About

Meghan Samantha Miller

Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences

Contact Information
E-mail: msmiller@usc.edu
Phone: (213) 740-6308
Office: ZHS 103

LINKS
Faculty Profile on Departmental Website
 

Education
B.A. Physics and Geology, Whittier College, 1997
M.S. Applied Geophysics, Columbia University, 1999
M.Eng Geoscience, Cornell University, 2000
Ph.D. Geophysics, The Australian National University, 2006
 

Postdoctoral Training
NSERC Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of British Columbia and Rice University, 2006-2008  
 

Academic Appointment, Affiliation, and Employment History

Tenure Track Appointments
Assistant Professor, University of Southern California, 2009-  
 

Non-Tenure Track Appointments
Research Associate, University of Calgary, 11/2008-04/2009  
 

Description of Research

Summary Statement of Research Interests
Meghan S. Miller studies earthquakes, tectonic processes, and plate motions to reconstruct the evolution of the dynamic Earth. Her research focuses on the three-dimensional structural evolution of the lithosphere and mantle near plate boundaries, such as the Caribbean and the western Pacific, which are both seismically and volcanically active.
 

Research Keywords
Tectonophysics, seismology, geodynamics, plate tectonics, mantle dynamics
 

Funded Research

Contracts and Grants Awarded
Examining the Evolution of the Colorado Plateau and Its Relation to the Surrounding Tectonic Provinc (National Science Foundation), Meghan S. Miller, Alan Levander, $160,094, 07/01/2009-06/30/2011  
 

Publications

Book Chapter
Miller, M. S., Powell, K. (2001). Seismic Interpretation and Processing Applications. pp. 101-118. Pergamon.
 

Journal Article
Miller, M. S., Levander, A., Niu, F., Li, A. (2009). Upper mantle structure beneath the Caribbean – South American plate boundary from surface wave tomography. Journal of Geophysical Research. Vol. 114 (B01312)
Mason, W. G., Moresi, L., Betts, P. G., Miller, M. S. (2009). Three-dimensional numerical models of the influence of a buoyant oceanic plateau on subduction zones. Tectonophysics. Vol. in press
Miller, M. S. (2008). Breaking the slab. Nature Geoscience. Vol. 1 (11), pp. 730-731.
Miller, M. S., Niu, F. (2008). Bulldozing the core-mantle boundary: localized seismic scatterers beneath the Caribbean Sea. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors. Vol. 170, pp. 89-94.
Clark, S., Sobiasiek, M., Niu, F., Zelt, C. A., Magnani, M. B., Miller, M. S., Bezada, M. J., Levander, A. (2008). Eastern Venezuelan tectonics driven by lithospheric tear geodynamics, not oblique collision. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems. Vol. 9 (11), pp. Q11004.
Miller, M. S., Lee, C. T. (2008). Possible chemical modification of oceanic lithosphere by hotspot magmatism: seismic evidence from the junction of Ninety-east Ridge and the Sumatra-Andaman arc. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. Vol. 265 (3-4), pp. 386-395.
Rosenbaum, G., Gasparon, M., Lucente, F. P., Peccerillo, A., Miller, M. S. (2008). Kinematics of slab tear faults during subduction segmentation and implications for Italian magmatism. Tectonics. Vol. 27 (TC2008), pp. doi:10.1029/2007TC002143.
Miller, M. S., Gorbatov, A., Kennett, B. L. (2006). Three-dimensional visualization of a near-vertical slab tear beneath the southern Mariana arc. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems. Vol. 7 (Q06012), pp. doi:10.1029/2005GC001110.
Miller, M. S., Kennett, B. L. (2006). Evolution of mantle structure beneath the northwest Pacific: Evidence from seismic tomography and paleogeographic reconstructions. Tectonics. Vol. 25 (4), pp. doi:10.1029/2005TC001909.
Miller, M. S., Kennett, B. L., Gorbatov, A. (2006). Morphology of the distorted subducted Pacific slab beneath the Hokkaido corner, Japan. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors. Vol. 156 (1-2), pp. 1-11.
Miller, M. S., Kennett, B. L., Toy, V. G. (2006). Spatial and temporal evolution of the subducting Pacific plate structure along the western Pacific margin. Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth. Vol. 111 (B2), pp. doi:10.1029/2005JB003705.
Miller, M. S., Gorbatov, A., Kennett, B. L. (2005). Heterogeneity within the subducting Pacific slab beneath the Izu-Bonin-Mariana arc: Evidence from tomography using 3D ray tracing inversion techniques. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. Vol. 235 (1-2), pp. 331-342.
Miller, M. S. (2005). Active seismicity in the Flinders Ranges. Journal of the Virtual Explorer. Vol. 20, pp. Paper 18.
Miller, M. S., Kennett, B. L., Lister, G. S. (2004). Imaging changes in morphology, geometry, and physical properties of the subducting Pacific plate along the Izu-Bonin-Mariana arc. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. Vol. 224 (3-4), pp. 363-370.
 

Newsletter
Miller, M. S., Levander, A. (2009). Receiver function images of the Western U.S. lithosphere. EarthScope OnSite Newsletter.
 

Honors and Awards
NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2006-2008  
ANU Research School of Earth Science PhD Scholarship , 2003-2006  
Australian International Postgraduate Research Scholarship, 2003-2006  
Award for Best Geodynamics and Geochemistry Oral Presentation: Victorian Universities Earth and Environmental Sciences Conference, Fall 2005   
Award for Best Poster Presentation: Victorian Universities Earth Sciences Conference, Fall 2004   
Cornell University Geological Science Merit Scholarship , 1999-2000   
Society of Exploration Geophysicists Graduate Scholarship, 1999-2000   
Columbia University Henry Krumb School of Mines Fellow, 1997-1999  
Whittier College John Greenleaf Whittier Merit Scholar, 1993-1997  
 

Service to the Profession

Committees
Member, NSF - Earthscope Transportable Array Working Group, 01/2009-  
 
 
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