My research aims to determine the interactions between processes at the microscale (e.g., deformation mechanisms, microstructural and compositional evolution) and those at the scales of macroscopic tectonics (e.g., fault zone processes, mantle flow). To this end, I employ a range of microanalytical, experimental, and field-based techniques. In particular, I am adapting high-angular resolution electron backscatter diffraction (HR-EBSD), developed in the materials sciences, to quantify dislocation densities, residual stress and elastic strain in geological materials. I combine this microstructural analysis with deformation experiments at high temperature (creep, anelasticity), high pressure (D-DIA), and short length-scales (nanoindentation). Fieldwork provides a key means to establish links across spatial and temporal scales and my current areas of focus include orogenic deformation in the Karakoram and subduction/obduction associated with the Oman-UAE ophiolite. My interests also overlap with materials science and biomineralisation.
I supervise research projects at Ph.D. and M.Sc. level, including currently:
Rellie Goddard (D.Phil. candidate, University of Oxford): Piezometers for Stress Distribution in Polymineralic Rocks
Hugo van Schrojenstein Lantman (Ph.D. candidate, Università di Pavia): Garnets and their inclusions as key to unravelling P-T-t paths, deformation history and fluid interaction in the ultra-high pressure metamorphic Lago di Cignana unit
Mike Sep (MSc. candidate): Dislocations and their stress fields in the palaeosubduction interface of the Oman-UAE ophiolite
I am always interested in new collaborations so please feel free to contact me directly.