Planetary Science · Tectonics · Geodynamics
I study tectonic and geodynamic processes on Venus, Mars, and Ganymede through satellite-based geological mapping, analogue experiments, and numerical modelling.
Systematic mapping of coronae morphology, radial and concentric fracture networks, and tessera terrain using Magellan SAR and altimetry — linking surface structural patterns to subsurface plume geometry and heat flux.
Characterising extensional rift zones, compressional fold-and-thrust belts (chasmata, ridge belts), and the interplay of horizontal stress fields — evaluating whether transient or episodic plate-tectonic episodes are recorded in the structural fabric.
Numerical and analogue models of plume–lithosphere interaction, heat-pipe and stagnant-lid regimes, and resurfacing mechanisms — constraining Venus's thermal history and the conditions under which a planet transitions between tectonic modes.
Mapping wrinkle ridge systems, lobate scarp geometries, and compressional fold-thrust belts using CTX, THEMIS, and HiRISE — measuring shortening magnitudes, fault dips, and cumulative strain to reconstruct the compressional stress history of Martian plains and highlands.
Modelling flexural loading from Tharsis and the resulting compressional stress field, together with global contraction from secular cooling — constraining elastic thickness, strain budgets, and the temporal sequence of compressional tectonics across Mars's geological history.
Numerical simulations of Martian mantle convection, lithospheric thickening, and thermal contraction — exploring why Mars evolved as a one-plate stagnant-lid planet and how interior cooling drove the compressional tectonic regime observed at the surface.
Mapping groove sets, cross-cutting relationships, and multi-ring impact basin structures using Galileo SSI and Voyager imagery — establishing structural chronology, basin rim geometry, and the influence of large impacts on the tectonic fabric of Ganymede's icy lithosphere.
Analysing normal fault kinematics in grooved terrain and the anomalous morphology of large craters in ice — central pits, domes, and multi-ring basins whose relaxed forms encode ice rheology and shell thickness at the time of impact.
Hypervelocity impact cratering simulations in icy targets using iSALE — modelling shock pressure, melt generation, and crater scaling in layered ice-over-ocean systems. Combined with ocean–ice geodynamic models to interpret the tectonic response to large basin-forming events on icy ocean worlds.
Venus presents a clear tectonic contrast to Earth: in the absence of plate tectonics, its young surface is covered with volcanic and tectonic structures, both familiar and exotic. My work reads these structures to understand the dynamic interior of a planet that may hold the key to Earth's own future.
Large coronae are ringed by concentric fractures whose kinematics have long been debated. Mapping Magellan SAR and altimetry across coronae such as Atahensik, I show that low-angle faults at the rim accommodate gravitational spreading of the topographic rise — linking surface structure to subsurface plume geometry and the planet's single-lid heat loss.
Venus's giant cracks may be lubricated by partial melt. Combining structural mapping with geodynamic reasoning, I examine how fault–melt interaction shapes tectonic regimes in Aphrodite Terra, and what synconvergent extension shared by Venus and Earth reveals about how a stagnant lid deforms.
Mars preserves a four-billion-year compressional record dominated by its thick, cold lithosphere. I reconstruct that record from the planet's wrinkle ridges and fold-thrust systems, connecting surface shortening to flexure, global contraction, and the thermal evolution of the interior.
Wrinkle ridges are the dominant compressional landform on Mars. Using CTX, THEMIS and HiRISE topography with Trishear forward modelling, I correlate ridge morphometry with subsurface fault kinematics to quantify shortening and reconstruct the compressional stress history of the Martian plains.
What fault geometry lies beneath a wrinkle ridge? Integrating displacement–length scaling with subsurface modelling at Lunae Planum and the circum-Tharsis plains, I constrain blind-thrust geometries and the crustal implications of distributed shortening.
The Tharsis rise records the longest tectonic history on Mars. I unravel the interplay of mantle-plume migration and critical-taper wedge mechanics across the dome, and find evidence for surprisingly recent tectonic activity in southern Tharsis.
Ganymede couples a deforming icy shell to a subsurface ocean and a record of the solar system's largest impacts. Ahead of ESA's JUICE mission, I read its craters and grooved terrain for clues to ice rheology, shell thickness and interior structure.
Young impact craters excavate and redistribute Ganymede's near-surface materials. Using Galileo imagery and JUICE-relevant datasets, I read ray- and halo-crater morphology for clues to ice-shell stratigraphy and composition — directly feeding mission science.
Scaled laboratory experiments using silicone polymers, granular sand, and layered viscous materials to replicate tectonic and volcanic processes under controlled conditions. Quantifies fault geometry, strain localisation, and plume–lithosphere interaction kinematics.
Advanced Solver for Problems in Earth's ConvecTion — finite-element mantle convection code. Used for planetary interior simulations: thermochemical evolution, plume dynamics, and lithospheric thickening under single-lid regimes on Venus, Mars, and icy moons.
Lithosphere and Mantle Evolution Model — massively parallel staggered-grid finite-difference code for coupled geodynamic and geomechanical problems. Applied to lithospheric deformation, viscoelastoplastic fault systems, rifting, and compressional tectonic regimes.
Impact Simplified Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian hydrocode — simulates hypervelocity impact cratering, shock-wave propagation, melt generation, and crater scaling in planetary materials. Applied to multi-ring basin formation and impact-driven tectonic responses in icy and rocky targets.
Beyond running simulations, I contribute to the development, benchmarking, and extension of open-source geodynamics codes — implementing planetary rheology modules, new material models, and post-processing pipelines.
Planetary interior model contributions: non-Newtonian viscosity laws for stagnant-lid regimes, thermal boundary condition modules for Venus and Mars, and benchmarks for plume–lithosphere interaction under single-lid planetary conditions.
Ice-shell rheology modules for icy moon applications; cryogenic-temperature extensions of viscoelastoplastic constitutive laws; parallel scaling benchmarks for compressional tectonic setups; graben and thrust fault formation test cases.
Post-processing pipelines for impact melt volume, shock pressure mapping, and tectonic response analysis; equation-of-state tables for planetary silicates and ices; Python visualisation tools extending pySALEPlot for multi-layer icy target simulations.
High-resolution radar, spectroscopy and subsurface sounding of Venus. My coronae and fault-melt work feeds target selection and structural interpretation.
Global topography, SAR imaging and emissivity — a new generation of data for mapping Venusian tectonics at unprecedented resolution.
Ganymede-focused exploration of icy-shell tectonics and impact cratering — the context for my crater-morphology and ice-rheology studies.