Thursday, November 2, 2017 - 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Location: 
Marsh Hall Rotunda See map
360 Prospect Street
New Haven, CT 06511

Talk Title: What lies beneath Connecticut’s geology? Studying the structure of the crust and mantle with the SEISConn seismic experiment

Maureen Long

Professor of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University

Maureen is an observational seismologist who works on problems related to mantle dynamics, with a focus on subduction zone processes, the structure and evolution of continental lithosphere, and the dynamics of the deep mantle. Her research group uses observations of seismic anisotropy in the Earth’s mantle to address major unsolved problems related to mantle dynamics, from the lithosphere to the core-mantle boundary. In particular, we work on the dynamics of subduction systems, using seismic observations and geodynamic models to understand the behavior of slabs and the pattern of mantle flow induced by subduction. Results from this work bear on fundamental aspects of subduction geodynamics, such as the subduction zone water cycle, the generation and transport of melt, the mechanical coupling between slabs and the ambient mantle, and slab morphology, rheology, and evolution. Maureen also investigates seismic anisotropy and its relationship to structures such as subducting slabs and low shear velocity provinces (LSVPs) in the deep mantle. This research encompasses investigations of anisotropy in the mid-mantle (transition zone and uppermost lower mantle) and in the D” region at the base of the mantle. Maureen is also interested in how subduction (and rifting) processes affect the structure, evolution, and deformation of continental lithosphere, both in regions of present-day tectonic activity (such as Cascadia and western South America) and in regions that have been affected by subduction and continental breakup in the past (such as eastern North America). Her research encompasses a substantial field component, with recent and ongoing seismometer deployments in the Pacific Northwest, Peru, the Appalachian Mountains, and offshore eastern North America.