Numerical geodynamics of solid planetary deformation
We present the results of a variety of projects regarding numerical modeling of the geodynamics of solid Earth and Planetary deformation. In Chapter 1, we present a rheological study investigating experimental evidence for dynamic recrystallization in ice. We apply a simplified parametrization of gr...
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| Format: | Dataset |
| Language: | English |
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University of Southern California Digital Library (USC.DL)
2015
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| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-612939 https://digitallibrary.usc.edu/asset-management/2A3BF1LCSEM0 |
| Summary: | We present the results of a variety of projects regarding numerical modeling of the geodynamics of solid Earth and Planetary deformation. In Chapter 1, we present a rheological study investigating experimental evidence for dynamic recrystallization in ice. We apply a simplified parametrization of grain size evolution in rocks and adjust it to be suitable for ice. We then perform mantle convection simulations of the icy satellite Enceladus, where we find that convection can take the form of a single plume beneath the south pole. In Chapter 2, we investigate the dynamics of subduction with a free surface to understand how an free surface upper boundary condition promotes one-sided subduction. We find that this is a transient phenomenon which depends on the initial conditions. Therefore, we study the effects using a more realistic initial condition which brings us to the problem of subduction initiation in Chapter 3. We investigate the role of the overriding plate, slab geometry, upper boundary condition, viscoelasticity, and shear heating on subduction initiation. In Chapter 4, we present the results of thermal modeling of the exhumation of the Ronda peridotite, the inclusion of periodic boundary conditions in a mixed Eulerian-Lagrangian staggered grid finite difference code, and the addition of a free surface into the convection code CitcomCU to study both lithospheric and mantle processes involving a free surface. |
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