Descripción del proyecto
Comprender la paleolongitud en el tiempo geológico profundo
Comprender la evolución de la Tierra requiere cuantificar los movimientos pasados de las placas tectónicas. Sin embargo, para períodos de hace más de ciento treinta millones de años, esto solo puede conseguirse a través del estudio del paleomagnetismo, pero, hasta ahora, las limitaciones analíticas han impedido que se utilice todo su potencial. El proyecto financiado con fondos europeos TANGO abordará este desafío integrando técnicas de ciencia de datos en la investigación paleomagnética. La persona beneficiaria de la beca de investigación desarrollará métodos estadísticos informáticos intensivos de vanguardia para proporcionar la base conceptual para un marco probabilístico. Las reconstrucciones paleogeográficas contarán por primera vez con estimaciones de incertidumbre para abordar uno de los retos más importantes a los que se enfrenta la geofísica en la actualidad: la determinación de la paleolongitud en el tiempo geológico profundo. Esta investigación respaldará los esfuerzos por estudiar las piezas que faltan entre la tectónica de placas y la evolución del manto.
Objetivo
The quantification of past plate motions is of paramount importance to advancing our understanding of Earth’s evolution. Plate motions of the last ~130 Ma are well-resolved from magnetic isochrons and hotspot tracks, but as those records are progressively destroyed by subduction, they cannot be used in deeper time. Before 130 Ma, plate motions can only be quantified through the study of paleomagnetism, but analytical limitations have so-far prevented us from using this tool to its full potential. For example, owing to the axial symmetry of the Earth’s magnetic field, the determination of paleolongitude from paleomagnetic data –although theoretically possible– has long been considered an intractable problem. TANGO will capitalize on this untapped potential through an innovative and cross-disciplinary approach integrating modern data-science techniques into paleomagnetic research, thereby opening a new research frontier.
Aiming to contribute towards the neglected issue of paleomagnetic precision, I will focus on state-of-the-art computer-intensive statistical methods to provide the conceptual basis for a much needed probabilistic framework for paleomagnetic research. These efforts will allow me to provide paleogeographic reconstructions with uncertainty estimates for the first time. With that framework, through application of unsupervised learning methods, I will also be able to tackle the outstanding problem of paleolongitude determination in deep geologic time, which remains one of the most important challenges in modern geophysics. Such novel and quantitative methods development is strongly complementary to the core research efforts at CEED (University of Oslo) to explore the missing links between plate tectonics and mantle evolution. In this pursuit, TANGO will reinforce the international and multidisciplinary dimension of my early stage career and will allow the European Union to remain at the cutting-edge of paleomagnetic and tectonic-related research.
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MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinador
0313 Oslo
Noruega