Download Project #1: Inversion of multiple geophysical data for composition

Project #1: Inversion of multiple geophysical data for composition and thermal
structure of the Earth's upper mantle.
One of the main challenges concerning the Earth’s upper mantle is the determination
of its present-day thermal and compositional structure. This information represents
the basis for any evolutionary model of the Earth, as well as for understanding the
relationships between geophysical observables (e.g. electrical conductivity, seismic
velocity, etc) and the physical state of the Earths interior. This project builds on recent
advances in the improvement and integration of geophysical, petrological, mineral
physics, and geochemical data into self-consistent models of the Earth's mantle as
well as on the development of high-resolution tomographic techniques using surface
waves. The candidate will deal with multi-parameter inversion techniques and stateof-the-art geophysical modelling tools to advance/develop recent interdisciplinary
methods to map compositional and thermal anomalies in the upper mantle. Through
this project the candidate will interact closely with renowned scientists in the
GEMOC group as well as with international collaborators through research stays in
UK and USA.
Desirable background: Geophysics, Physics
Supervisors: Juan Carlos Afonso and Yingjie Yang
Project #2: Evolution of the oceanic lithosphere from thermodynamicthermomechanical modelling
An understanding of the creation, transportation and destruction of the oceanic
lithosphere (~ 60% of Earth’s surface) is a cornerstone of the plate tectonics
paradigm. However, a complete physical model capable of explaining all geological
and geophysical features related to the evolution of the oceanic upper mantle has still
not been achieved. This project will combine novel interdisciplinary
geophysical/petrological methods and powerful new computer software to identify the
governing processes and physicochemical factors that have controlled the evolution of
oceanic plates through Earth’s history and their chemical and physical interaction
with the sublithospheric mantle (e.g. metasomatism) and overlying ocean (e.g.
serpentinization). Improved knowledge of the evolution of ocean basins and
continental margins will be directly translatable into predictive exploration methods
for the energy sector. Through this project the candidate will interact closely with
renowned scientists in the GEMOC group as well as with international collaborators
through research stays in Barcelona.
Desirable background: Geophysics, Computer Sciences, Physics, Geology
Supervisors: Juan Carlos Afonso and Sergio Zlotnik
Project #3: Imaging of small-scale chemical anomalies within the continental
lithospheric mantle
The seismological structure of the Earth's upper mantle is known to be highly
heterogeneous, and much of this heterogeneity is associated with the lithosphere's
thermal and compositional structure. Lithospheric discontinuities (i.e. sharp changes
in the thermal and/or compositional structure) commonly correlate with the location
of seismically active zones, major tectonic boundaries, foci of magma intrusion and
major ore deposits. Characterizing and understanding the small-scale (ca 300 km)
distribution of thermal and compositional anomalies within the lithosphere is
therefore one of the main goals of modern lithospheric modelling.
This project builds on recently developed techniques that combine geophysical and
petrological modelling within a consistent thermodynamic framework which offer
new possibilities for inversion-forward methods to model the density and
seismological structure of the upper mantle in a self-consistent manner.
The candidate will interact with renowned scientists in the GEMOC group as well as
with international collaborators through research stays in USA and UK.
Desirable background: Geophysics, Physics, Geology
Supervisors: Juan Carlos Afonso and Yingjie Yang