Dr. Yu Ren
Dynamics of the Ocean Floor | Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Phone: +49 431 600-2279
Email: yren(at)geomar.de
Address:
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Wischhofstrasse 1-3, Geb.8/B, Raum 201
D-24148 Kiel, Germany
Scientific Profile
As a marine geophysicist with observational and computational stakes, I focus my research on magmatic, tectonic, and earthquake processes at active plate boundaries. 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 working on the detection of hidden earthquake signals from global amphibious seismic datasets.
Education and Career
Since 02/2025 Postdoc, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany
09/2019 - 02/2025 PhD, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, 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
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. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.110696
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. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JB026045
Liu, S., Guo, Z., Rüpke, 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. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2023.118420
Guo, Z., Liu, S., Rüpke, 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): 300–304. https://doi.org/10.1130/G50429.1
Ren, Y., Geersen, J., & Grevemeyer, I., 2022. Impact of spreading rate and age-offset on oceanic transform fault morphology. Geophysical Research Letters, 49, e2021GL096170. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL096170
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), 1927–1937. https://doi.org/10.6038/cjg2020N0014
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.
Jul. 2016 Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis Award, OUC
Teaching
Co-instructor for the course “pherData - Time Series and Spatial Data Analysis”, Kiel University, Germany (Oct. – Dec. 2024)
Co-instructor for the course “Marine Geophysics”, 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, “The Ocean Begins Here”, Nanjing, China
Jun. 2023 Co-curator for Ocean Science Day events, Hangzhou, China.
2021 – 2022 Member of EGU blog editorial team for Tectonics and Structural Geology division
