I have a wide range of interests in the general fields of tectonics and structural
geology. I have worked on plate margin evolution, pluton emplacement, magmatic ring
complexes, development of sedimentary basins, tectonic evolution of magmatic arcs and
mountain belts, glacial flow, and a variety of structural and microstructural problems in
deformed igneous and metamorphic rocks. More recently, I have become interested in
numerical and analog approaches to understanding the relations between the mechanical and
microstructural evolution of rocks and ice. I enjoy multidisciplinary projects, and have
a particular interest in combining studies of deformation, metamorphism and magmatism to
better understand the evolution of Earth’s crust. I take a fairly holistic approach with
my students and their projects. Most of them tend to include elements of field work,
laboratory analytical analyses, structural and microstructural modeling, and geodynamics
(with Peter Koons).

Articles

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Subcritical Propagation and Coalescence of Oil-Filled Cracks: Getting the Oil Out of Low-Permeability Source Rocks (with Z.-H. Jin and Z. Q. Fan), Geophysical Research Letters (2010)

We use a fracture mechanics model to study subcritical propagation and coalescence of single and...

 

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Magma Extraction from the Mantle Wedge at Convergent Margins Through Dikes: A Parametric Sensitivity Analysis (with Z.-H. Jin), Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems (2009)

We address under what conditions a magma generated by partial melting at 100 km depth...

 

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Primary Oil Migration Through Buoyancy-Driven Multiple Fracture Propagation: Oil Velocity and Flux (with Z.-H. Jin), Geophysical Research Letters (2008)

We present a fracture-mechanics-based formulation to investigate primary oil migration through the propagation of an...

 

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Magma-Driven Multiple Dike Propagation and Fracture Toughness of Crustal Rocks (with Z.-H. Jin), Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth (2008)

Dike swarms consisting of tens to thousands of subparallel dikes are commonly observed at Earth's...

 

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Metamorphism, Transient Mid-Crustal Rheology, Strain Localization and the Exhumation of High-Grade Metamorphic Rocks (with Wesley G. Groome and Peter O. Koons), Tectonics (2008)

We present a series of three-dimensional numerical models investigating the effects of metamorphic strengthening and...