Professor James F. Ni

Professor of Geophysics (Seismology)

Dr. Ni studies the evolution of continents. He is interested in regional tectonics; the structure, composition and development of the lithosphere, particularly of continents. Most of his work uses data collected from earthquake sources, though he employs all other geophysical techniques when appropriate, and also attempts to integrate geological information closely into tectonic models.

Ph.D. Cornell University, 1984

For the past decade, Ni has been one of the principal investigators in five NSF funded projects that study the making of the Himalayas, the Tibetan Plateau and the Rio Grande Rift. The main reason for studying Tibetan Plateau and Rio Grande Rift is that these regions represent two fundamental tectonic processes affecting continents. Both continental collision and rifting cause permanent modifications of the continental lithosphere and may be important in adding material to the lithosphere and in recycling continental mantle lithosphere back into the convecting upper mantle. Moreover, Tibet and Rio Grande Rift can be sites of natural hazards such as earthquakes and volcanism.

Ni conducted an investigation of recent crustal movements in the New Madrid seismic zone in 1991 (funded by USGS). He and colleague Richard Snay (National Geodetic Survey) demonstrated that slow deformation and low seismic hazard occurs within the New Madrid Seismic Zone. Their finding has been recently substantiated by the work of Seth Stein and co-workers (Science, v. 284, 619-621, 1999).

During the last decade he also worked on seismic problems associated with Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

Ni is currently attempting to establish a long-term working relationship with Mexican colleagues in order to study plate boundary problems in Mexico. He is also working on continuing the INDEPTH project to investigate the northern boundary of the Tibetan Plateau, as well as developing a new project in northeastern China to study the deep subduction process of the Pacific plate to determine what happens when plate reaches lower mantle.

 

Publications

• York, J., R. Cardwell, and J. Ni, Seismicity and Quaternary faulting in China, Bull. Seism. Soc. Am., 66, 183-201, 1976.
  
• Ni, J., Contemporary tectonics of the Tien Shan region, Earth and Planet. Sci. Lett., 41, 347-354, 1978.
  
• Ni, J., and J. York, Late Cenozoic tectonics of the Tibetan Plateau, J. Geophys. Res., 83, 5377-5387, 1978.
  
• Ni, J. F., R.E. Reilinger, and L.D. Brown, Vertical crustal movements in the vicinity of the 1931 Valentine, Texas, earthquake, Bull. Seism. Soc. Am., 71, 857-863, 1980.
  
• Barazangi, M., and J. Ni, Velocities and propagation characteristics of Pn and Sn waves beneath the Himalayan Arc and Tibetan Plateau: Possible evidence for underthrusting of Indian continental lithosphere beneath Tibet, Geology, 10, 179-185, 1982.
  
• Ni, J., and M. Barazangi, Velocities and propagation characteristics of Pn, Pg, Sn, and Lg seismic waves beneath the Indian Shield, Himalayan Arc, Tibetan Plateau, and surrounding regions: High uppermost mantle velocities and efficient Sn propagation beneath Tibet, Geophys. J. R. Astr. Soc. 72, 665-689, 1983.
  
• Jurkowski, G., J. Ni, and L.D. Brown, Modern uparching of the Gulf Coastal Plain, J. Geophys. Res., 89, 6247-6255, 1984.
  
• Ni, J., and M. Barazangi, Seismotectonics of the Himalaya Collision Zone: Geometry of the underthrusting Indian Plate beneath the Himalaya, J. Geophys. Res., 89, 1147-1164, 1984.
  
• Ni, J., and M. Barazangi, Active tectonics of the western Tethyan Himalaya above the underthrusting Indian Plate: The upper Sutlej River Basin as a pull-apart structure, Tectonophysics, 112, 277-295, 1985.
  
• Ni, J., and M. Barazangi, Seismicity and tectonics of the Zagros and a comparison with the Himalayas, J. Geophys. Res., 91, 8205-8218, 1986.
  
• Ni, J., D. Snyder, and M. Barazangi, Deep crustal structure and seismotectonics of the Zagros collisional zone and a comparison with the Himalayas, Proceedings of the 1986 International Symposium on Geomechanics, Beijing, China, 1987.
  
• Davis, K., S. Harder, R.W. Greensfelder, and J. Ni, An integrated geophysical study of the Knight Peak Graben, New Mexico Geological Society Guidebook, 39th Field Conference, Southwestern New Mexico, 77-81, 1988.
  
• Ni, J. F., M. Guzman-Speziale, M. Bevis, W.E. Holt, T.C. Wallace, and W.R. Seager, Accretionary tectonics of Burma and the three-dimensional geometry of the Burma subduction zone, Geology, 17, 68-71, 1989.
  
• Fan, G., and J.F. Ni, Source parameters of the February 13, 1980, Karakorum earthquake, Bull. Seis. Soc. Am., 945-954, 1989.
  
• Ni, J., Active tectonics of the Himalayas: a review, Proc. Indian Academy of Sciences (Earth Plant. Sci.) Vol. 98, No. 1, 71-89, 1989.
  
• Goedecke, G. and J.F. Ni, Eotvos Force on lithosphere, Tectonophysics, 187, 251- 257, 1991.
  
• Holt, W.E., J.F. Ni, T.C. Wallace, and A.J. Haines, The active tectonics of the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis and surrounding regions, J. Geophys. Res., 96, 14,595-14,632, 1991.
  
• Ni., J., A. Ibenbrahim, and S.W. Roecker, Three-dimensional velocity structure and hypocenters of earthquakes beneath the Hazara Arc, Pakistan: Geometry of the underthrusting Indian Plate, J. Geophys. Res., 96, 19,865-19,877, 1991.
  
• Wang, Suyan, J. Ni and 5 others, Source parameters of large earthquakes in northeast China, Acta Geophysica Sinica, (in Chinese, with English translation), 34, 42-54, 1991.
  
• Ni, J., D. Wiens, H. Given, P. Richards, New trends in global seismology, Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union, Vol. 72, No. 35, 369-371, 1991.
  
• Snay, R.A., J.F. Ni, and H.C. Neugebauer, Geodetically derived strain across the northern New Madrid Seismic Zone, United States Geological Survey, Professional Paper, 1538-F-G, pp. 16, 1992.
  
• Sandvol, E, J. Ni, S. Ozalaybey, J. Schlue, Shear-wave splitting in the Rio Grande Rift, Geophysical Research Letters, 19, 2,337-2,340, 1992.
  
• Guzman-Speziale, M, and J.F. Ni, The opening of the Andaman Sea: Where is the short-term displacement being taken up?, Geophysical Research Letters, 20, 2949-2952, 1993.
  
• Hearn, T.M., and J.F. Ni, Seismic Velocities beneath Continental Collision Zones: The Turkish-Iranian Plateau,Geophys. J. Int. 117, 273-283, 1994.
  
• Sandvol, E., J. Ni, T. Hearn, S. Roecker, Seismic azimuthal anisotropy beneath the Pakistan Himalayas, Geophysical Research Letters, 21, 1635-1638, 1994.
  
• Fan, Guangwei, J. Ni, and T.C. Wallace, Active tectonics of the Pamir-Karakorum Region, J. Geophys. Res. 99, 7131-7160, 1994.
  
• Salyards, S.L., J.F. Ni, and M.J. Aldrich, Jr., Variation in paleomagnetic rotations and kinematics of the north-central Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico, in Basin of the Rio Grande Rift: Structure, Stratigraphy, and Tectonic Setting, Geol. Soc. Amer. Special Paper 291, 51-71, 1994.
  
• Wu, Jianxin, J.F. Ni and T.M. Hearn, Lg Wave Attenuation and Propagation Characteristics in Iran, in Monitoring a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, Eds., E. S. Husebye and A. M. Dainty, Kluwer Academic Publisher, The Netherlands, 655-662, 1995.
  
• Guzman-Speziale, M. and J. F. Ni, Seismicity and Active Tectonics of the Western Sunda Arc, in Tectonic Evolution of Asia, Eds., An Yin and Mark Harrison, Cambridge University, 63-84, 1996.
  
• Reese, C.C. and Ni, J., "Attenuation of Coda Waves in Southern Tibet" Geophysical Research Letters, 23, 3015-3018, 1996.
  
• Nelson K.D., Zhao W., Chen L., Brown L.D., Kuo J., Jinkai Che, Xianwen Liu, Klemperer S.L., Makovsky Y., Meissner, R., Mechie J., Kind R., Wenzel, F., Ni J., Nabelek J., Chen Leshou, Handong Tan, Wenbo Wei, Jones A.G., Booker J., Unsworth M., Kidd W.S.F., Hauck M., Alsdorf D., Ross A., Cogan M., Wu C., Sandvol E., Edwards M., Partially molten middle crust beneath southern Tibet: Synthesis of Project INDEPTH Results, Science, 274, 1684-1688, 1996.
  
• Kind, R., J. Ni, W. Zhao, J. Wu, X. Yuan, L. Zhao, E. Sandvol, C. Reese, J. Nabelek, T. Hearn, Evidence from Earthquake Data for a Partially Molten Crustal Layer in Southern Tibet, Science, 274, 1692-1694, 1996.
  
• Rodgers, A.R., J.F. Ni, and T.M. Hearn, Propagation Characteristics of Short- Period Sn and Lg in the Middle East, Bull. Seism. Soc. Am. 87, 396-413, 1997.
  
• Sandvol E., and J. Ni, Deep azimuthal seismic anisotropy in the southern Kurile and Japan subduction zones, J. Geophy. Rev., 102, 9911-9922, 1997.
  
• Yuan X., J. Ni, R. Kind, E. Sandvol, and J. Mechie, Lithospheric and upper mantle structure of southern Tibet from a seismological passive source experiment, J. Geophy. Rev., 102, 27,491-27,500, 1997.
  
• Rapine R., J. Ni, X. Wu, and T. Hearn, Regional wave propagation in China and surrounding regions, Bull. Seism. Soc. Am., 87, 1,622-1,636, 1997.
  
• Sandvol E., J. Ni, R. Kind, W. Zhao, Seismic anisotropy beneath the southern Himalayas-Tibet collision zone, J. Geophy. Rev.,102, 17,813-17,823, 1997.
  
• Reese C., R. Papine, and J. Ni, Lateral variation of Pn and Lg attenuation at the CDSN station LSA, Bull. Seism. Soc. Am., 89, 325-330, 1999.
  
• Cotte, N., H. Pedersen, M. Campillo, J. Mars, J. F. Ni, R. Kind, E. Sandvol, and W. Zhao, Determination of the crustal structure in southern Tibet by dispersion and amplitude analysis of Raleigh waves, Geophys., J. Int., 138, 809-819, 1999.
  
• Huang, W.C. James F. Ni, F. Tilmann, D. Nelson, J. Guo, W. Zhao, J. Mechie, R. Kind, J. Saul, R. Rapine, and T. M. Hearn, Seismic polarization anisotropy beneath the central Tibetan Plateau, J. Geophys. Res., 105, 27,979-27,989, 2000.
  
• Zhao, W., J. Mechie, L.D. Brown, J. Guo, S. Haines, T. Hearn, S.L. Klemperer, Y.S. Ma, R. Meissner, K.D. Nelson, J.F. Ni, P. Pananot, R. Rapine, A. Ross, and J. Saul, Crustal strcuture of central Tibet as derived from project INDEPTH wide-angle seismic data, Geophys. J. Int., 145, 486-498, 2001.
  

Research

• INDEPTH
• La Ristra
• Rio Grande Rift
• Crustal and Mantle Velocity Structure
• Lg attenuation

 

Vita

Research Interests:
Continental Tectonics, Plate Tectonics, Global Seismology, Recent Earth Movements, Seismic Tomography.

Education:
1971 B.Engr. Cornell University
1973 M.Engr. Cornell University (geotechnical engineering and remote sensing)
1984 Ph.D. Cornell University (geophysics)

Awards:
1964 New York State 13th Annual Science Congress Award, 6th Place
1964 Westinghouse Scholarship Summer, 1986
1987, and 1989 AWU- DOE Faculty Fellowship

Employment and Teaching History:
8/73 - 8/84 Research Specialist, Cornell University
Summer, 1986 1987,1989 Visiting Scientist, Los Alamos National Laboratory
6/87 - 90 Adjunct Associate Research Scientist, Lamont - Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University
8/84 - 7/90 Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, New Mexico State University.
May 1990 Tenure Granted
8/90 - 4/94 Associate Professor, Department of Physics, New Mexico State University
1993 Visiting Fellow, Geological and Planetary Sciences, Caltech
5/94 - present Professor, Department of Physics, New Mexico State University

Languages:
Speaks, reads, and writes Chinese fluently

Professional Associations and Honor Societies:
American Geophysical Union
Seismological Society of America
Geological Society of China
Sigma Xi

Professional Activities (Present and Past):
Editor (Solid Earth Geophysics); EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union
Chairman, 1992 Annual Meeting of the Seismological Society of America
Board member, UNAVCO and IRIS

 

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