Principal Investigator

Andrew M Walker Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University

Project Title

Modelling defects in mantle minerals

Brief Description for General Publications

The movement of crystal imperfections such as point defects and dislocations permit the plastic deformation of the minerals that make up the Earth’s mantle. On a larger scale, this process results in viscous flow, permitting the convective heat transfer from the Earth’s deep interior to the surface that drives plate tectonics. Using computational models that allow the simulation of these defects on the atomic scale yields great insight into the fundamental processes that control major features expressed at the Earth’s surface.