Qiushi Zhai's Homepage
Postdoc, Seismological Laboratory, Caltech.

About
My name is Qiushi [Chee-oh Shr] Zhai [Jai] (翟秋实). I am currently a Postdoctoral Scholar in Geophysics (2022-present) at the Seismological Laboratory, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), working with Dr. Zhongwen Zhan. I received my Ph.D. in Geophysics (2022) from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), where I was advised by Dr. Zhigang Peng. Prior to that, I completed both my M.S. (2017) and B.S. (2014, School of the Gifted Young) in Geophysics at the University of Science and Technology of China, under the supervision of Dr. Huajian Yao.
As an observational seismologist, my research is dedicated to advancing our understanding of earthquakes, Earth’s internal processes, and environmental dynamics. Specifically, I focus on two main areas: (1) developing emerging fiber-optic distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) technology to study earthquakes, icequakes, moonquakes, and other seismic events, and (2) implementing advanced data mining techniques, such as machine learning and template matching, to extract valuable signals from big seismic datasets. I believe these novel sensing technologies and cutting-edge data mining methods are essential for gaining insights into the physics of earthquakes and unraveling the complex interactions between seismic events and Earth’s internal and environmental processes.
Publications
Google Scholar | ORCID: 0000-0003-2583-5146
• Refereed Publications:
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Sheehan, J.; Zhai, Q.; Chuang, L.; Officer, T.; Wang, Y.; Zhu, L.; Peng, Z. Applying EQTransformer to laboratory earthquakes: detecting and picking acoustic emissions with machine learning. (submitted).
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Li, J., Biondi, E., Heimisson, E., Puel, S., Zhai, Q., Zhang, S., Hjörleifsdóttir, V., Wei, X., Bird, E., Klesh, A., Kamalov, V., Gunnarsson, T., Geirsson, H., & Zhan, Z. Minute-scale dynamics of repeated dike intrusions in Iceland with fiber-optic geodesy. (submitted).
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Zhai, Q., Yin, J., Yang, Y., Atterholt, J., Li, J., Husker, A., & Zhan, Z. Comprehensive Evaluation of DAS Amplitude and Its Implications for Earthquake Early Warning and Seismic Interferometry. (submitted).
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Bird, E., Atterholt, J., Li, J., Biondi, E., Zhai, Q., Li, L., Yang, Y., Fang, J., Wei, X., Hjörleifsdóttir, V., Klesh, A., Kamalov, V., Gunnarsson, T., & Zhan, Z. Constraining Dike Opening Models with Seismic Velocity Changes Associated with the 2023-2024 Eruption Sequence on the Reykjanes Peninsula. (submitted).
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Zhai, Q., Husker, A., Zhan, Z., Biondi, E., Yin, J., Civilini, F., & Costa, L. (2024). Assessing the feasibility of Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) for moonquake detection. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 635, 118695. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2024.118695 [PDF]. Press Releases: Caltech News, Phys.org News, Pasadena Now, The Science Times, Popular Science, Technology.org News, Tech and Science Post, Mirage News, Copernical, myScience, and More.
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Zhai, Q., Zhan, Z., & Chavarria, J. A. (2024). Thousand-Kilometer DAS Array Reveals an Uncatalogued Magnitude-5 Dynamically Triggered Event After the 2023 Turkey Earthquake. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 129(3), e2023JB027680. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JB027680 [PDF]
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Zhai, Q., Peng, Z., Matsubara, M., Obara, K., & Wang, Y. (2023). Spatiotemporal Variations of Intermediate-Depth Earthquakes Before and After 2011 Tohoku Earthquake Revealed by a Template Matching Catalog. Geophysical Research Letters, 50(22), e2023GL104068. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL104068 [PDF]
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Chen, W., Neves, M., Zhai, Q., Daniels, C., Adeboboye, O., Jaume, S., & Peng, Z. (2023). Preliminary Results from a Dense Short‐Period Seismic Deployment around the Source Zone of the 1886 M 7 South Carolina Earthquake. Seismological Research Letters. https://doi.org/10.1785/0220230085 [PDF]
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Chuang, L. Y., Peng, Z., Lei, X., Wang, B., Liu, J., Zhai, Q., & Tu, H. (2023). Foreshocks of the 2010 Mw 6.7 Yushu, China Earthquake Occurred Near an Extensional Step-Over. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 128(1), e2022JB025176. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JB025176 [PDF]
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Li, C., Peng, Z., Yao, D., Meng, X., & Zhai, Q. (2023). Temporal changes of seismicity in Salton Sea Geothermal Field due to distant earthquakes and geothermal productions. Geophysical Journal International, 232(1), 287–299. https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggac324 [PDF]
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Zhai, Q., Peng, Z., Chuang, L. Y., Wu, Y.-M., Hsu, Y.-J., & Wdowinski, S. (2021). Investigating the Impacts of a Wet Typhoon on Microseismicity: A Case Study of the 2009 Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan Based on a Template Matching Catalog. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 126(12). https://doi.org/10.1029/2021jb023026 [PDF]
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Zhai, Q., Yao, H., & Peng, Z. (2019). Upper mantle shear velocity structure beneath the equatorial East Pacific Rise from array-based teleseismic surface-wave dispersion analysis. Geophysical Journal International, 219(1), 607–618. https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggz314 [PDF]
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She, Y., Yao, H., Zhai, Q., Wang, F., & Tian, X. (2018). Shallow Crustal Structure of the Middle‐Lower Yangtze River Region in Eastern China from Surface‐Wave Tomography of a Large Volume Airgun‐Shot Experiment. Seismological Research Letters, 89(3), 1003–1013. https://doi.org/10.1785/0220170232 [PDF]
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Zhai, Q., Yao, H., & Wang, B. (2016). Study on the deconvolution method and processing flow of air-gun source data. Earthquake Research in China, 295–304. [PDF] [PDF (in Chinese)]
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Hu, J., Qian, J., Guo, H., Wang, K., Zhai, Q., Zhang, H., Yao, H., Zhang, W., & An, M. (2016). Station-pair double-difference seismic tomography using Lujiang seismic network with air-gun data from the Yangtze River Active Source Experiment in Anhui province. Earthquake Research in China, 32(2), 343–355. [PDF (in Chinese)]
• Non-refereed Publications:
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Zhai, Q., Peng, Z., & Hsu, Y.-J. (2023). Southern California Earthquake Was Unlikely Triggered by Hurricane Hilary. Temblor. https://doi.org/10.32858/temblor.322 [PDF].
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Zhai, Q. (2022). Understanding microseismicity behavior and their response to earth processes by improving earthquake catalogs. Ph.D. Thesis. Georgia Institute of Technology. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/67203 [PDF].
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Zhai, Q. (2017). Study on the Velocity Structure and Its Change in Dali Region of Yunnan Province Based on Passive Source and Active Source Methods. M.S. Thesis. University of Science and Technology of China. [PDF (in Chinese)].
Selected Conference Abstracts on Ongoing Projecs
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Zhai, Q., Zhan, Z., Li, J., & Yang, Y. (2024). Long-Term Analysis of Cryoseismic Events and Earthquakes at the South Pole Using Distributed Acoustic Sensing. SSA Photonic Seismology Meeting.
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Zhai, Q., Peng, Z., Heidary, R., Williams, J., Howard, S., Dai, S., Zhu, L., & Wu, Y.-M. (2021). P-wave first-motion polarity determination using deep learning. AGU Fall Meeting.
Professional Services
• Session Convener:
- Fiber-optic Sensing Applications in Seismology, SSA Annual Meeting, 2025.
- Structure and Properties of Subducting Slabs and Deep Earthquakes, SSA Annual Meeting, 2023.
• Seminar Organizer:
- Seismological Laboratory Brown Bag Seminar, California Institute of Technology, 2023.
- Geophysics Seminar, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021.
• Journal Reviewer:
- Nature Geoscience
- Geophysical Research Letters
- Seismological Research Letters
- Earth, Planets and Space
- IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing
- Artificial Intelligence in Geosciences
- Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
- Earth and Space Science
- Earthquake Research Advances
- Geoscience Letters
- Others
Contact
Email:
qzhai@caltech.edu
Address:
1200 E. California Blvd., MC 252-21
Pasadena, CA 91125
Office:
South Mudd Building, Room 268
Seismological Laboratory
California Institute of Technology