Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Slab Plume Interactions in Deep Earth Regions

Objective

Understanding mantle dynamics requires deep knowledge of plumes and slabs. Seismic tomography images reveal the existence of interacting slabs and plumes with very intricate shapes. This wide diversity of interacting slab-plume morphologies is indicative of their properties (strength, rheology, composition) and dynamics, although we still lack strong quantitative studies, most numerical models address slab or plume dynamics in isolation. The SPIDER project proposes to focus on slab-plume interactions, in order to decipher the effects of plume and slab properties on their geometry and dynamics. To do so, SPIDER will 1/ numerically model complex slab-plume interactions within a vigorously convecting mantle using the state-of-the-art code StagYY. The applicant will develop topological tools to automatically detect and time-track the plume and slab morphologies and properties; 2/ rigorously explore the effects of the rheological contrasts between slabs and plumes, magmatic-geochemical evolution and mantle melting on slab-plume interaction patterns; and 3/ systematically compare seismic tomography, magmatism and climatic observations in the very distinct Tonga-Samoa and Farallon-Yellowstone slab/plume systems with the characteristics and dynamics of model slab/plume interactions. This unprecedented effort to explain the diversity of observed slab-plume interactions will ultimately help to constrain mantle rheology and dynamics. The applicant will bring his experience in numerical modeling of subduction zone and plume dynamics to the Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon, Terre, Planètes et Environnement (LGL-TPE, UCBL, France) and University College London, UK, where he will benefit from and contribute to world-leading expertise on the Earth’s mantle-lithosphere evolution in a stimulating intellectual environment. This project will reinforce his professional independence and knowledge diversity as he will become a key player in the geodynamic modeling domain.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Coordinator

UNIVERSITE LYON 1 CLAUDE BERNARD
Net EU contribution
€ 242 260,56
Address
BOULEVARD DU 11 NOVEMBRE 1918 NUM43
69622 Villeurbanne Cedex
France

See on map

Region
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Rhône-Alpes Rhône
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost
No data

Partners (1)

My booklet 0 0