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Dr. Patrick J. McGovern
Recent
Research
I study
gravity/topography relationships, lithospheric loading, and volcano-tectonic
interactions on the terrestrial planets, with the goals of constraining
planetary thermal evolution and evaluating scenarios for the growth of
volcanic constructs. The following paragraph contains brief summaries
of my work in these areas. Studies of Martian gravity and topography relationships,
using Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) data, have constrained the thermal history
of that planet and have yielded insight into the origin and evolution
of features such as volcanic shields and domes, troughs, escarpments,
and impact basins. One particular focus of my work is the immense shield
volcano Olympus Mons on Mars. Gravity/topography studies of the lithospheric
response to local and regional loads in the Olympus Mons region have constrained
subsurface crustal and lithospheric structure and unit volumes. An ongoing
project to identify the formation mechanisms of the enigmatic aureoles
surrounding the Olympus Mons edifice involves the aforementioned gravity
and lithospheric modeling, characterization of the dimensions and properties
of individual aureole lobes, and particle-based modeling of mass-movement
(e.g., landsliding) and volcanic flow (e.g., pyroclastic flow) aureole
formation mechanisms. Models of volcanic edifice growth coupled with lithospheric
flexure have yielded new insights into the conditions under which volcanoes
with various topographic and tectonic characteristics can form. Recent
work has demonstrated the importance of intra-lithospheric subhorizontal
intrusions (sills) for the formation of dome-like volcanic topography
with accompanying mid-flank annular faulting. Such models, applied to
the Martian volcano Alba Patera in a recent paper, are being exploited
to interpret the formation of volcano-tectonic features on other planets.
Examples include a group of large volcanoes on Venus exhibiting such characteristics
(some also classified as `coronae'), as well as the terrestrial analogoues
that inspired the sill-based models, the flat-topped domes of the Galapagos
Islands.
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Last
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December 14, 2007
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