Research

Below is a smattering of research areas I have worked in or am currently working in.

Analyzing stress and strain fields

Plate motion

Stress

The spherical shape of the Earth curves straight orientations on the Earth’s surface. Thus, a statistical analysis of large tectonic fields, such as stress and strain, is challenging as long as there is no reference system. In this project, we analyse these fields with respect to the first-order source, plate boundary forces.

Plate motion

Plate motion

Pangea

Every motion on the earth surface can be described as a rotation around an axis piercing through the Earth’s center. Thus, also plate motion is mathematically described as the rotation of spherical polygons around rotational axes (so called Euler poles or Poles of Rotation). But how do we describe plate motion if these poles migrate as well?

Pre-orogenic detrital zircon record of Peri-Gondwana

Pangea

Variscan

Reconstruction

Mineral deposits

Identifying the source end-members for shelf sedimentary rocks incorporated in orogens. This helps to constrain the paleogeography of Peri-Gondwana prior to the assemblage of Pangea.

Reconstructing plate motion: From Pannotia to Pangea

Plate motion

Pangea

Variscan

Reconstruction

Mineral deposits

Supercontinent cycle

The supercontinent cycle is a fundamental concept in geology that describes the periodic assembly and breakup of supercontinents over hundreds of millions of years. By unraveling the break-up history of Pannotia an the assemblage of Pangea, we can gain insights into the mechanisms that drive this cycle, the timescales involved, and the consequences for Earth’s systems.