Research Interests
Catherine M. Snelson, Assistant Professor of Geophysics

Dr. Snelson’s research primarily focuses on integrating controlled-source seismology and non-seismic techniques to study the structure and composition of the near surface to the continental lithosphere. Current research projects include the structure and geometry of the Las Vegas basin for seismic hazards, intraplate deformation in the Walker Lane and North Carolina, Evaporate karst development in southern Nevada, and salt tectonics in central Mexico and Utah. Past projects include a seismic hazard study of the Seattle basin, Western Washington State (Dry SHIPS ’99 and Kingdome SHIPS ‘00) and studying the crustal evolution of the Rocky Mountains (Deep Probe ’95 and CD-ROM ’99). Future projects include investigating the high-velocity lowermost crust of the Wyoming province in central and eastern Montana, and a series of investigations in the Basin and Range studying the structure and evolution of the region in conjunction with USArray.