Visiting Researchers
 |
Institute |
University of Calcutta |
Title |
PhD Research Scholar | |
Country |
INDIA | |
Period of Stay |
2019/02/01 – 2020/01/31 | |
Research Theme |
Role of melting in controlling the rheology of the crust: insights from experimental investigation | |
Host Researcher |
Takehiko HIRAGA |
Self-Introduction
I pursued my PhD from the Department of Geology, University of Calcutta,
India. By training, I am a structural geologist and a modeller. Mostly
I prefer to work on experimental modelling of different geodynamic and
geological processes and rock deformation. In course of my PhD thesis,
I started working on Himalayan tectonics, the modern-day archetype for
continent-continent collision. My fundamental goal was to understand the
kinematics of orogenic wedge development during plate-convergence. However,
one significant problem that caught my attention at that time was the lack
of clarity about how the deformation behaviour of an orogenic wedge and
the processes of strain localization change from the mountain interior
to the mountain front, which were strongly evident from my field experiences.
In my research, I integrated detailed geological mapping and field observations
with the experimental models (both analogue and numerical modelling of
ductile and brittle deformation) to acquire comprehensive insight into
the mechanism of mountain building processes.
Although, this theoretical (and/or philosophical) approach is really important in enhancing our scientific knowledge about continental deformation, I have also tried to include a robust practical aspect to my research, simultaneously. For example, the hypocentre of the recent 2015 Mw 7.8 Nepal earthquake in the eastern Himalaya concurs with the mid-crustal ramp on the Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT), which behaves as an asperity by focusing stress and strain build up. As a corollary to my thesis work, I am also trying to understand the origin of such mid-crustal ramping in continental setting using the numerical-sandbox approach.
During, my stay at ERI, I will work with Prof. Takehiko Hiraga to explore
the role of initial grain alignment (Shape Preferred Orientation; SPO),
Crystallographic Preferred Orientation (CPO) and melts on mantle rheology
and strain localization. Potentially, my project will focus on yielding
some new insights in the rheology of the crust and/or lithospheric mantle
rocks by integrating high-T rock deformation experiments in contention
with the observations from natural rocks.