CAREER: Studies of Mantle Convection at Multiple Scales and Integration of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics in Geoscience Education

PI计划研究地幔的多尺度热对流动力学。重要的地表构造特征可归因于两个不同尺度上的地幔对流：与地表板块运动有关的板块尺度和与热点火山活动、地幔热柱和岩石圈不稳定性有关的小尺度。通过研究不同尺度对流之间的动力学相互作用，本文的研究将增进我们对以下基本地球动力学问题的认识：1)板块尺度对流下热柱的形成和传热；2)相对较小的热点运动的原因；3)热柱产生的地形异常及其对层状地幔对流的影响；4)近40万年夏威夷群岛的垂直运动及其与柱板相互作用的关系。该项目的另一个重要组成部分是教育，特别是将地球物理流体动力学（GFD）更有效地整合到地球科学教育中。PI建议开发一套模拟器，使用GFD方法和计算机建模来帮助学生理解各种地球物理和地质过程，包括热对流、粘弹性应力松弛、表面载荷和地壳补偿、多孔介质中的流体流动以及冰材料的对流。这些模拟器使用简单的计算机建模和动画，为学生提供如何将复杂过程简化为物理模型的直接体验，并通过GFD了解过程。

The PI proposes to investigate the dynamics of multi-scale thermal convection in the mantle. Important surface tectonic features can be attributed to mantle convection at two distinct scales: The plate-scale associated with the motion of surface plates and the small-scale associated with hot spot volcanism, mantle thermal plumes, and lithospheric instabilities. By studying the dynamic interaction between convection at different scales, the proposed research will improve our understanding of the following fundamental geodynamic questions: 1) formation and heat transfer of thermal plumes in the presence of plate-scale convection, 2) the cause of relatively small hot spot motion, 3) topographic anomalies produced by thermal plumes and their implications for layered mantle convection, 4) vertical motion of Hawaiian islands in the last 400 thousand years and its relation to plume-plate interaction. Another important component of this project is on education, specifically on more efficient integration of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics (GFD) into geoscience education. The PI proposes to develop a set of simulators that use the GFD approaches and computer modeling to help students understand a variety of geophysical and geological processes ranging from thermal convection, viscoelastic stress relaxation, surface loading and crustal compensation, fluid flow in porous media, and convection for icy materials. These simulators use simple computer modeling and animations to offer students direct experience about how to simplify complex processes into physical models and to understand the processes with GFD.