Susanne Maciel
Geosciences
Born into a family of artists, it was with surprise that Susanne Maciel’s parents discovered that their daughter would dedicate herself to mathematics as an undergraduate at the University of Brasília. And it was during college that she found a second passion: geology. From then on, Susanne’s academic interest began to take shape. With a master’s degree in geology from UnB, the scientist also has a doctorate in applied mathematics and geophysics from the State University of Campinas, with a postdoctoral period at Comenius University, Slovakia. Her project, rooted in her multidisciplinary trajectory, promises to bring new perspectives to seismology and the understanding of the Earth. It is an investigation that combs data from seismographs to create new ways to harness and interpret this information and optimize the prevention of seismic events.
Susanne also uses science in her personal life. She discovered gender studies amid a problematic balance between motherhood and an academic career. And gender studies brought comfort and information to navigate this delicate phase. According to mathematics, the passion for science also feeds on an interest in art. Susanne dedicates part of her free time to embroidery and the clarinet at the Clube do Choro in Brasília.
Projects
Seismology is the science that studies earthquakes or, more generally, the propagation of waves within the Earth (or other planetary bodies). We call seismic noise the relatively persistent vibration in the seismograms, which is generated by various sources, such as sea waves, winds, microfractures, passing cars, etc. This part of the seismic signal is generally discarded in traditional seismology studies. However, in recent years, many techniques have been developed to use seismic noise to obtain information on the physical parameters of the subsurface, mainly from shallower layers. These parameters are important in various applications, from regional seismic risk studies to geotechnical applications, such as dam monitoring. However, these techniques are based on theoretical assumptions that are not always satisfied in practice. Therefore, we sought to investigate, using real seismograms and also synthetic seismograms, how different compositions of seismic noise can influence imaging and monitoring techniques.
