Dr. Václav Kuna (*1988) works as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Geophysics CAS since September 2020. He received his Ph.D. degree in seismology at Oregon State University in Oregon, USA, studying seismicity and recent tectonics of the Blanco Transform Fault Zone in the northeast Pacific Ocean using seismometers placed at the ocean bottom around the fault.
During the Ph.D. studies, Vaclav has participated in several large-scale broadband seismic experiments in the Caucasus mountain range and Himalayas and was part of a team monitoring aftershock seismicity after the M7.8 earthquake in Nepal in April 2015. This experience steered his scientific interest away from a purely academic seismological career towards more mission-driven science.
At the Institute of Geophysics, Vaclav studies novel, low-cost Earthquake Early Warning systems based on IoT (Internet of Things) principle. He wants to test the feasibility of such a system in central Nepal to help to reduce the extreme seismic risks in the region.
Research Interests
• Earthquake Early Warning systems
• Earthquake source parameter estimation
• Seismotectonics
Selected research outcomes:
Kuna, V. and Nabelek J., 2021. Seismic crustal imaging using fin whale songs. Science 371, 731-735.
Kuna, V. M., Melgar, D., Meira, A., in prep. Evaluation of the Grillo sensor, a low-cost accelerometer for IoT-based Real-time seismology, preprint published via Earth ArXiv, doi: 10.31223/X5XS47.
Kuna, V. M., Nabelek, J., Braunmiller, J., 2019. Mode of slip and crust-mantle interaction at oceanic transform faults, Nature Geoscience 12. 138-142.
Kuna, V., Nabelek J., in prep. Seismic crustal imaging using fin whale songs.
Karplus, M. S., Pant, M., Sapkota, S. N., Nábělek, J., Velasco, A. A., Adhikari, L. B., Ghosh A., Klemperer, S. L., Kuna, V., Mendoza, M. M., Braunmiller, J., 2020. A Rapid Response Network to Record Aftershocks of the 2015 M 7.8 Gorkha Earthquake in Nepal. Seismological Research Letters, XX, 1–10.
Spicak, A., Kuna, V. M., Vanek, J., 2013. Earthquake occurrence reveals magma ascent beneath volcanoes and seamounts in the Banda region, Bulletin of volcanology 75 (12), 777, 3.
For a complete list of publications and conference contributions please see my Google Scholar profile.