World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
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Earth Science
USA
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Earth Science

D-Index
136
Citations
75408
World Ranking
17
National Ranking
7

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Earth Science in United States Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Earth Science in United States Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Earth Science in United States Leader Award
  • 2012 - Member of the National Academy of Sciences
  • 1987 - Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • 1975 - Fellow of American Geophysical Union (AGU)

Overview

Hiroo Kanamori is affiliated with the California Institute of Technology in the United States. Their research primarily focuses on Earth and Planetary Sciences, with significant contributions in Geophysics, Artificial Intelligence, Geology, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and Environmental Chemistry.

The researcher has published extensively on topics including earthquake and tectonic studies, high-pressure geophysics and materials, earthquake detection and analysis, geological and geochemical analysis, seismic waves and analysis, seismology and earthquake studies, and broader geological and geophysical studies.

Frequent co-authors in their work include Luis Rivera, Kenji Satake, Thorne Lay, Osamu Sandanbata, and Shingo Watada.

Kanamori has published in several scientific journals and venues, with multiple papers appearing in:

  • Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
  • Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth
  • Geophysical Journal International
  • Earth and Planetary Science Letters
  • Geophysical Research Letters

Selected recent papers authored or co-authored by Kanamori include:

  • The 22 December 2018 tsunami from flank collapse of Anak Krakatau volcano during eruption, 2020, Science Advances
  • The 22 July 2020 M 7.8 Shumagin seismic gap earthquake: Partial rupture of a weakly coupled megathrust, 2021, Earth and Planetary Science Letters
  • Moment Tensors of Ring-Faulting at Active Volcanoes: Insights Into Vertical-CLVD Earthquakes at the Sierra Negra Caldera, Galápagos Islands, 2021, Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth
  • Rupture Model for the 29 July 2021 MW 8.2 Chignik, Alaska Earthquake Constrained by Seismic, Geodetic, and Tsunami Observations, 2022, Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth
  • Estimation of radiated energy using the KiK-net downhole records-old method for modern data, 2020, Geophysical Journal International

Kanamori's work spans analytical and observational approaches to seismic and tectonic phenomena, often integrating geophysical data with computational methods.

The scientist has been recognized by professional organizations with several awards: they were named Fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 1975, Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1987, and elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2012.

Best Publications

  • A moment magnitude scale

    Thomas C. Hanks;Hiroo Kanamori

  • Theoretical basis of some empirical relations in seismology

    Hiroo Kanamori;Don L. Anderson

  • The energy release in great earthquakes

    Hiroo Kanamori

  • Moho depth variation in southern California from teleseismic receiver functions

    Lupei Zhu;Hiroo Kanamori

  • Back-arc opening and the mode of subduction

    Seiya Uyeda;Hiroo Kanamori

  • The great Sumatra-Andaman earthquake of 26 December 2004

    Thorne Lay;Thorne Lay;Hiroo Kanamori;Charles J. Ammon;Meredith Nettles

  • Relationships between peak ground acceleration, peak ground velocity, and Modified Mercalli Intensity in California

    David J. Wald;Vincent Quitoriano;Thomas H. Heaton;Hiroo Kanamori

  • The physics of earthquakes

    Hiroo Kanamori;Emily E Brodsky

  • Mechanism of tsunami earthquakes

    Hiroo Kanamori

  • Inversion of complex body waves

    Masayuki Kikuchi;Hiroo Kanamori

  • Velocity dispersion due to anelasticity; implications for seismology and mantle composition

    Hsi-Ping Liu;Don L. Anderson;Hiroo Kanamori

  • Rupture Process of the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake

    Charles J. Ammon;Chen Ji;Hong-Kie Thio;David Robinson

  • The 2011 Magnitude 9.0 Tohoku-Oki Earthquake: Mosaicking the Megathrust from Seconds to Centuries

    Mark Simons;Sarah E. Minson;Anthony Sladen;Anthony Sladen;Francisco Ortega

  • TriNet “ShakeMaps”: Rapid Generation of Peak Ground Motion and Intensity Maps for Earthquakes in Southern California

    David J. Wald;Vincent Quitoriano;Thomas H. Heaton;Hiroo Kanamori

  • The Potential for Earthquake Early Warning in Southern California

    Richard M. Allen;Richard M. Allen;Hiroo Kanamori;Hiroo Kanamori

  • Deep structure of Japan subduction zone as derived from local, regional, and teleseismic events

    Dapeng Zhao;Akira Hasegawa;Hiroo Kanamori

  • Depth‐varying rupture properties of subduction zone megathrust faults

    Thorne Lay;Hiroo Kanamori;Charles J. Ammon;Keith D. Koper

  • Seismicity and the subduction process

    Larry Ruff;Hiroo Kanamori

  • Near-Field Investigations of the Landers Earthquake Sequence, April to July 1992

    Kerry Sieh;Lucile M Jones;Egill Hauksson;Kenneth W Hudnut

  • Use of long-period surface waves for rapid determination of earthquake-source parameters

    Hiroo Kanamori;Jeffrey W. Given

Frequent Co-Authors

Thorne Lay
Thorne Lay University of California, Santa Cruz
Egill Hauksson
Egill Hauksson California Institute of Technology
Thomas H. Heaton
Thomas H. Heaton California Institute of Technology
Luis Rivera
Luis Rivera University of Strasbourg
Charles J. Ammon
Charles J. Ammon Pennsylvania State University
Jim Mori
Jim Mori Kyoto University
Kenji Satake
Kenji Satake University of Tokyo
Zhongwen Zhan
Zhongwen Zhan California Institute of Technology
Emily E. Brodsky
Emily E. Brodsky University of California, Santa Cruz
Kuo-Fong Ma
Kuo-Fong Ma National Central University

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