Brian Kennett

Brian Kennett is currently Distinguished Professor of Seismology at the Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University and was Director from September 2006 to January 2010. He received his Ph.D. in Theoretical Seismology from the University of Cambridge in 1973. He was a Lindemann Fellow at IGPP, University of California, San Diego and then a University Lecturer at the University of Cambridge. He moved to Australia in 1984, and was President of IASPEI from 1999-2003.

His research has covered a very wide range of topics in seismology, from reflection seismology to studies of the deep Earth and from theoretical to observational studies. He has received recognition through many medals and awards including the Gold Medal in Geophysics from the Royal Astronomical Society, the Gutenberg Medal from the European Geosciences Union, the Murchison Medal from the Geological Society of London, and the Jaeger and Flinders Medals from the Australian Academy of Sciences. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society (London).

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2206-5350

The Australian Continent »

A Geophysical Synthesis

Authored by: Brian Kennett, Richard Chopping, Richard Blewett

Publication date: August 2018

The Australian Continent: A Geophysical Synthesis is designed to provide a summary of the character of the Australian continent through the extensive information available at the continental scale, as a contribution to the understanding of Australia's lithospheric architecture and its evolution. The results build on the extensive databases assembled at Geoscience Australia, particularly for potential fields, supplemented by the full range of seismological information, mostly from The Australian National University. To aid in cross comparison of results from different disciplines, information is presented with a common projection and scales.

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Deep Crustal Seismic Reflection Profiling »

Australia 1978–2015

Authored by: Brian Kennett, E. Saygin, T. Fomin, Richard Blewett

Publication date: November 2016

Deep Crustal Seismic Reflection Profiling: Australia 1978–2015 presents the full suite of reflection profiles penetrating the whole crust carried in Australia by Geoscience Australia and various partners. The set of reflection data comprises over 16,000 km of coverage across the whole continent, and provides an insight into the variations in crustal architecture in the varied geological domains. Each reflection profile is presented at approximately true scale with up to 220 km of profile per page and overlap between pages. Each reflection section is accompanied by a geological strip map showing the configuration of the line superimposed on 1:1M geology. The compilation includes a suite of large-scale reflection transects groups of 1,000 km or more that link across major geological provinces, and an extensive bibliography of reports and relevant publications.

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Planning and Managing Scientific Research »

A guide for the beginning researcher

Authored by: Brian Kennett

Publication date: March 2014

Although there are many books on project management, few address the issues associated with scientific research. This work is based on extensive scientific research and management experiences and is designed to provide an introduction to planning and managing scientific research for the beginning researcher. The aim is to build an understanding of the nature of scientific research, and the way in which research projects can be developed, planned and managed to a successful outcome. The book is designed to help the transition from being a member of a research team to developing a project and making them work, and to provide a framework for future work. The emphasis of the book is on broadly applicable principles that can be of value irrespective of discipline. It should be of value to researchers in the later stages of Ph.D. work and Postdoctoral workers, and also for independent researchers.

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Seismic Wave Propagation in Stratified Media »

Authored by: Brian Kennett

Publication date: May 2009

Seismic Wave Propagation in Stratified Media presents a systematic treatment of the interaction of seismic waves with Earth structure. The theoretical development is physically based and is closely tied to the nature of the seismograms observed across a wide range of distance scales – from a few kilometres as in shallow reflection work for geophysical prospecting, to many thousands of kilometres for major earthquakes. A unified framework is presented for all classes of seismic phenomena, for both body waves and surface waves. Since its first publication in 1983 this book has been an important resource for understanding the way in which seismic waves can be understood in terms of reflection and transmission properties of Earth models, and how complete theoretical seismograms can be calculated. The methods allow the development of specific approximations that allow concentration on different seismic arrivals and hence provide a direct tie to seismic observations.

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