51cg

Dr Amy Gilligan

Dr Amy Gilligan
Dr Amy Gilligan
Dr Amy Gilligan

MEarthSci (Oxford), PhD (Cambridge), FHEA

Lecturer

Accepting PhDs

51cg
Email Address
amy.gilligan@abdn.ac.uk
Office Address
138a Meston Building
Old Aberdeen Campus
Meston Walk
AB24 3UE

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School/Department
School of Geosciences


Biography

I am a Lecturer in Geophysics at the 51cg, interested in using seismic data to understand tectonic and environmental processes that are happening on Earth today, and how these have evolved over geological history. This includes developing seismicity catalogues from local earthquakes and seismic velocity models for a variety of tectonic settings. I use deep learning methods to develop more efficient workflows for processing and analysing large datasets.  

My current research is focussed on north east Scotland where I have recently deployed a network of broadband seismometers. The  will help us to understand the role(s) that the Highland Boundary Fault has played in the building of Scotland, and the distribution of seismicity in Scotland. We will use a variety of passive seismic imaging techniques, including receiver functions, surfaces waves and shear-wave splitting to develop models of the crust and mantle, which can then be interpreted in light of tectonic processes that have taken place.

I continue to work with seismic data from the between 2018-2022 to explore what happens after subduction stops. This has involved developing new seismic velocity models of the crust and mantle. We then use these models to help better pinpoint the location of earthquakes that have occurred in northern Borneo both to help understand the tectonics in this region and the potential seismic hazard. 

Prior to arriving at Aberdeen as a post-doc in 2016, I worked at Imperial College London. There my research focused on the  In my PhD research at the University of Cambridge I imaged the structure of the crust and upper mantle in central Asia, with a particular focus on intracontinental deformation taking place in the and deformation related to the India-Eurasia collision in the . 

Qualifications

  • MEarthSci Earth Sciences 
    2010 - University of Oxford 
  • PhD Seismology 
    2014 - University of Cambridge 
  • PGCert Higher Education Teaching and Learning 
    2023 - 51cg 

Memberships and Affiliations

Internal Memberships
  • Geology and Geophysics Exams Officer 
  • 51cg Physical Sciences and Engineering Ethics Board
External Memberships
  • Section Editor (seismology) for Journal of the Geological Society
  • British Geophysical Association Outreach Officer
  • Editorial board member Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of The Royal Society of Edinburgh
Research

Research Areas

Accepting PhDs

I am currently accepting PhDs in Geology and Geophysics.

Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.

Geology and Geophysics

  • Supervising
  • Accepting PhDs
Teaching
Publications

Page 1 of 3 Results 1 to 10 of 30

  • Spatial dealiasing of classical geomagnetic survey data through use of a microfabricated wearable quantum magnetometer

    Gilligan, A.
    Scientific Reports
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • The UK and Ireland Geophysical Array -- Concept and Design

    Curtis, A., Lythgoe, K., Hicks, S. P., Bie, L., Strutz, D., Chambers, E., Baptie, B., Cornwell, D., Huebert, J., Irving, J., Jones, G., Lebedev, S., Mansour, W. B., Álvarez, A. M., Nippress, S., Noten, K. V., Pharaoh, T., Palamakumbura, R., Rawlinson, N., Salgado, P. R., Verdon, J., Zhu, C., Zhou, W., Assink, J., Bastow, I., Bindi, D., Blenkinsop, T., Bonadio, R., Braim, M., Craig, T., Day, E., Diaferia, G., Dunning, S., Edwards, B., Fagereng, A., Fishwick, S., Gilligan, A., Green, D., Healy, D., Horleston, A., Ireland, M., Jenkins, J., Johnson, J., Kendall, M., Kettlety, T., Kiyan, D., Koelemeijer, P., Kounoudis, R., Lane, V., Lu, C., Magrini, F., Marignier, A., Martin, C., Möllhoff, M., Neill, I., Nowacki, A., Paap, B., Pilia, S., de Ridder, S., Ruigrok, E., Shi, P., Stork, A., Turner, A., Whiteley, J., Ziolkowski, A.
    Working Papers: Preprint Papers
  • Evidence of Subduction, Collision, and Extension in Northern Borneo: Constraints From Receiver Functions

    Gilligan, A., Cornwell, D. G., Rawlinson, N., Tongkul, F., Pilia, S., Greenfield, T., Bacon, C. A.
    Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, vol. 131, no. 1, e2025JB031499
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Investigating Rayleigh wave anisotropy in faulted media with three-component beamforming: insights from numerical models and applications for geothermal exploration

    Kennedy, H., Finger, C., Löer, K., Gilligan, A.
    Wave Motion, vol. 139, 103596
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Migrated teleseismic P wave receiver functions reveal intricate post-subduction crust and upper mantle structure of northern Borneo (Sabah), Malaysia

    Cornwell, D., Gilligan, A., Rawlinson, N., Tongkul, F., Pilia, S., Bacon, C. A., Greenfield, T., Baker, S. K., Wehner, D., Linang, H. T., Fone, J. W.
    Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, vol. 130, no. 11, e2025JB031466
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Ambient noise tomography of northern Borneo reveals evidence of subduction and post-subduction processes.

    Fone, J., Rawlinson, N., Pilia, S., Gilligan, A., Cornwell, D., Tongkul, F.
    Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, vol. 129, no. 11, e2024JB029092
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Who wants to be a geophysicist?

    Jenkins, J., Gilligan, A., Bie, L.
    Astronomy and Geophysics, vol. 65, no. 5, pp. 5.28-5.30
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Post-subduction tectonics induced by extension from a lithospheric drip

    Pilia, S., Davies, D. R., Hall, R., Bacon, C., Gilligan, A., Greenfield, T., Tongkul, F., Kramer, S., Wilson, C. R., Ghelichkhan, S., Cornwell, D., Colli, L., Rawlinson, N.
    Nature Geoscience, vol. 16, pp. 646-652
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Cluster analysis of velocity models around the hudson bay region, Eastern Canada

    Kharita, A., Gilligan, A.
    Geophysical Journal International, vol. 233, no. 1, pp. 359–375
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Seismic signature of subduction termination from teleseismic P- and S-wave arrival-time tomography: the case of northern Borneo

    Pilia, S., Rawlinson, N., Hall, R., Cornwell, D., Gilligan, A., Tongkul, F.
    Gondwana Research, vol. 115, pp. 57-70
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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