Thomas Forbriger

Thomas Forbriger is a researcher at the Geophysical Institute (GPI) of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), responsible for operating the Black Forest Observatory (BFO). He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in geophysics, focusing on seismic instrumentation, field exercises, and observatory practice.

Research Interests

His research spans seismology, instrumentation, and geophysical data analysis. Key areas include:

• Temporal gravity variations and tidal analysis
• Seismic surface wave propagation and inversion
• Calibration and noise reduction in seismic and gravimetric instruments
• Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) applications
• Atmospheric effects on seismic recordings

Scientific Output

His recent work emphasizes strainmeter calibration using DAS arrays, long-period seismic noise reduction, and modeling atmospheric tilt noise. He has contributed to major discoveries, including the 2024 Greenland tsunami that generated global seismic signals for nine days.

Teaching & Supervision

He currently teaches:

• Geophysical Field Exercises (Bachelor)
• Physics of Seismic Instruments (Master)
• Black Forest Observatory Course / BFO Winterschool (Master)
• Scientific Seminars (Master)

He has supervised over 30 Bachelor, Master, Diploma, and PhD theses, with topics ranging from sensor calibration to full-waveform inversion.

Publications & Tools

He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed papers and gray literature contributions. He also maintains lecture notes and software tools for seismic data analysis and instrument calibration.