Publications

GEODES produces a wide range of peer-reviewed planetary geophysics research focused on understanding the subsurface and surface environments of the Moon, Mars, and small bodies. Our work prominently features the detection and modeling of lava tubes using innovative techniques such as ground-penetrating radar, magnetic mapping, and enhanced seismic backscattering. We also lead advancements in planetary seismology, including the development of crustal thickness models and the study of seismic wave propagation to investigate internal structures of terrestrial objects. Furthermore, GEODES research encompasses volatile stability, such as ice and carbon dioxide cold traps, and numerical models for the tidal resurfacing of rubble-pile asteroids. This archive captures the collective peer-reviewed research publications of the GEODES team.

2026

Kim, D., Song, J.-H., & Schmerr, N. C. (2026). Locating moonquakes with single-station seismology. Geophysical Research Letters, 53, e2026GL122962. https://doi.org/10.1029/2026GL122962
Lisabeth, H., Schmerr, N., Siegler, M. (2026). The seismic signature of Lunar ice. Science Advances, in press.
Williams, E., Montesi, L., Whelley, P., and Bell, E. (2026). Development of inflation ridges over Lava tube. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 473, 10586. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2026.108586

2025

Watters, T. R., & Schmerr, N. C. (2025). Paleoseismic activity in the moon's Taurus-Littrow valley inferred from boulder falls and landslides. Science Advances, 11(31), eadu3201. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adu3201
Zacny, K., Chu, P., Vendiola, V., Paulsen, G., Creekmore, P., Goldman, S., Bailey, J., Ng, P., Fortuin, C., Stamboltsian, J., Wang, A., Jain, A., Chow, P., Seto, E., Bottomley, N., Huddleston, R., Bailey-Kelly, E., Zheng, R., Norlinger, A., King, I., Mank, Z., Wilson, J., Fishman, J., Xu, H., Bergman, D., Mumm, E., Davis, K., Beck, J., Dearing, S., Hill, M., Quinn, J., Eichenbaum, A., Janine, C., Kleinhenz, J., Colaprete, A., Elphic, R., Ennico-Smith, K., Lim, D., Mirmalek Z., Lees, D., Bickel, V., Deutsch, A., Schmerr, N., Lewis, K., Fernando, B., Gansler, K. (2025). TRIDENT Ice Mining Drill for Lunar Volatile Prospecting for PRIME-1 and VIPER Missions. Planetary Science Journal, 6(12), 297. https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae0b51
DeMartini, J. V, Richardson, D. C., Murdoch, N., Garcia, R. F., Schmerr, N. C., Scheirich, P., Ballouz, R.-L., & Daca, A. (2025). The Influence of Internal Structure on Physical Outcomes of the 2029 Apophis Close Approach with Earth. Planetary Science Journal, 6(11), 263. https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae147e
Frizzell, E. S., Hartzell, C. M., and Schmerr, N. C. (2025). Wave transmission through the megaregolith as a mechanism for lunar cold spot formation. Icarus, 429, 116461. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2025.116461
Hon, O. R., Carter, L. M., and Sutton, S. S. (2025). Evidence of combined erosive and constructional formation mechanisms for a lunar sinuous rille. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 130, e2024JE008536. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JE008536
Kim, D., Lekić, V., Wieczorek, M. A., Schmerr, N. C., Collins, G. S., and Panning, M. P. (2025). A new lunar crustal thickness model constrained by converted seismic waves detected beneath the Apollo seismic network. Geophysical Research Letters, 52, e2024GL114506. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL114506
Sikes, C. T., Sunshine, J. M., and Newcombe, M. E. (2025). Investigations of the Sinus Aestuum DMD: An anomalously large and compositionally distinct lunar pyroclastic deposit. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 130, e2024JE008919. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JE008919
Wang, J., Schmerr, N. C., Lekić, V., Giles, J., Wike, L., and Hoyle, A. (2025). Active seismic exploration of planetary subsurfaces via compressive sensing. Earth and Space Science, 12, e2024EA003828. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EA003828
Wang, J., Schmerr, N. C., Bell, E. R., Jr., McCall, N., Lekić, V., and Huang, M.-H. (2025). Integrated seismic refraction, reflection, and Rayleigh wave imaging at Kilbourne Hole, New Mexico: Implications for lunar subsurface exploration. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 130, e2025JE008950. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JE008950
Wang, J., Schmerr, N. C., McCall, N., Kruse, S., Lekić, V., Whelley, P. L., Giles, J., Wike, L., West, J., Porter, R., Banks, M. E., Coonan, J., Deykes, N., Shahid, S., Vig, Z., and Zanetti, M. (2025). Enhanced seismic backscattering for lava tube detection. Geophysical Research Letters, 52, e2025GL116494. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL116494
Williams, E. A., and Montési, L. G. J. (2025). Crack development inside and around lunar lava tubes. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 130, e2024JE008536. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JE008553

2024

Fernando, B., Charalambous, C., Saliby, C., Sansom, E., Larmat, C., Buttsworth, D., Hicks, D., Johnson, R., Lewis, K., McCleary, M., Petricca, G., Schmerr, N., Zander, F., & Inman, J. (2024). Seismoacoustic measurements of the OSIRIS-REx re-entry with an off-grid Raspberry PiShake. Seismica, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.26443/seismica.v3i1.1154
Silber, E. A., D. C. Bowman, C. G. Carr, D. P. Eisenberg, B. R. Elbing, B. Fernando, M. A. Garcés, R. Haaser, S. Krishnamoorthy, C. A. Langston, Y. Nishikawa, J. Webster, J. F. Anderson, S. Arrowsmith, S. Bazargan, L. Beardslee, B. Beck, J. W. Bishop, P. Blom, G. Bracht, D. L. Chichester, A. Christe, J. Clarke, K. Cummins, J. Cutts, L. Danielson, C. Donahue, K. Eack, M. Fleigle, D. Fox, A. Goel, D. Green, Y. Hasumi, C. Hayward, D. Hicks, J. Hix, S. Horton, E. Hough, D. P. Huber, M. A. Hunt, J. Inman, S. M. A. Islam, J. Izraelevitz, J. D. Jacob, J. Johnson, R. J. KC, A. Komjathy, E. Lam, J. LaPierre, K. Lewis, R. D. Lewis, P. Liu, L. Martire, M. McCleary, E. A. McGhee, I. Mitra, A. Nag, L. Ocampo Giraldo, K. Pearson, M. Plaisir, S. K. Popenhagen, H. Rassoul, M. Ronac Giannone, M. Samnani, N. Schmerr, K. Spillman, G. Srinivas, S. K. Takazawa, A. Tempert, R. Turley, C. Van Beek, L. Viens, O. A. Walsh, N. Weinstein, R. White, B. Williams, T. C. Wilson, S. Wyckoff, M.-y. Yamamoto, Z. Yap, T. Yoshiyama and C. Zeiler (2024). Geophysical Observations of the 2023 September 24 OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule Reentry. Planetary Science Journal, 5(9), 213. https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad5b5e
Watters, T. R., Schmerr, N. C., Weber, R. C., Johnson, C. L., Speyerer, E. J., Robinson, M. S., & Banks, M. E. (2024). Tectonics and Seismicity of the Lunar South Polar Region. Planetary Science Journal, 5(1), 22. https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad1332
Harmon, N., Porter, R., Rychert, C., Schmerr, N., Smith, M. M., and Shen, Z. (2024). Distributed acoustic sensing for future planetary applications: Initial results from the San Francisco volcanic field, a lunar analogue. Earth and Space Science, 11, e2024EA003640. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EA003640
Shoemaker, E. S., Hollibaugh Baker, D., Richardson, J. A., Carter, L. M., Scheidt, S. P., Whelley, P. L., and Young, K. E. (2024). Mapping Ice Buried by the 1875 and 1961 Tephra of Askja Volcano, Northern Iceland using Ground-Penetrating Radar: Implications for Askja Caldera as a Geophysical Testbed for In-Situ Resource Utilization. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 129, e2023JE007834. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JE007834

2023

Irving, J. C. E., Lekic, V., Duran, A. C., Drilleau, M., Kim, D., Rivoldini, A., Khan, A., Samuel, H., Antonangeli, D., Banerdt, W. B., Beghein, C., Bozda, E., Ceylan, S., Charalambous, C., Clinton, J., Davis, P., Garcia, R., Giardini, D., Horleston, A., Huang, Q., Hurst, K. J., Kawamura, T., King, S., Knapmeyer, M., Li, J., Lognonné, P., Maguire, R., Panning, M. P., Plesa, A. C., Schimmel, M., Schmerr, N. C., Stähler, S., Stutzmann, E., and Z. Xu. (2023). First observations of core-transiting seismic phases on Mars. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(18), e2217090120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2217090120
Kim, D., Duran, C., Giardini, D., Plesa, A. C., Stähler, S. C., Boehm, C., Lekic, V., McLennan, S. M., Ceylan, S., Clinton, J., and P. M. Davis. (2023). Global Crustal Thickness Revealed by Surface Waves Orbiting Mars. Geophysical Research Letters, 50(12), e2023GL103482. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL103482
Kim, Y., DeMartini, J. V., Richardson, D. C., and Hirabayashi, T. (2023). Tidal resurfacing model for (99942) Apophis during the 2029 close approach with Earth. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 520(3), 3405-3415. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stad351
Marohnic, J. C., DeMartini, J. V., Richardson, D. C., Zhang, Y., and Walsh, K. J. (2023). An efficient numerical approach to modeling the effects of particle shape on rubble-pile dynamics. Planetary Science Journal. https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad0467
Samuel, H., Drilleau, M., Rivoldini, A., Xu, Z., Huang, Q., Garcia, R., Lekic, V., Irving, J. C. E., Badro, J., Lognonne, P., Connolly, J., Kawamura, T., Gudkova, T., and W. B. Banerdt. (2023). Geophysical evidence for an enriched molten silicate layer above Mars’s core. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06601-8
Schorghofer, N., and Rufu, R. (2023). Past extent of lunar permanently shadowed areas. Science Advances, 9(37), eadh4302. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adh4302

2022

Amrouche, M., Weber, R. C., Schmerr, N., and Iqbal, W. (2022). Effects of Lunar Near-Surface Geology on Moonquakes Ground Motion Amplification. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 127(9), e2022JE007396. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JE007396
Bell Jr., E., Schmerr, N., Young, K., Esmaeili, S., Garry, W. B., Jazayeri, S., Kruse, S., Richardson, J., and Whelley, P. (2022). Field Mapping and Modeling of Terrestrial Lava tube Magnetic Anomalies as an Analog for Lunar Lava Tube Exploration and Prospecting. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 127(6), e2021JE007140. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JE007140
Bell Jr., E., Schmerr, N., Porter, R., Bleacher, J., Young, K., Huang, M., Lekic, V., and Pettit, D. (2022). Active Seismic Exploration Along a Human Lunar Mission Traverse Analog in the San Francisco Volcanic Field. SEG The Leading Edge, 41(10). https://doi.org/10.1190/tle41100689.1
Kim, D., Stähler, S. C., Ceylan, S., Lekic, V., Maguire, R., and Zenhäusern, G. (2022). Structure Along the Martian Dichotomy Constrained by Rayleigh and Love Waves and Their Overtones. Geophysical Research Letters, 50(8), e2022GL101666. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL101666
Laferriere, K. L., Sunshine, J. M., and Feaga, L. M. (2022). Variability of Hydration across the Southern Hemisphere of the Moon as observed by Deep Impact. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 127(8), e2022JE007361. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JE007361
Schorghofer, N. (2022). Gradual sequestration of water at lunar polar conditions due to temperature cycles. Astrophysical Journal Letters, 927(2), L34. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ac5a48
Wyrick, D. Y., and Buczkowski, D. L. (2022). Pit crater chains across the solar system: Evidence for subterranean tectonic caves, porosity and permeability pathways on planetary bodies. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 127(12), e2022JE007281. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JE007281

2021

Schorghofer, N., Williams, J. M., Martinez-Camacho, J. M., Paige, D. A., and Siegler, M. A. (2021). Carbon dioxide cold traps on the Moon. Geophysical Research Letters, 48, e2021GL095533. https://doi.org/10.26443/seismica.v3i1.1154

2020

Esmaeili, S., Kruse, S., Jazayeri, S., Whelley, P., Bell, E., Richardson, J., Garry, W. B., and Young, K. (2020). Resolution of Lava Tubes with Ground Penetrating Radar: The TubeX project. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 125(5), e2019JE006138. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JE006138
Gallant E., Deng F., Connor C. B., Dixon T. H., Xie S., Saballos J., Gutiérrez C., Myhre D., Connor L., Zayac J., LaFemina P., Charbonnier S., Richardson J., Malservisi R., and Thompson G. (2020). Deep and rapid thermo-mechanical erosion by a small-volume lava flow. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 537, 116163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116163
Schorghofer, N. (2020). Ice caves on Mars: Hoarfrost and microclimates. Icarus, 357, 114271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2020.114271
Schorghofer, N., and Williams, J.-P. (2020). Mapping of ice storage processes on the Moon with time-dependent temperatures. Planetary Science Journal, 1, 54. https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/abb6ff