Time-dependent heat-flow, dynamic topography and mantle convection modeling in the Arctic borderlands

Summary

This project will focus on the role of ridge subduction, slab break-off and slab window formation on time-dependent heat-flow and dynamic topography in the Arctic borderlands using a combination of plate kinematics and mantle convection modeling.

Supervisor(s)

Associate Professor Dietmar Muller

Research Location

School of Geosciences

Program Type

N/A

Synopsis

It is well-known that mantle convection can have a profound influence on basin evolution but progress has been slow in quantifying this relationship or making these concepts available for exploration. The recent development of modern plate tectonic software and the establishment of a workflow to link plate tectonics with mantle convection modelling software allows us to systematically link plate motions, mantle convection and the history of sedimentation for basin-scale applications. Many regional continental basins and platforms are known to have experienced long-wavelength tilting and subsidence/uplift, leading to relative sea-level change deviating from a global reference level. These phenomena are often accompanied by heatflow anomalies and profoundly influence basin tectonic and sedimentation history.  

This project will focus on how mantle convection has affected basin evolution in the Arctic borderlands from the Cretaceous to the present day.  The project aims to reveal the effect of mid-oceanic ridge subduction, slab break-off and slab window formation on the extensional and vertical motion of the basins in the Arctic borderlands, a prime exploration frontier region.  

This project will provide the student with in-depth knowledge of a wide range of methodologies including quantitative modelling of geological and geophysical industry data and will have the special benefit of close interaction with two of the leading exploration companies in the world, Shell and TOTAL.  This background will place the student in a strong position for a career in exploration geodynamics in an industrial or academic position.

Keywords

subduction, plate tectonics, petroleum exploration, dynamic topography, mantle dynamics, geology, geodynamics, slab windows, geophysics

Opportunity ID

The opportunity ID for this research opportunity is: 665

Other opportunities with Associate Professor Dietmar Muller

• Breakup tectonics and volcanism of the Western Australian continental margin
• Resolving the origin of the anomalous heatflow and subsidence history of Australia’s hydrocarbon yielding basins
• The Subduction Reference System: unravelling the causes of long-term sea-level change
• Planet-scale reorganizations of the plate–mantle system
• Relationship between subduction dynamics, plate motions and ore deposit formation during the last 140 million years
• Crustal growth mechanisms on the Cretaceous Andean Margin