Tectonic - Lithospheric Processes Research
Research in tectonic - lithospheric processes generally involves the study of the solid earth and the many processes that shape it. Research in the department is being carried out all over the globe, from subduction zones in Alaska and Central America, to collisional mountain building environments in the Alps. Some of the questions we are asking include: How and where are magmas generated within subduction zones? How do earthquakes start? How fast do mineral reactions occur in the earth? What is the kinematic history of major crustal shear zones? What happens to oceanic crust after it is subducted?
Faculty in Tectonic - Lithospheric Process Research
| Abercrombie | Earthquake source processes, in particular earthquake nucleation and scaling; seismotectonics |
| Abers | Subduction and collisional zone structure and dynamics; earthquake processes; faulting during continental extension. |
| Baxter | Geochemistry, metamorphic petrology, geochronology, geochemical kinetics |
| Faul | Rock physics, upper mantle processes |
| Plank | Igneous geochemistry and petrology, global geochemical fluxes, mantle melting, sediment chemistry, analytical chemistry |