Georgios P Tsoflias

George Tsoflias
  • Dean A. McGee Professor of Applied Geophysics

Contact Info

Office Phone:
785-864-4584
Department Phone:
785-864-4974
Fax:
785-864-5276
Ritchie Hall, room #354B

Biography —

I was born in Athens, Greece and I have resided in the U.S. since 1984. I received B.S. (1989) and M.S. (1991) degrees in Geophysics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and a Ph.D. (1999) in Geological Sciences from The University of Texas at Austin. My professional experience includes exploration geophysics with Mobil Oil (1991 to 1995, offshore Gulf of Mexico), Jones Energy Ltd. (1996 to 1998, Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma) and the U.S. Department of the Interior (1999 to 2003, offshore Gulf of Mexico). In 2003 I joined The University of Kansas, Department of Geology, where I am currently a Professor.

Research —

My research interests are in applied geophysics, including near-surface geophysics, exploration geophysics and induced seismicity. My research has focused on ground-penetrating radar (GPR) imaging of fractures and monitoring flow and transport in fractured rocks, monitoring microbial processes in contaminated aquifers, geophysical imaging of polar ice sheets, application of geophysical methods to archaeology, GPR imaging of carbonate aquifers and reservoir analogues, and most recently seismic characterization of Mississippian and Arbuckle reservoirs in Kansas, seismic monitoring of CO2 storage, and monitoring of induced seismicity in the US midcontinent.

Research interests:

  • Applied geophysics
  • exploration geophysics
  • Induced seismicity
  • hydrogeophysics
  • biogeophysics
  • GPR and seismic methods
  • GPR characterization of fractures and monitoring of fluid-flow
  • High-resolution GPR and seismic imaging of carbonate reservoir analogues
  • Seismic monitoring of CO<sub>2</sub> injection
  • Development of automated three-dimensional shallow seismic methods
  • GPR and seismic imaging of active tectonic settings
  • Biogeophysical (GPR) monitoring of subsurface microbial activity
  • Seismic and radar imaging of polar ice sheets
  • Climate change, humans and nature in the global environment
  • Development of seismic and GPR methods for transportation infrastructure projects.

Selected Publications —

Shen J., Shi Z., Liu L., Peng M.,Wang D.,Li S.and G. P. Tsoflias (2024), A CNN-based Method to Construct a Laterally Heterogeneous S-wave Velocity Model from Spatially Windowed Surface Wave Data, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10752519.

Nolte K.A., Tsoflias G.P., Holubnyak Y., Hollenbach J. and D. Wreath (2022), Designing Monitoring Networks for Local Earthquakes, Journal of Geophysics and Engineering (Oxford), Vol 19, p. 75-84, https://doi.org/10.1093/jge/gxab075.

Liu L., Shi Z.M., Tsoflias G.P., Peng M. and Y. Wang (2022), Detection of Karst Voids at Pile Foundation by Full-waveform Inversion of Single Borehole Sonic Data, Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering (Elsevier), Vol 152, 107048, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2021.107048.

Nolte K.A.* and G.P. Tsoflias (2021), Identifying Direct SP-Converted Waves Constrains Local Induced Earthquake Depths, Seismol. Res. Lett. 92, 3801-3810, https://doi.org/10.1785/0220200385 

Liu L., Shi Z., Tsoflias G.P., Peng M., Liu C., Tao F. and C. Liu (2021), Detection of Karst Cavity Beneath Cast-in-Place Pile Based on Instantaneous Phase Difference of Two Receiver Recordings, Geophysics, Vol 86, No 1., p. EN27-EN38, https://doi.org/10.1190/geo2020-0082.1.

Liu L.*, Shi Z.M., Peng M. and G.P. Tsoflias(2020), Investigation of Geological Anomalies at Pile Foundation Location in Urban Karst Areas Using Single Borehole Radar, Geosciences, 10(6), 232, https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences10060232.