Prof. Stephen Arrowsmith
Associate Professor
Hamilton Chair in Earth Sciences
Huffington Department of Earth Sciences
Southern Methodist University
Background
In geophysics, we use a variety of different types of signal to study the Earth. I specialize in using seismic and low-frequency acoustic (or ‘geoacoustic’) signals to study the geosphere and atmosphere, and to monitor both natural and human sources. Many of the most significant discoveries in geophysics were based on small numbers of observations and simple analytical models. To further the science, the emphasis today is on the development of computationally-intensive numerical models and/or the application of numerical methods to very large datasets. My research focuses on the development and application of numerical methods for modeling the generation and propagation of waves in the solid earth and atmosphere, processing large datasets, and inverting observations to improve our understanding of the solid earth or atmosphere. I also have a long-standing interest in the use of seismology and geoacoustics for national security applications, and enjoy putting geophysics techniques to use for important practical uses.
Priorities
- To improve our fundamental understanding of the generation and propagation of seismic and geoacoustic waves.
- To design algorithms that get more out of data.
- To make practical contributions to important national and international challenges.
- To teach classes that improve critical thinking and help students develop relevant skills for future.
- To communicate the value of science to non-experts and the general public.
Positions
Education
Selected Publications
Selected publications include work I’ve done in infrasound, detection, and data science.

Event Location with Sparse Data: When Probabilistic Global Search is Important
Stephen Arrowsmith; Junghyun Park; Il‐Young Che; Brian Stump; Gil Averbuch
BibTeX

Locating Surface Explosions by Combining Seismic and Infrasound Data
Koch, Clinton D and Arrowsmith, Stephen
BibTeX

False alarms and the IMS infrasound network: Understanding the factors influencing the creation of false events
Arrowsmith, Stephen J
BibTeX

A seismoacoustic study of the 2011 January 3 Circleville earthquake
Arrowsmith, Stephen J and Burlacu, Relu and Pankow, Kristine and Stump, Brian and Stead, Richard and Whitaker, Rod and Hayward, Chris