Plate Boundary Processes

Tectonic plate boundary processes including subduction zones, rifted margins, ocean spreading centers, and transform faults.

Faculty

	Jaime D Barnes Stable isotope geochemistry, metamorphism and volatile transport in subduction zones, fluid-rock interaction and metasomatism, geochemical cycling, stable chlorine isotopes
	Thorsten Becker mantle convection; plate tectonics; structural seismology; numerical modeling; earthquakes; fluid dynamics
	Elizabeth J Catlos Can also see https://www.catlos.work/ My primary research focus is geochemistry, and how the fundamentals of chemistry (mineral reactions, radiogenic and stable isotopes, major and trace elements) can be and are used to understand what the Earth was like in the past. In this, I have ...
	Sean S Gulick – Marine and planetary geophysical imaging at nested resolutions and ground truth through drilling, coring, logging, and sampling. – Tectonic processes, tectonic-climate interactions, and geohazards of convergent margins and transitional tectonic environments. – Role of catastrophism in the geologic record including impact cratering, hurricanes, and tectonic events. – Planetary habitability, impact ...
	Brian K Horton Tectonics of sedimentary basins, evolution of orogenic systems, sediment provenance and routing systems, nonmarine depositional processes.
	John C Lassiter Earth's origin and evolution, isotope and trace element geochemistry, the role of crust and lithospheric mantle recycling in the generation of mantle chemical heterogeneity, the origin and distribution of water and other volatile elements in the Earth's interior, and the thermal and chemical evolution of the Earth's core and core/...
	Luc L Lavier Tectonics; the structural and geodynamical evolution of continental and oceanic rifts, as well as collisional environments; numerical techniques to model tectonic processes on crustal and lithospheric scales; deformation; subduction
	Matthew A Malkowski
	Demian M Saffer Active tectonics, fault/sediment mechanics, geohydrology.
	Danny Stockli Thermo-/Geochronology, Tectonics and Structural Geology, Isotopic Provenance Analysis, Archeometry, Geothermal Exploration, and Thermal Maturation
	Chenguang Sun Deep volatile cycling; magmatic and metamorphic processes; planetary differentiation and habitability

Emeritus

	J. Richard Kyle Ore deposits geology, mineral resources and society, geology and supply chains of critical materials, minerals exploration and evaluation, industrial mineral resources, origin of ore-forming fluids in sedimentary environments, fluid inclusions, stable isotopes, salt dome cap rock formation, surficial processes and earth resource formation, high resolution X-ray computed tomography applications to ...
	Sharon Mosher Structural petrology, field-oriented structural geology, the evolution of complexly deformed terranes, strain analysis, deformation mechanisms, the interaction between chemical and physical processes during deformation
	Douglas Smith Research on mantle evolution using tools of mineralogy, petrology, and geochemistry.

Postdocs

Jingxuan Wei Marine geology and geophysics, active-source seismology, physical oceanography, coastal processes.

Research Scientists

	Eric Attias Marine electromagnetic imaging to study dynamic Earth processes associated with marine geohazards and resources. Research Interests: (1) The interplay between mantle plumes, submarine freshwater, and marine biodiversity in volcanic systems. (2) Hot-spot mantle plume geodynamics and submarine volcanism. (3) Slab rollback-driven toroidal and poloidal mantle flows at back-arc subduction zones and their role ...
	James A Austin Stratigraphic evolution of a wide range of marine and lacustrine environments around the world
	Shuoshuo Han Shuoshuo is interested in the structure, tectonic processes, and related hazards at subduction zones, and the formation and evolution of oceanic lithosphere. She uses active source seismic data to image the detailed structures of the sediment, oceanic crust and uppermost mantle. She also integrates seismic data with ocean drilling data ...
	Lawrence A Lawver Marine geophysics, plate tectonics, magnetics, gravity, heat flow, seismic studies, paleogeographic reconstructions of Gondwana, the Polar Regions, East Asia, and the Western Pacific
	Kitty L Milliken Petrography and geochemistry of siliciclastic rocks; diagenesis; electron microbeam methods: X-ray mapping, cathodoluminescence imaging; micro-scale reservoir characterization
	Frederick W Taylor Tectonic geomorphology, stratigraphy, and paleogeodesy/paleoseismology at convergent plate margins Paleoclimate, fossil corals as a proxy for past sea-surface temperatures. Corals as recorders of relative sea level for vertical tectonics and sea-level history.
	Estibalitz Ukar Fracture analysis and structural diagenesis Brittle structural petrology Fractured carbonate rocks Tectonics and metamorphism of subduction zones
	Harm J Van Avendonk Van Avendonk is an active-source seismologist who specializes in the acquisition and inversion of seismic refraction data on land and at sea. Often these seismic refraction data are used for a tomographic inversion. The resultant seismic velocity models help us to interpret the composition of the Earth’s crust and ...
	Laura Wallace Crustal deformation, GPS/Geodesy, active plate boundary processes, subduction tectonics, geohazards

Research Staff

	Richard J Chuchla Graduate studies were focused on igneous processes, magmatism and related formation of ore deposits. Professional career included exploration for base and precious metal ore deposits, coal assessment and development, and research, exploration and development in the upstream sector of the oil and gas business. Managerial positions led to development of ...
	Ian O Norton Plate tectonics, structural evolution of continental margins, reconciliation of observations from structural geology with regional tectonics