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Dr. Paul K. Byrne


Lunar and Planetary Institute
3600 Bay Area Boulevard
Houston, TX 77058
E-mail: [email protected]


I am fundamentally interested in understanding why a planet’s surface looks the way it does.

I work to understand the extent to which endogenic processes shape planetary bodies, the timescales on which those processes operate, and what field-based observations of Earth can tell us of other bodies in this and other solar systems. I am particularly interested in what a planet’s tectonic and volcanic signatures tell us of its developmental history.

 

I focus on three principal fields of study:

1) the tectonics of planetary lithospheres;
2) the resurfacing of planets and moons; and
3) the long-term behavior of large volcanoes on terrestrial bodies, including Earth.

I combine remotely sensed spacecraft data, laboratory and numerical modeling, and observations from analog field sites across the world to investigate solid-Earth processes at planetary scales. My research is both relevant to our general understanding of planetary processes, and directly applicable to current and planned planetary exploration missions, three of which I have been or am currently involved with.

 

Ultimately, I believe that a true understanding of the processes that shape other planets must begin here on Earth—and equally, that the study of other worlds can inform us of the history and evolution of our own.

 

Visit my professional website for my current CV, research projects, news, and archived data.

 

 

 

 

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Dr. Paul K. Byrne