Principal scientist
Stephen Bannister
BSc (Hons); PhD, Geophysics
Stephen is a seismologist with a research focus on imaging Earth’s structure and processes using earthquake seismic waves.
His past work has included seismic investigations of the Alpine Fault and the Fennoscandian (Norwegian) crust. He has explored the deep structure beneath the Transantarctic Mountains and the Terror rift in Antarctica, and he was the first scientist to systematically measure earthquakes in the 3500km-long Transantarctic Mountains using an array of broadband instruments.
Stephen is currently the project leader of the Continental Tectonic Processes project, which is part of GNS Science’s Te Riu-a-Māui Zealandia research programme.
He is also involved in a range of Royal Society Marsden-funded research programmes and he previously led GNS Science’s ‘Understanding Earthquakes and Tsunami’ research project.
Stephen’s expertise is also helping New Zealand move towards a low carbon future. He is part of the MBIE Endeavour GNG team delineating future supercritical energy resources. This involves investigating the deep heat source beneath New Zealand’s geothermal fields using seismic waves. The project also involves evolving our understanding of crustal rifting and processes beneath the Taupo Volcanic Zone through examining seismic phenomena, such as fluid-induced earthquake swarms and low frequency earthquakes.
Stephen is a member of the American Geophysical Union.