Dear staff and students,

On Friday the 17th of March, Dr. Ernst Willingshofer Associate Professor, Utrecht University , will give a FEST talk about:

Experimental tectonics at Utrecht University

Since the pioneering work of Sir James Hall (Hall, 1815) physical analogue modelling has developed into a powerful tool for studying geological and tectonic phenomena and their underlying processes occurring at field-to-lithosphere scale. In particular, the method provides valuable insight in the evolution of complex 4d-structures such as faults, subduction zones, collisional mountain belts or sedimentary basins, where in most cases incremental stages of evolution are not preserved. Development therefore is reconstructed based on incomplete data and only finite geometries are constrained to some degree by the geological or geophysical record. Using scale models thus allows for hypothesis testing of fundamental processes related to the large-scale deformation of the Earth’s crust under controlled laboratory conditions and at convenient time (hours to days) and length scales (cm-m).

During this FEST presentation technological and scientific advances in the field of physical analogue modelling and its application for understanding natural tectonic systems will be illustrated based on a selection of studies performed in the Tectonics research group state-of-the-art laboratory (TecLab) at Utrecht University.

Hope to see many of you there!

The FEST committee