Its main theme is investigating the deep Earth near the core-mantle boundary using a method called waveform inversion.
The lab's research spans multiple fields, from interpreting seismic waves based on the properties of minerals, to the science of mineral friction, to the planetary geology of Mars and the Moon.
The lab has also carried out fieldwork in regions with limited data, such as deploying an array of seismometers in Thailand.
Key terms
- Waveform inversion
- A method that uses the shape of observed seismic waves themselves as data and works backward to determine the structure of the Earth's interior that can explain them
- Mantle
- The layer of rock that lies beneath the Earth's crust and extends down to the boundary with the core at a depth of about 2,900 km
- Mineral physics
- The field that studies what properties, such as stiffness and density, minerals exhibit under high pressure and temperature
NewsLab news
Paper: Published a paper estimating the anisotropic structure of the lowermost mantle at high resolution
Paper: Published a paper on subducted oceanic rocks, from a research group including Meiji University
A master's student won the Best Poster Award at the Tribology Autumn School
Paper: Published a paper reporting the successful simultaneous estimation of S-wave and P-wave structure in the lowermost mantle
A doctoral student won the Student Outstanding Presentation Award at the JpGU Meeting 2025
ResearchResearch themes
The lab has independently developed a waveform inversion method that uses seismic waveforms directly as data, and uses it to estimate the structure of the Earth's interior. Centered on developing methods for computing theoretical seismic waveforms, the lab approaches the dynamics of the deep Earth from many directions, including mineral physics, field seismic observation, and the science of friction.
*Illustrative imageImaging the Earth's interior from seismic waveforms
The lab develops accurate and efficient methods for computing theoretical waveforms and for solving inverse problems, and applies them to observed waveforms. By estimating the structure just above the core-mantle boundary, it investigates the fate of ancient subducted slabs and the origin of hotspot volcanoes.
*Illustrative imageInterpreting seismic waves through mineral properties
The lab interprets the distribution of seismic wave velocities estimated by waveform inversion on the basis of mineral physics. Going forward, it aims to model seismic waves using the proportions of minerals and the degree of alignment of their orientations as inputs.
*Illustrative imageFieldwork deploying seismometers
This is fieldwork in which broadband seismometers are deployed in regions with little observational data to investigate the structure of the deep Earth. With a seismic network in Thailand, the lab obtained data on the lowermost mantle beneath the Pacific Ocean, and is planning to redeploy the network.
*Illustrative imageComputing wave propagation in complex materials
The lab develops algorithms and software to compute seismic waves traveling through materials with strongly heterogeneous properties, such as those containing voids and fluids. Based on these results, it has filed a patent application and is also working toward real-world application through a university startup.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Kawai Lab consist of faculty, visiting research fellows, and doctoral and master's students.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorKawai KenjiPublications ↗
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Seismogram at Weston Observatory” Z22 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Imaging the Earth's interior from seismic waveforms: “Earthquake wave paths” SEWilco / Public domain (cropped)
- Interpreting seismic waves through mineral properties: “CaTiO3 perovskite structure” Solid State / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Fieldwork deploying seismometers: “Seismometer-iceland” Heidi Soosalu / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Computing wave propagation in complex materials: “Site effects caracas bem iso freq” Jean-François Semblat / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Nishida Lab): “Spring storm on the West Wales coast” Matt Herod / Martin Wolstencroft / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Isse Lab): “Pacific Ocean laea relief location map” Uwe Dedering / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Takeuchi Lab): “Terrestrial Planet Interiors (Earth, Mars and Moon) - Artist's Concept” NASA/JPL-Caltech / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Baba Lab (Ocean Hemisphere Research Center)): “Ocean Bathymetry (NESDIS Bathymetry)” NOAA / Public domain (cropped)
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