Profile

  • Organization
    South Dakota School of Mines

  • Telephone
    (not set)

  • ORCID
    0000-0001-8317-7167

  • Address
    address1:Geology and Geological Engineering
    address2:SDSMT
    city:Rapid City
    postal:57701
    region:WI
    country:US

  • Biography

    Fluid-solid coupling drives the dynamic systems of volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis. Magma-filled dikes propagate within active volcanoes. Megathrust earthquakes shift the seafloor and excite tsunami waves in the overlying ocean. These earthquakes also transfer stress to the surrounding region. Diffusive flow of pore fluids in the crust and viscous flow of the mantle relax these stresses, producing delayed aftershocks. We may extent these principles to energy production and geothermal systems. Hydrofracking propagates fluid-filled fractures that unlock hydrocarbons or supercritical steam. The waste fluids are disposed of via deep injection, from which stress and fluid pressure perturbations trigger seismsicity.



    My research team is pioneering methods to embed Abaqus-based Finite Element Models in nonlinear inverse analyses of geophysical information to quantify Earth's internal structures, materials, and deformation sources. Example targets span the globe (Aleutians, Cascadia, Equador, Chile, Iceland, Japan, Nepal, Papua New Guinea)