Thin Viscous Sheet Models for Diffuse Oceanic Plate boundaries.

在20世纪60年代，板块构造学，一个基于地球表面是由地质时期移动很长距离的刚性板块拼接而成的概念的地球模型，彻底改变了地质科学，并解释了危险地震和危险火山的分布。板块构造的社会意义怎么估计都不为过。然而，即使在那时，也有迹象表明，有一些区域受到扩散变形的影响，刚性板模型并不完全适用。扩散变形是如何以及为什么发生的还没有很好的理解，彻底的分析早就应该了。该项目将首次以系统的方式解决这一问题，使用薄粘性片模型量化扩散板边界的流变学和动力学。这项工作的主要广泛影响在于它对我们在最基本的层面上理解我们星球的运作的影响。这项工作对于改善地震和火山造成的危害也有更具体的影响。

In the 1960s, plate tectonics, a model of the Earth based on the notion that the surface of our planet is paved with a mosaic of rigid plates that move large distances of geologic time, revolutionized the geological sciences and explained the distribution of dangerous earthquakes and hazardous volcanoes. The societal relevance of plate tectonics is hard to overestimate. Yet even then, there were hints that there are regions affected by diffuse deformation, where the rigid plate model does not entirely apply. Just how and why diffuse deformation occurs is not well understood, and a thorough analysis is long overdue. The project will address that problem, in a systematic way, for the first time by quantifying the rheology and dynamics of diffuse plate boundaries using thin viscous sheet models. The chief broader impact of this work lies in its implications for our understanding the working of our planet at the most fundamental level. The work also has more specific implications for improving hazards due to earthquakes and volcanoes.