CAREER Development in Geomodeling: Seeing and Creating Connections in Earth Science

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Modeling of coupled continental tectonics, mantle dynamics, and surfaceprocesses will be undertaken to explore surface deformation and deepermantle flow during continental collision. Surface erosion will beincorporated into the models to explore the interaction between tectonicsand atmospheric processes. Model predictions will be compared to data fromcollisional settings to provide a better understanding of continentalcollision. The links between continental growth and the Earth's thermalevolution will also be explored. A combination of theory, numericalsimulations, and lab experiments will be used to provide insight intocoupled planetary cooling and continental growth. Geochemical data willprovide constraints on continental growth. The methodologies developed tomodel the interaction between conducting continents and the convectingmantle will also be used to address hydrothermal convection belowinsulating cap rock and the cooling history of magma chambers within hostrock. The PI's modeling across earth science sub-fields will provide unitybetween his teaching and research. Lecture demonstrations, i.e., modelsdesigned for education, can convey general foundational ideas that studentsthen link to approach a range of earth science problems. This will allowstudents in introductory classes to see that scientific ideas are not isolatedbits of information. The broader impact is that a portion of the studentpopulation that will not go into science will have a clearer view of whatscience is. Demonstrations will also be used in a reverse mode. A workshopwill be developed where advanced students will build demonstrations and simpleexperiments of their own design to convey key ideas from their primary earthscience field. In presenting their work to each other they will see how manykey concepts do not care about artificial sub-field boundaries. They willsee connections and be better prepared to make new ones. The space will alsohouse a scientific visualization studio where students will work on effectivevisual communication of scientific ideas. The workspace/studio will beavailable to K-12 educator colleagues in the Houston area.