STEEP
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ST. Elias Erosion/tectonics Project
Advisors:
Dr. Peter Koons, and Benjamin P. Hooks
Project Description:
The primary goal of this project to help with the 3D modeling of the interaction between the Pacific oceanic plate and the Mt. St. Elias region of Alaska. The modeling will be done on the University of Maine supercomputers using Gale. Gale is a 2D and 3D finite element model used to model subduction, rifting, and other variables of interest. It requires the PETSc, MPI, and libxml2 libraries to run. Work will include installing the packages, running the test programs on the supercomputer, and then determining how to manipulate the input files so that numerical models can be run. The numerical models will be developed according to the data required by Benjamin Hooks.
Along with this, a couple of other tasks have been outlined for when Gale is operational. These tasks involve using MATLAB to visualize output data from FLAC3D and the World Stress Map. Ideally, the data from the World Stress Map, which is mostly topographic data in a Lat/Long coordinate system, would be converted to a X-Y-Z coordinate system and output in files compatible with Google Earth for visualization. Time permitting, the Abaqus program will also be worked with to some extent.
Preliminary Schedule:
For now, the following major milestones have been determined:
- Gale Running on Supercomputer and running the required simulation – June 25th (3.5 weeks)
- Itasca FLAC3D -> MATLAB automated graphics for visualization – July 7th (1.5 weeks)
- World Stress Map visualization via MATLAB and/or Google Earth – July 18th (1.5 weeks)
This schedule is tentative and subject to change based on how much time the Gale portion of the project takes, as it is the primary objective of this project.
Background Information:
This project will be assisting the University of Maine's Geological Sciences department with their work on the Collaborative Research: ST. Elias Erosion/tectonics Project (STEEP.) STEEP is a research project funded by the National Science Foundation and involves the collaboration between researchers at 10 universities. There are multiple goals for this project, but the major ones being worked on by Benjamin Hooks is research about the following two questions:
- How is deformation partitioned into lithospheric shortening and uplift versus lateral extrusion of the detached crust, and does intense erosion influence this partitioning?
- Is the orogeny driven primarily by subduction of a buoyant oceanic plateau or by collision of a small microcontinental block attached to allochthonous ocean crust?
For further information, check out the project web page located here