Peter Roberts

Geophysicist

Research Interests

• stress-wave stimulation of oil production and groundwater remediation
• ultrasonic cleaning of damaged oil wells
• seismic and ultrasonic data processing and analysis
• teleseismic and exploration imaging
• seismic waveform modeling and inversion methods
• earthquake, volcanic and borehole seismology
• seismic instrumentation and field data collection
• parallel programming on MPP computers
• acoustic cavitation and micro-streaming in rocks
• ultrasonic measurement of physical properties in solids
• automated laboratory instrumentation control and data acquisition

Contact

• 
• 505-667-8938 - Phone
• 505-667-8487 - FAX

Education

• Ph.D., Geophysics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1989
• B.S., in Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1979
• Affiliations
• American Geophysical Union
• Seismological Society of America

Experience

• 6/97--present: Technical Staff Member, EES Division, GeoEngineering Group, EES-4, Los Alamos National Laboratory
• 8/96--6/97: Project Geophysicist, Nambe Geophysical, Inc., contractor to: Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, GeoEngineering Group, EES-4, LANL
• 4/92--8/96: Senior Geophysicist, Nambe Geophysical, Inc., contractor to: Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, GeoEngineering Group, EES-4, LANL
• 4/89--4/92: Postdoctoral Fellow, Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, GeoEngineering Group, EES-4, LANL
• 7/85--3/89: Graduate Research Fellow, Dept. of Geological Sciences, University of Southern California
• 9/82--6/85: Graduate Research Assistant, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• 6/79--8/82: Staff Technical Assistant, Seismic Instrumentation Laboratory, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Links

• EES 11 Programs - Seismic Stimulation
• Ultrasonic Removal of Organic Deposits and Polymer Induced Formation Damage - 70 KB PDF File
• New Methods for Modeling and Processing Seismic Data
• Ultrasonic Reduction of Wellbore Deposits and Near-Wellbore Formation Damage

Publications

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Roberts, P. M. (1989). A Versatile Equalization Circuit for Increasing Seismometer Velocity Response Below the Natural Frequency, Bull. Seism. Soc. Am., 79: 1607-1617.

Roberts, P. M., K. Aki and M. C. Fehler (1995). A Shallow Attenuating Anomaly Inside the Ring Fracture of the Valles Caldera, New Mexico, J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 67: 79-99.

Roberts, P. M., W. S. Phillips and M. C. Fehler (1992). Development of the Active Doublet Method for Measuring Small Velocity and Attenuation Changes in Solids, J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 91: 3291-3302.

Roberts, P. M., K. Aki and M. C. Fehler (1991). A Low-Velocity Zone in the Basement Beneath the Valles Caldera, New Mexico, J. Geophys. Res., 96: 21583-21596.

Benites, R. A., P. M. Roberts, K. Yomagida and M. Fehler (1997). Scattering of Elastic Waves in 2-D Composite Media I: Theory and Test, Phys. Earth and Planet. Int.,104: 161-173.

Fehler, M., P. M. Roberts and T. Fairbanks (1988). A Temporal Change in Coda Wave Attenuation Observed During an Eruption of Mount St. Helens, J. Geophys. Res., 93: 4367-4373.

Lutter, W. J., P. M. Roberts, C. H. Thurber, L. Steck, M. C. Fehler, D. Stafford, T. Zeichert and S. Baldridge (1995). Teleseismic P-wave Image of the Crust and Upper Mantle Structure beneath the Valles Caldera, New Mexico: Initial Results from the 1993 JTEX Passive Array, Geophys. Res. Lett., 22: 505-508.

Nishimura, T., M. Fehler, W.S. Baldridge, P. Roberts and L. Steck (1997). Heterogeneous Structure around the Jemez Volcanic Field, New Mexico, USA, as Inferred from the Envelope Inversion of Active-Experiment Seismic Data, Geophys. J. Intl., 131: 667-681.

Steck, L.K., W.J. Lutter, M.C. Fehler, C.H. Thurber, P.M. Roberts, W.S. Baldridge, D.G. Stafford and R. Sessions (1998). Crust and Upper Mantle Structure Beneath Valles Caldera, New Mexico: Results from the JTEX Teleseismic Experiment, J. Geophys. Res., in press.

Venkitaraman, A., P. M. Roberts and M. M. Sharma (1995). Ultrasonic Removal of Near-Wellbore Damage Caused by Fines and Mud Solids, Soc. Petrol. Eng. J., Drilling & Completion, 10-3: 193-197.

Yomagida, K., R. A. Benites, P. M. Roberts, and M. Fehler (1997). Scattering of Elastic Waves in 2-D Composite Media II: Waveforms and Spectra, Phys. Earth and Planet. Int.,104: 175-192.

Conference Proceedings and Expanded Abstracts

Roberts, P. M (1991). Development of the Active Doublet Method for Monitoring Small Changes in Crustal Properties, Seis. Res. Lett., 62: 36.

Roberts, P. M. (1985). A Study of Coda and S-wave Attenuation at Mammoth Lakes, California, EOS Trans. AGU, 66: 984.

Roberts, P.M., A. Sharma, V. Uddameri, M. Monagle and D. Dale (1997). Enhanced DNAPL Extraction by Low Frequency Pressure Stimulation of a Sand Core During Water Flow, EOS Trans AGU, 78-46 (supplement): F273.

Roberts, P., L.-J. Huang, C. Burch, M. Fehler and S. Hildebrand (1997). Prestack Depth Migration for Complex 2D Structure using Phase-Screen Propagators, Expanded Abstracts, 1997 SEG Mtg., 1282-1285.

Roberts, P.M., D.M. Alde, L.S. House, J.H. Higginbotham and D.V. Sukup (1996). Fast 3-D prestack depth migration with a parallel PSPI algorithm, Expanded Abstracts, 1996 SEG Mtg., 1021-1024.

Roberts, P.M., A. Venkitaraman and M. M. Sharma (1996). Ultrasonic Removal of Organic Deposits and Polymer Induced Formation Damage, Proc. Soc. Petrol. Eng. Intl. Symp. Formation Damage Control, SPE 31129: 8 pp.

Roberts, P. M., R. A. Benites, M. Fehler, C. Thurber, L. Steck, W. Lutter, D. Stafford and T. Zeichert (1994). Teleseismic Waveform Anomalies Observed during the Passive 1993 Jemez Tomography Experiment, Seis. Res. Lett., 65: 16.

Roberts, P.M., F. Moreno, W. Lutter, L. Steck, M. Fehler, C. Thurber, D. Stafford, R. Sessions and L. Delitsin (1994). Teleseismic Spectral Amplitude Variations observed in the Valles Caldera, New Mexico, during the 1994 Passive JTEX Experiment, EOS Trans AGU, 75-44: 484.

Roberts, P. M., W. Lutter, M. Fehler, C. Thurber, L. Steck, D. Stafford and T. Zeichert (1993). Teleseismic P-Wave Delays Observed during the 1993 Passive JTEX Deployment, EOS Trans AGU, 74-43: 424.

Roberts, P. M., M. C. Fehler, W. S. Phillips and P. A. Johnson (1992). Detection of Isolated Velocity and Attenuation Anomalies in Solids Using Active Doublet Sources, Seis. Res. Lett., 63: 57.

Roberts, P. M., K. Aki and M. Fehler (1987). A Study of the 2-D Seismic Structure of the Valles Caldera, New Mexico Using Discrete Wavenumber Modeling of Observed Teleseismic P-waves, EOS Trans. AGU, 68: 1347.

Dietel, C., B. Chouet, K. Aki, V. Ferrazzini and P. M. Roberts (1989). Data Summary for Dense GEOS Array Observations of Seismic Activity Associated with Magma Transport at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, U.S. Geol. Surv. Open-file Report, 89-113.

Fehler, M., H. Hartse, F. Moreno, D. Stafford, S. Baldridge, L. House, P. Roberts, L. Steck, C. Thurber, W. Lutter (1994). Shallow Structure beneath the Jemez Volcanic Field, New Mexico, determined from Explosion and Earthquake data, EOS Trans AGU, 75-44: 484.

Ferrazzini, V., K. Aki, B. Chouet, C. Dietel and P. M. Roberts (1989). Propagation Characteristics of Volcanic Tremor and Gas-Piston Events Observed by a GEOS Array, EOS Trans. AGU, 70: 1190.

Lutter, W., C. Thurber, P. Roberts, M. Fehler and L. Steck (1994). Teleseismic P-wave Image of Crustal Structure beneath Valles Caldera, New Mexico: Initial Results from the 1993 JTEX Passive Array, EOS Trans AGU, 75-16: 242.

Rutledge, J. T., J. N. Albright, T. D. Fairbanks, M. B. Murphy and P. M. Roberts (1990). Microseismic Monitoring of the Chaveroo Oil Field, New Mexico, Soc. Expl. Geophys., Sixth Annual Meeting, Extended Abstracts: 237-240.

Sharma, A. and P. M. Roberts (1998). Seismic Stimulation of Oil Production in Mature Reservoirs, Proc. Am. Assoc. Petrol. Geol. Annual Convention, Salt Lake City, UT.

Steck, L.K., W. Lutter, W.S. Baldridge, C. Thurber, M. Fehler, P. Roberts, R. Sessions, D. Stafford (1996). Crust and Upper Mantle Structure at Valles Caldera, New Mexico, from 3-D Teleseismic Tomography, EOS Trans AGU: F466.

Steck, L.K., W. Lutter, W.S. Baldridge, C. Thurber, M. Fehler, P. Roberts, D. Stafford, R. Sessions (1996). Crust and Upper Mantle Structure at Valles Caldera, New Mexico, from 3-D Teleseismic Tomography, Abstracts of the Annual Meeting of Geol. Soc. Am., Denver , CO: 378.

Steck, L.K., W. Lutter, M. Fehler, C. Thurber, C. Weiland, S. Baldridge, P. Roberts (1995). Comparison of Crustal Structure beneath Valles Caldera, New Mexico and Long Valley Caldera, California, Proceedings of IUGG XXI: A452.

Steck, L.K., W. Lutter, M. Fehler, C. Thurber, S. Baldridge, P. Roberts, R. Sessions, D. Stafford (1995). Crust and Upper Mantle Velocity Structure at Valles Caldera, New Mexico, from 3-D Teleseismic Tomography, EOS Trans AGU, 76-46: F351.

Steck, L.K., W. Lutter, L. Delitsin, M. Fehler, D. Stafford, R. Sessions, P. Roberts, C. Thurber, H. Hartse, F. Moreno, S. Baldridge (1994). The 1994 JTEX Passive Seismic Experiment in Valles Caldera, New Mexico, EOS Trans AGU, 75-44: 484.

Steck, L., W. Lutter, M. Fehler, C. Thurber, P. Roberts, T. Zeichert and D. Stafford (1993). Observations of Teleseismic P- and S- Wave Polarization Anomalies during the 1993 Passive JTEX Experiment, EOS Trans. AGU, 74-43: 425.

Thurber, C., M. Fehler, W. Lutter, P. Roberts, L. Steck, D. Stafford and T. Zeichert (1993). The 1993 JTEX Passive Array Experiment in Valles Caldera, New Mexico, EOS Trans. AGU, 74-43: 425.