The lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary is the world’s most ubiquitous plate boundary system, separating the high viscosity lithosphere from the underlying convecting mantle asthenosphere. Thoroughly characterizing the …
The lithosphere, the plate in ‘plate tectonics’, preserves a record of past and present tectonic processes in its internal structures and its boundary with the …
Geological materials in nature and in the lab are often subjected to intense driving forces created by large gradients in thermodynamic potentials. Under such conditions, …
The ejection of mass during an impact event is a shock-driven process that shapes the distribution of materials on planetary surfaces. Ejection velocities dictate the …
In this dissertation, I present a large geochemical data set of submarine glass, melt inclusions and whole rock collected from across the Galapagos Archipelago to …
Seismic anisotropy in olivine and orthopyroxene mineral crystals enables us to infer first-order flow characteristics in the asthenospheric mantle and the preserved tectonic history in …
The objective of this thesis is to use first order geochemical and geophysical observations to understand melt generation and migration processes beneath mid-ocean ridge spreading …
Over the coming century, global temperatures are expected to rise by 1.8°-4°C due to anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gasses. This increased radiative forcing and associated …
Volcanism is one of the preeminent geologic processes in the Solar System, and encompasses both volcanic material deposited on the surface and magmatic material stalled …
While most planetary impact craters are essentially symmetric, many oblique planetary craters express marked asymmetries. Experimental impacts produce analogous features. This dissertation examines the cause …
Submesoscale features and processes with length scales of 1-10km strongly affect the state of the upper ocean by providing routes for large-scale energy to be …
Much of what is known about Earth’s oceanic upper mantle comes from global seismic models or seismic studies of the Pacific. A comprehensive understanding of …
Explosive volcanic eruptions are common on the terrestrial bodies of the Solar System. The modeling of explosive volcanic eruptions and the pyroclastic deposits they produce …
Lava erosion is a fundamental process that has shaped all terrestrial planetary bodies. This dissertation investigates the formation of sinuous rilles that formed by lava …
Impact basins are unique crater landforms on planetary bodies, characterized by concentric topographic rings and radiating sculpture patterns. The onset of impact basins occurs at …