W. Steven Holbrook

About

W. Steven Holbrook is a Professor of Geophysics in the Department of Geosciences at Virginia Tech. His research utilizes geophysical techniques, primarily seismology, to examine Earth processes, with a focus on critical zone geophysics. He explores the Earth's 'breathing skin,' where water, life, and rock converge, aiming to understand the structure of Earth's regolith at landscape scales and how this structure influences water storage and movement in terrestrial environments. Holbrook's work has contributed to understanding continental margins, volcanic arcs, and methane hydrate systems, and he was a key developer of seismic oceanography, which images thermohaline fine-structure within the oceans. His career includes positions at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the University of Wyoming before joining Virginia Tech. He has mentored numerous students and postdoctoral researchers, many of whom have gone on to successful careers in industry or academia. His educational background includes a Ph.D. and M.S. in Geophysics from Stanford University and a B.S. in Geoscience from Penn State.

Research topics

• Geomorphology
• Geology
• Mineralogy
• Environmental science
• Ecology
• Earth science
• Geochemistry
• Geophysics

Selected publications

• Forest vulnerability to drought controlled by bedrock composition

  Nature Geoscience · 2022 · 82 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Geophysical imaging of the Yellowstone hydrothermal plumbing system

  Nature · 2022-03-23 · 50 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Strong slope‐aspect control of regolith thickness by bedrock foliation

  Earth Surface Processes and Landforms · 2020 · 44 citations

  Abstract The porous near‐surface layer of the Earth's crust – the critical zone – constitutes a vital reservoir of water for ecosystems, provides baseflow to streams, guides recharge to deep aquifers, filters contaminants from groundwater, and regulates the long‐term evolution of landscapes. Recent work suggests that the controls on regolith thickness include climate, tectonics, lithology, and vegetation. However, the relative paucity of observations of regolith structure and properties at lands…

  DOI

• Resolving Deep Critical Zone Architecture in Complex Volcanic Terrain

  Journal of Geophysical Research Earth Surface · 2020 · 28 citations

  Abstract Critical zone (CZ) structure, including the spatial distribution of minerals, elements, and fluid‐filled pores, evolves on geologic time scales resulting from both top‐down climatic forcing and bottom‐up geologic controls. Climate and lithology may be imprinted in subsurface structure as depth‐dependent trends in geophysical, geochemical, mineralogical, and biological datasets. As the weathering profile is as much (or more) a product of past environmental conditions, development of pred…

  DOI

• What Do P-Wave Velocities Tell Us About the Critical Zone?

  Frontiers in Water · 2022-01-10 · 25 citations

  articleOpen access

  Fractures in Earth's critical zone influence groundwater flow and storage and promote chemical weathering. Fractured materials are difficult to characterize on large spatial scales because they contain fractures that span a range of sizes, have complex spatial distributions, and are often inaccessible. Therefore, geophysical characterizations of the critical zone depend on the scale of measurements and on the response of the medium to impulses at that scale. Using P-wave velocities collected at…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• RAPID: Collaborative Research: A Short, Open-Access 2D MCS Acquisition Program off Washington State

  NSF · $52k · 2012–2014

• Collaborative Research: Seismic measurements of magma flux, arc composition, and lower-plate serpentinization in the Central American subduction factory

  NSF · $1.5M · 2004–2012

• Collaborative Research: Network Cluster: Bedrock controls on the deep critical zone, landscapes, and ecosystems

  NSF · $1.6M · 2020–2026

Frequent coauthors

• Bradley J. Carr

  University of Wyoming

  65 shared

• Brady Flinchum

  61 shared

• Daniel Lizarralde

  48 shared

• Sylvain Pasquet

  Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

  43 shared

• Linda Lakemacher

  State Science and Technology Institute

  39 shared

• John B. Wachtman

  38 shared

• J. L. Hayes

  Dickinson College

  38 shared

• John R. Hopper

  Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland

  37 shared

Labs

• Department of GeosciencesPI

Education

• Ph.D., Geophysics, Geophysics

  Stanford University

  1989

• B.S., Geosciences, Geosciences

  Pennsylvania State University

  1982

Awards & honors

• Walter Munk Award for Distinguished Research in Oceanography…
• Fellow, American Geophysical Union (2012)
• Ocean Drilling Program (JOI/USSAC) Distinguished Lecturer (2…
• Fellow, Geological Society of America (1998)

Similar researchers at Virginia Tech

• Sterling Nesbitth-70
• Robert J. Bodnarh-69
• Patricia Doveh-62