RESEARCH INTERESTS
I am currently working with Dr. Garret Ito and Dr. Robert Dunn at the University of Hawaii, trying to understand the seismic anisotropy observed in areas where mantle plumes are interacting with mid-ocean ridges, such as the Reykjanes ridge, south of Iceland. We are using geodynamic models of mantle flow to generate synthetic surface waves and seismic tomographic inversion to retrieve the anisotropic velocity structure of those geodynamic models. The results are compared with tomographic models of the Reykjanes ridge obtained from real seismic data, to find the geodynamic model that best fit the observations.
During my PhD at the University of Florida, I participated in the Chile Ridge Subduction project in an international team led by Dr. Raymond Russo installing 59 broadband sensors in a remote area in Northern Chilean Patagonia, southern Chile. I used recorded seismic ambient noise to calculate the Green's function between pairs of stations and image the velocity structure and anisotropy of the crust. I also investigated the occurrence and tidal modulation of Non-Volcanic Tremors in the same area. Tremors are located along the forearc region where the Nazca plate and active transform faults are subducting beneath South America. Analysis of tremor occurrence shows that they are more active during periods of high tidal stresses.
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EDUCATION
PhD. in seismology, University of Florida, Department of Geology.
B.S. in geology, Universidad de Chile, Department of Geology.
PUBLICATIONS
1.Gallego, A., Garrett, I., Dunn, R. Analysis of surface wave azimuthal anisotropy using geodynamic models and application to the Iceland hotspot. (In preparation)
2. Gallego, A., Russo, R. M., Comte, D., Mocanu, V. I., VanDecar, J. C., Murdie, R. E. Tidal Modulation of Continuous Non-Volcanic Seismic Tremor in the Chile Triple Junction Region. (Accepted G-cubed, 2013)
3. Gallego, A., Panning, M., Russo, R. M., Comte, D., Mocanu, V. I., VanDecar, J. C., Murdie, R. E. Azimuthal Anisotropy in the Chile Ridge Subduction Region Retrieved from Ambient Noise. Lithosphere., 3, 393-400 (2011)
4. Gallego, A., Russo, R. M., Comte, D., Mocanu, V. I., VanDecar, J. C., Murdie, R. E. Seismic Noise Tomography in the Chile Ridge Subduction Region, Northern Patagonia. Geophysical Journal International., 182, 1478-1492 (2010)
5. Gallego, A. Non Volcanic Tremors and Seismic Noise Tomography at the Chile Triple Junction. University of Florida. Phd Thesis (2010) [pdf]
6. Gallego, A. Seismic Tomography in the zone situated between coordinates 16º-19ºS y 69º-72ºW Arica bend, southern Peru. University of Chile. BA Thesis (2004).
7. Russo, R. M., VanDecar, J. C., Comte, D., Mocanu, V. I., Gallego, A., Murdie, R. E. Subduction of the Chile Ridge: Upper Mantle Structure and Flow., GSA Today., 20, 4-10 (2010)
8. Mora, C., Comte, D., Russo, R. M., Gallego, A., Mocanu, V. I., Aysen seismic swarm (January 2007) in southern Chile: analysis using joint hypocenter determination. Journal of Seismology. 14, 683-691 (2010).
9. Russo, R. M., Gallego, A., Comte, D., Mocanu, V. I., Murdie, R. E., and VanDecar, J.C. Source-side shear wave splitting and upper mantle flow in the Chile Ridge subduction region. Geology. 38, 707-710 (2010).
10. Russo, R. M., Gallego, A., Comte, D., Mocanu, V. I., Murdie, R. E., and VanDecar, J.C. Triggered seismic activity in the Liquiñe-Ofqui fault zone, southern Chile, during the 2007 Aysen seismic swarm. Geophysical Journal International. 184, 1317-1326 (2011).
TEACHING
2007-2010 Teaching assistant in: Physical Geology, Exploring Geological Sciences, Introduction to Earth Sciences, Environmental Geology.
Last Update: May 2012