Yu Ren

Dynamics of the Ocean Floor | Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel

Phone: +49 431 600-2279

Email: yren(at)geomar.de

Address:

91探花 Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel

Wischhofstrasse 1-3, Geb.8/B, Raum 201

D-24148 Kiel, Germany

 

 |  |  

Education

Since 09/2019            PhD candidate (thesis submitted), 91探花, Germany
Thesis: Geophysical characteristics of oceanic transform faults (Advisor: Prof. Ingo Grevemeyer)

09/2016 - 06/2019      Master study, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China 
Thesis: Deep structure survey and study on the Manila subduction zone in the eastern South China Sea

08/2012 - 06/2016      Bachelor study, Ocean University of China, China
Thesis: The distribution of earthquakes and focal mechanisms of the Kuril subduction zone and the North American-Eurasian plate boundary

Scientific Profile

I use three primary tools to investigate magmatic, tectonic, and earthquake processes at active plate boundaries: geomorphology, seismology, and artificial intelligence. My doctoral research focuses on the structural and tectonic characterization of oceanic transform faults (OTFs). Through the analysis of seafloor morphology, local seismicity, focal mechanisms, aeromagnetism, and gravity data, we uncovered observational evidence of tectonic extension at OTFs, challenging the traditional assumption in plate tectonics that OTFs are conservative plate boundaries characterized by pure strike-slip motion. Currently, I am applying advanced machine learning algorithms to detect and locate seismic events from OBS datasets such as those from the Cascadia Initiative Expeditions off the coast of North America and a dense OBS network on the southeastern flank of Mount Etna, Italy.

Publications

Ren, Y., Wu, T., Li, C., Yao, P., & Ding, W., 2024. Bridging Science and Art: Auralization and Visualization of Ocean Soundscape. iScience, 27(9), 110696.

Ren, Y., Lange, D., & Grevemeyer, I., 2023. Seismotectonics of the Blanco transform fault system, northeast Pacific: Evidence for an immature plate boundary. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 128, e2022JB026045. 

Liu, S., Guo, Z., R眉pke, L., Morgan, J. P., Grevemeyer, I., Ren, Y., & Li, C., 2023. Sensitivity of gravity anomalies to mantle rheology at mid-ocean ridge-transform fault systems. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 622, 118420.  

Guo, Z., Liu, S., R眉pke, L., Grevemeyer, I., Morgan, J. P., Lange, D., Ren, Y., & Tao, C., 2023. Disparate crustal thicknesses beneath oceanic transform faults and adjacent fracture zones revealed by gravity anomalies. Geology, 51(3): 300鈥304. 

Ren, Y., Geersen, J., & Grevemeyer, I., 2022. Impact of spreading rate and age-offset on oceanic transform fault morphology. Geophysical Research Letters, 49, e2021GL096170. 

Ren, Y., Zhao, M., Zhang, J., Lv, Z., Pang, X., & Qiu, X., 2020. Constraint on the shape of the Manila subduction slab from earthquake relocation using long-term ocean bottom seismometer data. Chinese Journal of Geophysics (in Chinese), 63(5), 1927鈥1937. 

Seagoing Experience

Jan. 2021                                   Oceanographer & Hayes transforms, North Atlantic. R/V Meteor.

                                                   Seafloor mapping, passive seismic experiment, and rock sampling.

Jul. 2016                                     Northern South China Sea. R/V Shiyan 2.

                                                    Acquisition of 2D multichannel and 3D OBS seismic data.

Jun. 2015                                   China Jiaozhou Bay. R/V Dong Fang Hong 2.

                                                   Acquisition of sediments samples and multibeam data.

Awards & Honors

Mar. 2024                         Top Downloaded Article Award, WILEY

Mar. 2023                         Beacon Prize: Ocean Soundscape (~ $140,000, PI), Zhihu Inc.

Jun. 2019                         CSC Scholarship, State Scholarship Fund, China

Nov. 2018                         The First Prize of Graduate Scholarship, SCSIO, CAS

Jul. 2016                          Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis Award, OUC

Teaching

Co-instructor for the course 鈥減herData - Time Series and Spatial Data Analysis鈥, Kiel University, Germany (Oct. 鈥 Dec. 2024)

Co-instructor for the course 鈥淢arine Geophysics鈥, Kiel University, Germany (Jun. 2024)

Professional societies & Activities

Member of the European Geosciences Union, the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, and the FYORD-Program.

Reviewer for Tectonics; Geophysical Research Letters; Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems.

Outreach

Nov. 2023             Co-curator for the science-art exhibition, 鈥淭he Ocean Begins Here鈥, Nanjing, China

Jun. 2023             Co-curator for Ocean Science Day events, Hangzhou, China.

2021 鈥 2022         Member of EGU blog editorial team for Tectonics and Structural Geology division