Professor Meghan Samantha Miller
Areas of expertise
- Geophysics 0404
- Seismology And Seismic Exploration 040407
- Tectonics 040313
- Geodynamics 040402
Research interests
Most of my research is based at poorly understood but critical tectonic plate boundaries, in particular subduction zones where oceanic plates are descending into the Earth’s deep interior. These are regions where tectonic activity, as observed in seismicity and volcanism, is localized, making them natural targets of high scientific and societal relevance. As a complement to the dynamic plate boundary research, the structure of stable continental interiors provides the best long-term record of plate tectonic processes.
Research questions that illustrate how those two objectives are related include: How has the outermost layer of the Earth evolved? How do the stable continents affect the evolution of subduction zones? How do processes and structures deep within the Earth control the geology we can observe at the surface?
Beginning in 2022, my ARC Future Fellowship will focus on how to advance cutting-edge Distrubuted Acoustic Sesning (DAS) technology and big data processing to develop unprecedented high-resolution images of the Earth’s subsurface, detect micro-seismicity, and thereby relate geological observations to Earth processes.
Biography
PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION:
Whittier College Physics and Geology B.A. 1997
Columbia University Applied Geophysics M.Sc. 1999
Cornell University Geological Science M.Eng. 2000
Australian National University Earth Science/Geophysics Ph.D. 2006
APPOINTMENTS:
California Institute of Technology – Visiting Associate, Pasadena, California, 2015-2016
University of Southern California – Assistant/Associate Professor, Los Angeles, California, 2009-2017
Rice University - Postdoctoral Research Associate, Houston, Texas 2006-2008
University of British Columbia - Postdoctoral Research Associate, Vancouver, British Columbia, 2006-2008
Researcher's projects
Banda Arc Project – Eastern Indonesia is one of the least well-understood geological domains of our planet, and yet the region provides a truly remarkable location for unraveling some of the major puzzles of plate tectonics. The recent collision of the Australian continent with the active volcanic arc in the Banda region effectively captures the initiation of continental mountain building and the cessation of island arc volcanism, offering a rare glimpse into a set of processes that have shaped Earth’s evolution over geologic time. Since oceanic subduction and subsequent continental collision have occurred in different stages along the Banda arc, we plan to use the region to study and assess the spatio-temporal evolution of this transition using a variety of methods: seismology, geodyanmics, tectonics, low-temperature geochemistry, and geomorphology. We have installed 30 broadband seismometers, including the first ever seismometer on Timor Leste, across the archipelago of eastern Indonesia (NTT) in 2014. The award is co-funded by the NSF Geophysics and Tectonics Programs, and the Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE) – Global Venture Fund (GVF) and led by M.S. Miller, T.W. Becker, and A.J. West.
Congested Subduction: ARC Discovery Project led by L. Moresi, P. Betts, J. Whittaker and M.S. Miller. The project addresses the geodynamics of congested subduction zones and their impacts on the convergent margins. We are using a combination of 3D geodynamic modelling, plate kinematic reconstruction and geological and geophysical synthesis to determine how congested subduction zones influence plate kinematics, subduction dynamics, and tectonic evolution at orogen and global scales. We aim to deliver a transformation change in understanding the links between congested subduction, mantle flow, trench migration, crustal growth, transitions between stable convergent margin configurations, and deformation in the overriding plates of subduction zones. Determining these relationships is significant because it will provide dynamic context to interpret the geological record of ancient convergent margins, which host a large percentage of Earth's metal resources.
ICED (Imaged Crust Denali Exhumation) Project: National Science Foundation (Tectonics and EarthScope programs) funded project led by S. Roeske, T. Waldien, J. Benowitz and M.S. Miller. This project entitled "A four-dimensional view of deformation in the Eastern Alaska Range - Where did the slip on the Denali fault go?" The Denali fault in south-central Alaska ruptured in a 7.9 magnitude earthquake in 2002, one of the largest continental strike-slip (horizontal motion of blocks of rocks past each other) earthquakes ever recorded. The event brought attention to this little-studied but major fault, which crosses the trans-Alaska oil pipeline as well as the two main highways in Alaska. Scientists predicted Denali fault earthquakes to have only strike-slip motion, but instead, the 2002 quake started as a thrust (putting one block of rock over another) earthquake and uplifted rocks in the Alaska Range along a previously unknown thrust fault. The unexpected earthquake uplift pattern provided the scientific community additional evidence that thrust faults can siphon lateral motion from the strike-slip Denali fault. If these types of fault interactions persist for millions of years, then determining the amount of thrust faulting next to the Denali fault could help solve a long- lived controversy of how much total displacement has taken place across the Denali fault and explain why the Denali fault is surrounded by large mountains on all sides (forming the Alaska Range). Unraveling the history of thrust faulting and uplift next to the Denali fault will not only help us chip away at these intriguing scientific questions but will also inform us on how significant these faults have been in the past and where the greatest seismic hazards in the Alaska Range are today.
Available student projects
https://earthsciences.anu.edu.au/research/research-projects/lighting-dark-fibre-seismic-imaging-0
https://earthsciences.anu.edu.au/study/student-projects/enhanced-3-d-seismic-structure-southwest-australia-swan
https://earthsciences.anu.edu.au/study/student-projects/imaging-lithosphere-structures-earth%E2%80%99s-hidden-continent-zealandia
https://earthsciences.anu.edu.au/study/student-projects/exploring-seismic-structure-and-local-seismicity-lake-george-basin-nsw-dense
https://earthsciences.anu.edu.au/high-resolution-probing-earth%E2%80%99s-lowermost-mantle
https://earthsciences.anu.edu.au/study/student-projects/seismic-monitoring-groundwater-variations-beneath-great-artesian-basin
Publications
- Li, Y & Miller, M 2021, 'Seismic Evidence for Thermal and Chemical Heterogeneities in D″ Region Beneath Central America From Grid Search Modeling', Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 48, no. 14.
- Miller, M, Zhang, P, Dahlquist, M et al. 2021, 'Inherited lithospheric structures control arc-continent collisional heterogeneity', Geology, vol. 49, no. 6, pp. 652-656.
- Waldien, T, Roeske, S, Benowitz, J et al. 2021, 'Oligocene-Neogene lithospheric-scale reactivation of Mesozoic terrane accretionary structures in the Alaska Range suture zone, southern Alaska, USA', Geological Society of America Bulletin, vol. 133, no. 3/4, pp. 691-716.
- Li, Y, Miller, M, Tkalčić, H, Sambridge, M 2021, 'Small-scale heterogeneity in the lowermost mantle beneath Alaska and northern Pacific revealed from shear-wave triplications', Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 559, no. 11678, pp. 1-11.
- Zhang, P & M.S. Miller, 2021, 'Seismic Imaging of the Subducted Australian Continental Margin Beneath Timor and the Banda Arc Collision Zone', Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 48, no. 4.
- Cooper, C, Farrington, R & Miller, M 2020, 'On the Destructive Tendencies of Cratons', Geology, vol. 49, no. 2, pp. 195-200.
- Miller, M 2020, 'Mapping Earth's deepest secrets', Science, vol. 368, no. 6496, pp. 1183-1184.
- Harris, C, Miller, M, Supendi, P et al. 2020, 'Subducted lithospheric boundary tomographically imaged beneath the arc-continent collision in eastern Indonesia', Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, vol. 125, no. 8.
- Lecocq, T, Hicks, S, Koen, V et al. 2020, 'Global Quieting of High-Frequency Seismic Noise Due to COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown Measures', Science, vol. 369, pp. 1338-1343.
- Supendi, P, Nugraha, A, Widiyantoro, S, Harris, CW, Miller, MS, 2020, 'Fate of Forearc Lithosphere at Arc-Continent Collision Zones: Evidence From Local Earthquake Tomography of the Sunda-Banda Arc Transition, Indonesia', Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 47, no. 6, pp. 1-9.
- Toy, V, Manatschal, G, Rosenbaum, G et al. 2019, 'Introduction to "Orogenic Cycles: From Field Observations to Global Geodynamics"', Tectonics, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 3-6.
- Boneh, Y, Schottenfels, E, Kwong, K et al 2019, 'Intermediate-Depth Earthquakes Controlled by Incoming Plate Hydration Along Bending-Related Faults', Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 46, no. 7, pp. 3688-3697.
- Li, Y, Miller, M & Sun, D 2019, 'Seismic imaging the D`` region beneath the Central Atlantic', Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, vol. 292, pp. 76-86.
- Miller, M & Moresi, L 2018, 'Mapping the Alaskan Moho', Seismological Research Letters, vol. 89, no. 6, pp. 2430-2436pp.
- Porritt, R & Miller, M 2018, 'Updates to FuncLab, a Matlab based GUI for handling receiver functions', Computers and Geosciences, vol. 111, pp. 260-271.
- Harris, C, Miller, M & Porritt, R 2018, 'Tomographic Imaging of Slab Segmentation and Deformation in the Greater Antilles', Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, vol. 19, no. 8, pp. 2292-2307pp.
- Attanayake, J, Thomas, C, Cormier, V, Koper, K, Miller, M.S. 2018, 'Irregular Transition Layer Beneath the Earth's Inner Core Boundary From Observations of Antipodal PKIKP and PKIIKP Waves', Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, vol. 19, no. 10, pp. 3607-3622pp.
- Martin-Short, R, Allen, R, Bastow, I, Miller, MS, Porritt, RW, 2018, 'Seismic imaging of the Alaska subduction zone: implications for slab geometry and volcanism', Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems.
- Miller, M.S., O'Driscoll, L, Porritt, R.W., Roeske, S.M., 2018, 'Multiscale crustal architecture of Alaska inferred from P reciever functions', Lithosphere, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. pp.267-278.
- Cooper, C, Miller, M & Moresi, L 2017, 'The structural evolution of the deep continental lithosphere', Tectonophysics, vol. 695, pp. 100-121.
- Ebinger, C, Keir, D, Bastow, I et al 2017, 'Crustal Structure of Active Deformation Zones in Africa: Implications for Global Crustal Processes', Tectonics, vol. 36, no. 12, pp. 3298-3332pp.
- Miller, M, O'Driscoll, L, Roosmawati, N et al 2016, 'Banda Arc Experiment-Transitions in the Banda Arc-Australian Continental Collision', Seismological Research Letters, vol. 87, no. 6, pp. 1417-1423.
- Porritt, R, Miller, M, O'Driscoll, L et al 2016, 'Continent-arc collision in the Banda Arc imaged by ambient noise tomography', Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 449, pp. 246-258.
- Sun, D, Helmberger, D, Miller, MS, Jackson, J, 2016, 'Major disruption of D" beneath Alaska', Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, vol. 121, no. 5, pp. 3534-3556pp.
- Porritt, R, Miller, M & Darbyshire, F 2015, 'Lithospheric architecture beneath Hudson Bay', Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, vol. 16, no. 7, pp. 2262-2275.
- Hodges, M & Miller, M 2015, 'Mantle flow at the highly arcuate northeast corner of the Lesser Antilles subduction zone: Constraints from shear-wave splitting analyses', Lithosphere, vol. 7, no. 5, pp. 579-587.
- O'Driscoll, L & Miller, M 2015, 'Lithospheric discontinuity structure in Alaska, thickness variations determined by Sp receiver functions', Tectonics, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 694-714.
- van Hunen, J & Miller, M 2015, 'Collisional processes and links to episodic changes in subduction zones', Elements, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 119-124pp.
- Betts, P, Moresi, L, Miller, M & Willis, D, 2015, 'Geodynamics of oceanic plateau and plume head accretion and their role in Phanerozoic orogenic systems of China', Geoscience Frontiers (Previously Earth Science Frontiers), vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 49-59.
- Gerault, M, Husson, L, Miller, M et al 2015, 'Flat-slab subduction, topography, and mantle dynamics in southwestern Mexico', Tectonics, vol. 34, no. 9, pp. 1892-1909.
- Miller, M, O'Driscoll, L, Butcher, A, Thomas, C. 2015, 'Imaging Canary Island hotspot material beneath the lithosphere of Morocco and southern Spain', Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 431, pp. 186-194.
- Cooper, C & Miller, M 2014, 'Craton formation: Internal structure inherited from closing of the early oceans', Lithosphere, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 35-42.
- Miller, M & Becker, T 2014, 'Reactivated lithospheric-scale discontinuities localize dynamic uplift of the Moroccan Atlas Mountains (Forum Reply)', Geology, vol. 42, no. 6, pp. E338-E338.
- Levander, A, Bezada, M, Niu, F et al 2014, 'Subduction-driven recycling of continental margin lithosphere', Nature, vol. 515, no. 7526, pp. 253-U219.
- Sun, D, Miller, M, Agostinetti, N et al 2014, 'High frequency seismic waves and slab structures beneath Italy', Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 391, pp. 212-223pp.
- Faccenna, C, Becker, T, Miller, M et al 2014, 'Isostasy, dynamic topography, and the elevation of the Apennines of Italy', Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 407, pp. 163-174pp.
- Bianchi, I, Miller, M & Bokelmann, G 2014, 'Insights on the upper mantle beneath the Eastern Alps', Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 403, pp. 199-209pp.
- Agostinetti, N & Miller, M 2014, 'The fate of the downgoing oceanic plate: Insight from the Northern Cascadia subduction zone', Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 408, pp. 237-251pp.
- Miller, M, Zhang, P & Dolan, J 2014, 'Moho structure across the San Jacinto fault zone: Insights into strain localization at depth', Lithosphere, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 43-47.
- Becker, T, Faccenna, C, Humphreys, E, Lowry, A, Miller, M. 2014, 'Static and dynamic support of western United States topography', Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 402, pp. 234-246pp.
- Kim, Y, Lim, H, Miller, MS, Clayton, R, 2014, 'Evidence of an upper mantle seismic anomaly opposing the Cocos slab beneath the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico', Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, vol. 15, no. 7, pp. 3021-3034pp.
- Miller, MS & Becker, T 2014, 'Reactivated lithospheric-scale discontinuities localize dynamic uplift of the Moroccan Atlas Mountains', Geology, vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 35-38.
- Moresi, L, Betts, P, Miller, M & Cayley, R, 2014, 'Dynamics of continental accretion', Nature, vol. 508, no. 7495, pp. 245-248.
- Sun, D, Miller, MS, Holt, A, Becker T.W. 2014, 'Hot upwelling conduit beneath the Atlas Mountains, Morocco', Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 41, no. 22, pp. 8037-8044pp.
- Miller, M, Allam, A, Becker, T et al 2013, 'Constraints on the tectonic evolution of the westernmost Mediterranean and northwestern Africa from shear wave splitting analysis', Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 375, pp. 234-243pp.
- Sun, D & Miller, M 2013, 'Study of the western edge of the African large low shear velocity province', Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, vol. 14, no. 8, pp. 3109-3125pp.
- Miller, M, Niu, F & Vanacore, E 2013, 'Aspherical structural heterogeneity within the uppermost inner core: Insights into the hemispherical boundaries and core formation', Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, vol. 223, pp. 8-20pp.
- Alpert, LA, Miller, Ms, Becker, TW, Allam, AA, 2013, 'Structure beneath the Alboran from geodynamic flow models and seismic anisotropy', Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, vol. 118, no. 8, pp. 4265-4277pp.
- Miller, M & Agostinetti, N 2012, 'Insights into the evolution of the Italian lithospheric structure from S receiver function analysis', Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 345, pp. 49-59pp.
- Kim, Y, Miller, M, Pearce, F et al 2012, 'Seismic imaging of the Cocos plate subduction zone system in central Mexico', Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, vol. 13, no. 7, pp. 1-16pp.
- Levander, A & Miller, M 2012, 'Evolutionary aspects of lithosphere discontinuity structure in the western US', Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 1-22pp.
- Miller, M & Becker, T 2012, 'Mantle flow deflected by interactions between subducted slabs and cratonic keels', Nature Geoscience, vol. 5, no. 10, pp. 726-730pp.
- Bailey, I, Alpert, L, Becker, T et al 2012, 'Co-seismic deformation of deep slabs based on summed CMT data', Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 117, pp. 1-19pp.
- Bailey, I, Miller, M, Liu, K, Levander, A, 2012, 'Vs and density structure beneath the Colorado Plateau constrained by gravity anomalies and joint inversions of receiver function and phase velocity data', Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 117, no. 2, pp. 1-18pp.
- Reid, M, Bouchet, R, Blichert-Toft, J, Levander, A, Miller, MS, Lee, C, 2012, 'Melting under the Colorado Plateau, USA', Geology, vol. 40, no. 5, pp. 387-390pp.
- Miller, M & Agostinetti, N 2011, 'Erosion of the continental lithosphere at the cusps of the Calabrian arc: Evidence from S receiver functions analysis', Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 38, no. 23, pp. 1-6pp.
- Levander, A, Schmandt, B, Miller, M et al 2011, 'Continuing Colorado plateau uplift by delamination-style convective lithospheric downwelling', Nature, vol. 472, no. 7344, pp. 461-U540.
- Liu, K, Levander, A, Niu, F, Miller, MS, 2011, 'Imaging crustal and upper mantle structure beneath the Colorado Plateau using finite frequency Rayleigh wave tomography', Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, vol. 12, no. 7, pp. 1-24pp.
- Mason, W, Moresi, L, Betts, P et al. 2010, 'Three-dimensional numerical models of the influence of a buoyant oceanic plateau on subduction zones', Tectonophysics, vol. 483, no. 1-2, pp. 71-79.
- Miller, M & Eaton, D 2010, 'Formation of cratonic mantle keels by arc accretion: Evidence from S receiver functions', Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 37, no. 18, pp. 1-5.
Projects and Grants
Grants information is drawn from ARIES. To add or update Projects or Grants information please contact your College Research Office.
- Enhanced 3-D seismic structure for Southwest Australia (Primary Investigator)
- Structure and Evolution of the Australian Continent (AuScope) (Primary Investigator)
- Inversion and Data Analytics in Solid Earth Geophysics (Secondary Investigator)
- Imaging Capital and Operations, ANU (Primary Investigator)
- The global consequences of subduction zone congestion (Secondary Investigator)
