About

William E. Holt is a Professor in the Department of Geosciences at Stony Brook University. He holds a B.S. degree from Northern Arizona University (1983) and a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona (1989). Following his doctoral studies, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at DSIR Geology and Geophysics in New Zealand from 1989 to 1991. He has been a faculty member at Stony Brook since 1991. His main areas of research involve investigating the kinematics and dynamics of large-scale deformation of the Earth's lithosphere and the coupling of the lithosphere with mantle convection. Holt is interested in modern time-dependent lithospheric kinematics using InSAR and GNSS observations, as well as methods of wave gradiometry to infer seismic properties of the crust and upper mantle. His work includes studying the 3-D dynamics of southwestern North America from the Eocene to the present, addressing lithosphere deformation through paleo-topography, rheology, and mantle flow coupling, and integrating thermomechanical models with climate data to predict landscape and sedimentary evolution. He is also engaged in exploring the dynamics of the East African Rift in the Turkana Basin region, employing similar modeling techniques to understand tectonics, climate, and biological evolution from the Miocene to the present. Holt's research extends to analyzing time-dependent crustal strain in western North America using GNSS and InSAR data, refining joint inversion methods to quantify strain rates, and applying wave gradiometry to determine lithosphere structure using data from the EarthScope USArray. His contributions have advanced understanding of regional tectonics, seismic properties, and the interplay between tectonic forces and surface processes.

Research topics

• Geology
• Paleontology
• Climatology
• Seismology
• Meteorology
• Earth science
• Biology
• Ecology

Selected publications

• A Joint Inversion Algorithm of GNSS and InSAR for Continuous 3‐D Surface Velocities and Associated Horizontal Strain Rate Field

  Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems · 2026-03-01

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Simultaneous analyses of complementary GNSS and InSAR measurements may lead to breakthroughs in our understanding of crustal deformation. We present an algorithm that combines InSAR with GNSS measurements, in which the GNSS data can be used either as original station velocities or as an interpolated and smoothed velocity field, to estimate continuous 3‐dimensional surface motions, horizontal strain rates and tilt in a self‐consistent way. This damped, weighted least‐squares inversion relies on physics‐based basis functions and provides a generalized tool for investigating the kinematics and dynamics of surface deformation. Through synthetic tests, we evaluate the performance of the algorithm. The results show that the algorithm reliably recovers a “true” synthetic field representing a complex horizontal interseismic signal mixed with a variable vertical signal in southern California. We also apply this algorithm to real GNSS and InSAR data from the same region to model an interseismic field and assess the final model by comparison with a GNSS‐only solution. The joint‐inversion model predicts narrower shear zones along faults and higher variations in off‐fault dilatational signals than the GNSS‐only model. In addition, the joint‐inversion model predicts vertical signals pertaining to hydrologic processes and step‐overs in small basin areas. We use k ‐fold cross‐validation to determine the optimal smoothness of the joint‐inversion model. Although widely used in geophysical inverse problems, it has been less frequently used in surface strain rate inversions. Our results show that the method reliably finds appropriate regularization strength for all tests in this study, indicating its potential for broader application in crustal deformation modeling.

  PublisherDOI

• Examining the potential of U-Pb and (U-Th)/He of Fluorite Deposits along the Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico

  Abstracts with programs - Geological Society of America · 2025-01-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Periodic Polyhedra in Spaces of Constant Curvature

  Discrete & Computational Geometry · 2025-08-19

  articleOpen access

  Abstract We show the existence of families of periodic polyhedra in spaces of constant curvature whose fundamental domains can be obtained by attaching prisms and antiprisms to Archimedean solids. These polyhedra have constant discrete curvature and are weakly regular in the sense that all faces are congruent regular polygons, and all vertex figures are congruent as well. Some of our examples have stronger conformal or metric regularity. The polyhedra are invariant under either a group generated by reflections at the faces of a Platonic solid or a group generated by transformations that are reflections at the faces of a Platonic solid, followed by a rotation about an axis perpendicular to the respective face. In particular, suitable quotients will be compact polyhedral surfaces in (possibly non-compact) spaceforms.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• NSF GAGE/SAGE Community Science Workshop: Advancing Geophysical Research Through Collaboration

  Perspectives of Earth and Space Scientists · 2025-08-23

  articleOpen access

  Abstract The 2025 NSF GAGE/SAGE Community Science Workshop, hosted by the EarthScope Consortium from May 18–21 in Bloomington, Minnesota, convened 188 participants from 109 institutions for four days of scientific exchange and community engagement. The workshop featured plenary sessions, poster presentations, special interest groups, and networking events that spanned topics including subduction zone hazards, planetary geophysics, ocean‐bottom sensing, and data‐intensive education. With ∼40% of attendees identifying as graduate students or early‐career researchers, the workshop emphasized inclusivity and workforce development. Community feedback highlighted strong satisfaction with the event's scientific content, mentoring opportunities, and collaborative atmosphere, offering valuable guidance for future planning as the community transitions toward the National Geophysics Facility.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Lithospheric Dynamics of Italy and Its Surrounding Regions

  Abstracts with programs - Geological Society of America · 2025-01-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• MIOCENE LANDSCAPE RECONSTRUCTION AND FAUNAL EVOLUTION IN KENYA’S TURKANA BASIN: A REPORT FROM THE TURKANA MIOCENE PROJECT

  Abstracts with programs - Geological Society of America · 2024-01-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• THE DYNAMICS OF THE EAST AFRICAN RIFT SYSTEM WITHIN THE TURKANA BASIN REGION

  Abstracts with programs - Geological Society of America · 2024-01-01

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Periodic Polyhedra in Spaces of Constant Curvature

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2024-01-08

  preprintOpen access

  We show the existence of families of periodic polyhedra in spaces of constant curvature whose fundamental domains can be obtained by attaching prisms and antiprisms to Archimedean solids. These polyhedra have constant discrete curvature and are weakly regular in the sense that all faces are congruent regular polygons and all vertex figures are congruent as well. Some of our examples have stronger conformal or metric regularity. The polyhedra are invariant under either a group generated by reflections at the faces of a Platonic solid, or a group generated by transformations that are reflections at the faces of a Platonic solid, followed by a rotation about an axis perpendicular to the respective face. In particular, suitable quotients will be compact polyhedral surfaces in (possibly non-compact) spaceforms.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Tectonic extension and paleoelevation influence mammalian diversity dynamics in the Basin and Range Province of western North America

  Science Advances · 2024-06-19 · 20 citations

  articleOpen access

  Landscape properties have a profound influence on the diversity and distribution of biota, with present-day biodiversity hot spots occurring in topographically complex regions globally. Complex topography is created by tectonic processes and further shaped by interactions between climate and land-surface processes. These processes enrich diversity at the regional scale by promoting speciation and accommodating increased species richness along strong environmental gradients. Synthesis of the mammalian fossil record and a geophysical model of topographic evolution of the Basin and Range Province in western North America enable us to directly quantify relationships between mammal diversity and landscape dynamics over the past 30 million years. We analyze the covariation between tectonic history (extensional strain rates, paleotopography, and ruggedness), global temperature, and diversity dynamics. Mammal species richness and turnover exhibit stronger responses to rates of change in landscape properties than to the specific properties themselves, with peaks in diversity coinciding with high tectonic strain rates and large changes in elevation across spatial scales.

  PublisherDOI

• Periodic Polyhedra in Spaces of Constant Curvature

  Research Square · 2024-01-10 · 1 citations

  preprintOpen access

  Abstract We show the existence of families of periodic polyhedra in spaces of constant curvature whose fundamental domains can be obtained by attaching prisms and antiprisms to Archimedean solids. These polyhedra have constant discrete curvature and are weakly regular in the sense that all faces are congruent regular polygons and all vertex figures are congruent as well. Some of our examples have stronger conformal or metric regularity. The polyhedra are invariant under either a group generated by reflections at the faces of a Platonic solid, or a group generated by transformations that are reflections at the faces of a Platonic solid, followed by a rotation about an axis perpendicular to the respective face. In particular, suitable quotients will be compact polyhedral surfaces in (possibly non-compact) spaceforms.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Integrating Lithospheric Dynamics, Geophysical Observations, and Three-Dimensional Whole Earth Dynamics

  NSF · $220k · 2003–2008

• Observationally Constrained High Resolution Dynamics of the Present-Day Lithosphere-Mantle System

  NSF · $238k · 2009–2012

• Constraints on the Rheology of the Lithosphere in Western North America from Observationally Driven Dynamic Models

  NSF · $149k · 2013–2017

• Collaborative Research: Integrating tectonics, climate, and mammal diversity

  NSF · $462k · 2018–2024

• Dynamically Self-Consistent Contstraints on the Long-Term Strength of Faults in Western North America

  NSF · $120k · 2006–2009

Frequent coauthors

• A. J. Haines

  GNS Science

  60 shared

• L. M. Flesch

  Purdue University West Lafayette

  55 shared

• Corné Kreemer

  42 shared

• Alireza Bahadori

  Stony Brook University

  30 shared

• Attreyee Ghosh

  27 shared

• B. Shen‐Tu

  AIR Worldwide (United States)

  23 shared

• Xinguo Wang

  Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research

  22 shared

• E. Troy Rasbury

  Stony Brook University

  17 shared

Labs

• William Holt LabPI

Education

• B.S.

  Northern Arizona University

  1983

• Ph.D.

  University of Arizona

  1989

• Other

  DSIR Geology and Geophysics, New Zealand

  1989