Last night, Manuel M. Mendoza was honored with the Outstanding Early Career Scientist Award at the annual CO-LABS Governor’s Awards ceremony at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. The prestigious award highlights Mendoza’s work as a Visiting Fellow and postdoctoral researcher in geoscience at CU Boulder, where he worked with CIRES Fellow Anne Sheehan. Mendoza finished his work with CIRES in August and now works at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in Denver.

“This award represents not only the success of my postdoc, but it also reassures me of my ability to contribute to science and society,” Mendoza said.

At CIRES, Mendoza focused on earthquakes and their hazards and conducted research in Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS). This cutting-edge technique fires lasers into fiber optic cables to document ground motions and earthquakes with high resolution. Mendoza's research targeted two primary areas: tectonic plate boundaries, like the Cascadia Subduction Zone in the Pacific Northwest, and geothermal facilities, where fluid injection can induce small earthquakes. 

Earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest are a real threat to people and infrastructure; understanding how and when they occur will help communities better prepare. By applying this new technology and its potential, Mendoza’s work with DAS puts CIRES, CU Boulder, and its partners at the forefront of geophysics.

During a 2022 project in Utah sponsored by the Department of Energy, Mendoza deployed DAS at a site to monitor small tremors induced by geothermal activity. He dug a two-kilometer-long shallow trench to bury an equally long fiber optic cable, demonstrating that DAS can effectively detect small earthquakes generated at reservoir depths.

In another project near Seattle in the Cascadia Subduction Zone, Mendoza leased seven kilometers of "dark fiber" — cable already in place from a telecommunications company — to study slow earthquakes or tremors. Sheehan said the project was the first-ever to use dark fiber cables to pick up tremors with DAS, proving existing infrastructure can be used or repurposed to study earthquake hazards in the region. 

By tapping into existing infrastructure, DAS can expand opportunities to collect seismic data relatively cheaply. And of the DAS equipment, only the receiver, a large optoelectronic unit, needs to be heavily protected against extreme hot or cold temperatures, while the connected, outgoing fiber optic cable does not. Traditional seismic equipment, in comparison, has electronic components that will fail if they become too hot, cold, or wet. Because it can withstand tough conditions, DAS could also be used for future glacial seismology or exoplanetary missions.

“Matt demonstrated remarkable courage as an early-career scientist by transitioning from traditional seismology to pioneering work on Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS),” Anne Sheehan said. “His innovative applications of this emerging technology include advancing geoenergy-related earthquake detection and, for the first time, using DAS to identify weak tremors from tectonic plate movements at the Cascadia Subduction zone.”

Christine Wiedinmyer, CIRES director for science, is proud to help facilitate growth opportunities for postdocs at CIRES and is excited to see innovations span agencies.

“The CIRES Visiting Fellows Program is a wonderful opportunity to bring talented early career scientists to pursue high-impact research across CU Boulder and NOAA,” Wiedinmyer said.“Matt is an example of an exceptional scientist who was able to pursue innovative research through this program. We are proud and excited to see what he has accomplished.”

In addition to his research, Matt is dedicated to helping up-and-coming geosciences students. While at CU Boulder, Mendoza advised two graduate students and two undergraduate interns and taught students about geophysics, seismology, DAS, and programming. 

Mendoza looks forward to expanding the possibilities of DAS in a different capacity with the federal government. “I’m excited to branch out and apply DAS to other geoscience and geotechnical domains while continuing to develop rich collaborations with others that will catalyze these pursuits and hopefully new discoveries,” Mendoza said.

CO-LABS is a non-profit organization that supports the state’s federally funded research centers and runs an annual competition to highlight some of Colorado’s most high-impact science. Launched in 2009, The CO-LABS Governor’s Awards celebrate ground-breaking discoveries and research from Colorado’s federally funded laboratories and institutions.