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Seismology Lab
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The lab reads the interior of the Earth, which cannot be seen directly, from seismic waves.
AboutAbout the lab
Seeing inside the Earth through the information carried by seismic waves
The Seismology Lab studies phenomena occurring inside the solid Earth, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and plate motion.
The subsurface is extremely hot and under high pressure, which makes it difficult to dig a hole and look directly, so seismic waves are one of the few clues available.
Using its own seismic waveform analysis methods, seismic tomography, and numerical simulation, the lab makes use of waves ranging from short periods to very long periods.
The scales it covers range widely, from familiar ones such as volcanoes and faults to continents and the entire globe.
Key terms
- Seismic tomography
- A method that draws the inside of the Earth like cross-sectional slices from how many seismic waves travel through it
- Lithosphere
- The hard rock layer covering the Earth's surface. Beneath it lies the hot, soft asthenosphere
- Anisotropy
- The property that the speed at which waves travel varies with the direction of travel
NewsLab news
A paper co-authored by Associate Professor Naoi is selected for Highlighted Papers of Earth, Planets and Space
Associate Professor Naoi is selected as an Excellent Reviewer of Earth, Planets and Space
A doctoral student wins the Student Outstanding Presentation Award of the Seismological Society of Japan
ResearchResearch themes
The interior of the solid Earth is extremely hot and under high pressure, which makes it very difficult to dig a hole and look directly, and many problems remain unsolved. Using original seismic waveform analysis methods, seismic tomography, and numerical simulation, the lab clarifies phenomena in the interior from signals in observed seismic waves.
*Illustrative imageSeismological studies of Earth's interior
The lab analyzes seismic waveforms recorded at stations around the world to reconstruct the three-dimensional structure of Earth's interior. With its own seismic tomography techniques, it estimates subsurface heterogeneity and anisotropy, as well as the distribution of discontinuities such as the boundary between the lithosphere and asthenosphere.
*Illustrative imageEarthquake sources from great earthquakes to micro-fractures
Using back-projection analysis, which traces seismic waveforms observed far away back to their source, the lab images how the complex fault rupture of large earthquakes proceeds. Very small ruptures are also targets, such as the ultra-small repeating earthquakes found on a fault in a South African gold mine.
*Illustrative imageSeismic wave theory and analysis
To extract information about earthquake sources and Earth's interior correctly from seismic waveforms, the lab develops original methods such as nonlinear analysis at a single station and array analysis using many stations. It also works on AI-based analysis, such as using deep learning to pick the arrival times of seismic waves.
*Illustrative imageDiverse vibration and fracture phenomena
The lab analyzes seismic waves generated by large volcanic eruptions and the airwaves (acoustic waves) that travel through the atmosphere to estimate eruption mechanisms, their time evolution, and explosion size. It also uses AI to track micro-fractures generated in laboratory rock experiments in finer detail than before.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Seismology Lab are faculty, researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorKazunori Yoshizawa
- Associate ProfessorMakoto Naoi
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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: “Ashio Seismological Observatory” Qurren / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Seismological studies of Earth's interior: “Mantle model at American Museum of Natural History” Vicpeters / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Earthquake sources from great earthquakes to micro-fractures: “R6 noto earthquake wajima seaside” Hurohukidaikon / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Seismic wave theory and analysis: “GFZ WiechertSeismometer” Iwoelbern / Public domain (cropped)
- Diverse vibration and fracture phenomena: “ISS-66 Atmospheric plume from 2022 Hunga Tonga eruption - edited” NASA / Kayla Barron / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (火山
活動研究分野): “Mount Usu from Shōwa-shinzan ( )” Hiroshi Nakai / CC BY 2.0 (cropped) - Related lab (宇宙測地学研究室): “Sisters07 TheHusband gps station 05-10-07” Dave Sherrod, en:United States Geological Survey / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (地震観測研究分野): “Seismogram at Weston Observatory” Z22 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (地球惑星物質学研究グループ): “Calcite-20188” Robert M. Lavinsky / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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