Research
I study natural materials and design experiments to understand how the mechanical properties of crystals and their imperfections, as well as fluid-rock interactions, influence earthquake processes, large scale tectonics and mantle flow. My research is underpinned by quantitative microscopy methods, such as EBSD, and by experimental rock deformation.
Research groups
Research grants
Calibration of a new model for mantle viscosity: the role of grain boundaries from bicrystal experiments
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL
November 2018 - June 2023
The Feedback Between Volatiles and Mantle Dynamics
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL
September 2014 - March 2021
The geological record of the earthquake cycle in the lower crust
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL
January 2017 - January 2020
Regime change: convection and crystallisation of magma
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL
January 2016 - June 2019
The Strength of the Lower Mantle
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL
June 2014 - December 2017
Evolution of the physical, geochemical and mechanical properties of fault rocks from the Alpine Fault Zone: a journey through an active plate boundary
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL
December 2012 - January 2017
Fluid flow in the Earth: the influence of dehydration reactions and stress
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL
September 2012 - June 2017
The evolution of deformation mechanisms, physical conditions and physical properties in the seismogenic Alpine Fault zone: a pilot study
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL
March 2010 - March 2014
Grain boundary mobility and recrystallization kinetics in deforming anhydrite rocks
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL
January 2010 - January 2014
A new method to track the evolution of rock microstructures in shear deformation (torsion) experiment
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL
February 2009 - November 2011
Solidification in mafic magma chambers
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL
December 2008 - September 2012
Research collaborations
Greig Paterson, Wyn Williams, Andy Biggin
NERC Standard Grant
Particles to Planets: Unravelling the history of our magnetic field
Julian Mecklenburgh, Lars Hansen, Katharina Marquardt
NERC standard grant
The University of Manchester; The University of Minnesota
Calibration of a new model for mantle viscosity: the role of grain boundaries from bicrystal experiments
Janine Kavanagh
Future Leader Fellowship
Modelling Magma movement: linking indirect observations with dynamic processes
Laura Crispini, Damon Teagle and the OmanDP team
Oman Drilling Project
The University of Genova; The University of Southampton
Anhydrite microstructures as testimony of a paleo hydrothermal vent along an active normal fault in the oceanic crust
Rachel Smedley
ERC Consolidator Grant application
New proxy for palaeo-precipitation gradients at mid-latitudes
Dan Faulkner
PhD studentship (Izzy Ashman)
Fluid flow through the crust: the role of phyllosilicate-bearing shear zones
Richard Worden
PhD proposal
A new model of fracture development in halite-mudstone beds: implications for the performance of a geological disposal facility for radioactive waste