CAREER: Studies of Mantle Convection at Multiple Scales and Integration of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics in Geoscience Education

University Of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

The PI proposes to investigate the dynamics of multi-scale thermal convection in the mantle. Important surface tectonic features can be attributed to mantle convection at two distinct scales: The plate-scale associated with the motion of surface plates and the small-scale associated with hot spot volcanism, mantle thermal plumes, and lithospheric instabilities. By studying the dynamic interaction between convection at different scales, the proposed research will improve our understanding of the following fundamental geodynamic questions: 1) formation and heat transfer of thermal plumes in the presence of plate-scale convection, 2) the cause of relatively small hot spot motion, 3) topographic anomalies produced by thermal plumes and their implications for layered mantle convection, 4) vertical motion of Hawaiian islands in the last 400 thousand years and its relation to plume-plate interaction. Another important component of this project is on education, specifically on more efficient integration of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics (GFD) into geoscience education. The PI proposes to develop a set of simulators that use the GFD approaches and computer modeling to help students understand a variety of geophysical and geological processes ranging from thermal convection, viscoelastic stress relaxation, surface loading and crustal compensation, fluid flow in porous media, and convection for icy materials. These simulators use simple computer modeling and animations to offer students direct experience about how to simplify complex processes into physical models and to understand the processes with GFD.