Meng (Matt) Wei

Headshot of Matt Wei.
  • Associate Professor of Oceanography
  • Marine Geology and Geophysics
  • Phone: 401.874.6530
  • Email: matt-wei@uri.edu
  • Office Location: 211 Horn Building
  • Website
  • Accepting Students: Ph.D.

Research

Marine Geology and Geophysics

  • Earthquake physics
  • Natural hazards
  • Numerical modeling
  • Geodetic observation
  • Nuclear monitoring

Professor Wei’s group is interested in tectonic geodesy, fault mechanics, and natural hazards. They focus on the physics of earthquake faulting and how faults interact with each other. They use high-performance computers to run large-scale simulations of fault movements, constrained by seismic and geodetic data. They also develop methods to monitor nuclear tests.

Education

Ph.D. Earth Sciences, Scripps Inst. of Oceanography, UCSD, 2011

B.S. Geophysics, Peking University, 2004

Selected Publications

Peer reviewed journals:

M. Wei, Y. Kaneko, P. Shi, and Y. Liu (2018), Numerical modeling of dynamically triggered shallow slow slip events in New Zealand by the 2016 Mw 7.8 Kaikoura earthquake, Geophysical Research Letters.

Li, H., M. Wei, D. Li, Y. Liu, Y. Kim, and S. Zhou (2018), Segmentation of slow slip events in south central Alaska possibly controlled by a subducted oceanic plateau, JGR Solid Earth.

Yang, H., Y. Liu, M. Wei, J. Zhaung, and S. Zhou (2017), Induced earthquakes in the development of unconventional energy resources, Science China Earth Sciences, doi: 10.1007/s11430-017-9063-0.

Wei, M. (2017), Location and Source Characteristics of the January 6, 2016 North Korean Nuclear Test Constrained by InSAR, Geophysical Journal International, 209 (2), 762-769, doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggx053.

Fu, J., X. Wang, T. Wei, M. Wei, and Y. Shen (2017), A Cost-Effective Geodetic Strainmeter Based on Dual Coaxial Cable Bragg Gratings, Sensors, 17(4), 842; doi:10.3390/s17040842.

Wei, M., Y. Liu, Y. Kaneko, J. McGuire, and R. Bilham (2015), Dynamic triggering of creep events in the Salton Trough, Southern California by regional M ≥ 5.4 earthquakes constrained by geodetic observations and numerical simulations, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 427, 1-10, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2015.06.044.

Wei, M., and J. McGuire (2014), The Mw 6.5 offshore Northern California earthquake of January 10, 2010: ordinary stress drop on a high strength fault, Geophys. Res. Lett., 41, doi:10.1002/2014GL061043.

Wei, M., Y. Kaneko, Y. Liu, and J. McGuire (2013), Episodic fault creep events in California controlled by shallow frictional heterogeneity, Nature Geoscience 6, 566–570, doi:10.1038/ngeo1835.

Wei, M., J. McGuire, and E. Richardson (2012), A slow slip event in the south central Alaska Subduction Zone and related seismicity anomaly, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L15309, doi:10.1029/2012GL052351.

Wei, M., D. T. Sandwell, Y. Fialko, and R. Bilham (2011), Slip on faults in the Imperial Valley triggered by the 4 April 2010 Mw 7.2 El Mayor‐Cucapah earthquake revealed by InSAR, Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L01308, doi:10.1029/2010GL045235.

Rymer, M. J., J. A. Treiman, K. J. Kendrick, J. J. Lienkaemper, R. J. Weldon, R. Bilham, M. Wei, E. J. Fielding, J. L. Hernandez, B. PE Olson, P. J. Irvine, N. Knepprath, R. R. Sickler, X. Tong, M. E. Siem (2011), Triggered surface slips in southern California associated with the 2010 El Mayor-Cucapah, Baja California, Mexico, earthquake, USGS Open-file report, 2010-1333.

Wei, M., D. T. Sandwell, and B. Smith-Konter (2010), Optimal combination of InSAR and GPS for measuring interseismic crustal deformation, Advances in Space Research, 46, 2, 236-249, doi: 10.1016/j.asr.2010.03.013.

Wei, M. and D. T. Sandwell (2010), Decorrelation of ALOS and ERS interferometry over vegetated areas in California, IEEE Trans. on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 48, 2942-2952, doi: 10.1109/TGRS.2010.2043442

Wei, M., D. Sandwell, and Y. Fialko (2009), A silent Mw 4.7 slip event of October 2006 on the Superstition Hills fault, southern California, J. Geophys. Res., 114, B07402, doi:10.1029/2008JB006135.

Wei, M. and D. T. Sandwell (2006), Estimates of Ridge-Axis Heat Flow from Depth and Age Data, Tectonophysics, 417, 325-335.

Others:

Wei, M. and D. T. Sandwell (2011), The Mw 7.2 El Mayor-Cucapah Earthquake in Baja California: Extensive Liquefaction Identified in ALOS InSAR Data, Alaska SAR Facility Newsletter.

Sandwell, D., R. Mellors, X. Tong, M. Wei, and P. Wessel (2011), Open Radar Interferometry Software for Mapping Surface Deformation, Eos Trans. AGU, 92(28), doi:10.1029/2011EO280002.

Sandwell, D., R. Mellors, X. Tong, M. Wei, and P. Wessel (2011), GMTSAR: An InSAR Processing System based on Generic Mapping Tools, Scripps Institution of Oceanography Technical Report.