Junlin Hua is a seismologist who studies the structure of the Earth's interior with seismic imaging. His work focuses on integrating imaged seismic structures with evidence from other fields including mineral physics, geodynamics, petrology and geochemistry to understand the properties and processes of the solid Earth, especially the mantle. His group uses cutting-edge imaging techniques including full-waveform tomography, scattered wave imaging and attenuation tomography to obtain the elastic and anelastic properties of the Earth, which are then used to investigate the evolution of mantle convection and plate tectonics with the help from complementary fields. He received his Ph.D. degree from Brown University in 2021, and is currently a specially appointed professor at University of Science and Technology of China. He has also been serving as an editorial board member for Scientific Reports since 2023.
Research fields
Seismology, Mantle properties and processes
Education
B.S. 2016 Peking University
Ph.D. 2021 Brown University
Employment
2021.8 -- 2024.2, The University of Texas at Austin, Postdoctoral Research Fellow
2024.3 -- 2024.7, Brown University, Senior Research Associate
2024.12 – Now, University of Science and Technology of China, Specially Appointed Professor
Publications
14. Li, J.*, Hua, J., Ferrand, T. P., Pou, L., Huang, Q., Allibert, L., ... & Zhou, T. (2025). Evidence for weak seismic attenuation in Mars’ deep mantle. Communications Earth & Environment, 6(1), 656.
13. , , , , & (2025). Waveform effects on shear wave splitting near fault zones. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 130, e2025JB031656.
12. Gazel, E.*, Dayton, K., Liang, W., Hua, J., Lynn K. L., Hammer, J. E. (2025). Crustal to mantle melt storage during the evolution of Hawaiian volcanoes. Science Advances, 11, eadu9332.
11. Hua, J.*, Grand, S. P., Becker, T. W., Janiszewski, H. A., Liu, C., Zhu, H., & Trugman, D. T. (2025). Seismic full-waveform tomography of active cratonic thinning beneath North America consistent with slab-induced dripping. Nature Geoscience, 18, 358-364.
10. Carrero Mustelier, E., Fischer, K. M.*, Hua, J., Gama, I., La Femina, P. C., & Higgins, M. (2024). Relationships Between Upper‐Plate Structure, Mantle Wedge Melting, and Fore‐Arc Sliver Transport in the Nicaraguan Subduction Zone. The Seismic Record, 4(4), 251-258.
9. DeVitre, C. L.*, Gazel, E.*, Ramalho, R. S., Venugopal, S., Steele-MacInnis, M., Hua, J., Allison, C. M., Moore, L. R., Carracedo, J. C. & Monteleone, B. (2023). Volatile-rich intraplate explosive eruption sustained from the mantle. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(33), e2302093120.
8. Hua, J.*, Wu, M., Mulholland, J. P., Neelin, J. D., Tsai, V. C., & Trugman, D. T. (2023). High-resolution precipitation monitoring with a dense seismic nodal array. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 11450.
7. Hua, J.*, Fischer, K. M., Becker T. W., Gazel, E. & Hirth G. (2023). Asthenospheric low-velocity zone consistent with globally prevalent partial melting. Nature Geoscience.
6. Hua, J.*, Fischer, K. M., Gazel, E., Parmentier E. M., & Hirth G. (2023). Long-distance asthenospheric transport of plume-influenced mantle from Afar to Anatolia. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems.
5. Gama, I.*, Fischer, K. M., & Hua, J. (2022). Mapping the lithosphere and asthenosphere beneath Alaska with Sp converted waves. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, e2022GC010517.
4. Hua, J.*, Fischer, K. M., Wu, M., & Blom, N. (2020). New approaches to multifrequency Sp stacking tested in the Anatolian region. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, e2020JB020313.
3. Chen, K. X.*, Fischer, K. M., Hua, J., & Gung, Y. (2020). Imaging crustal melt beneath northeast Japan with Ps receiver functions. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 537, 116173.
2. Hua, J.*, Fischer, K. M., Mancinelli, N. J., & Bao, T. (2020). Imaging with pre-stack migration based on Sp scattering kernels. Geophysical Journal International, 220(1), 428-449.
1. Hua, J.*, Fischer, K. M., & Savage, M. K. (2018). The lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary beneath the South Island of New Zealand. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 484, 92-102.