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Scott D. King

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Professor of Geophysics
Ph.D. California Institute of Technology
 
I have accepted a position at Virginia Tech, starting August 2007.   If you are interested in graduate study in geodynamics, please contact me. 

Research
 Teaching
 Images and Movies
 Publications
 Vita (in pdf format)
Group Pictures
 Fishing
 ConMan
 Links
 Contact

Research

My research focuses on the dynamics and evolution of the interior of the terrestrial planets.
While motions in the interior of the Earth are almost imperceptible on human time scales, the process by which the Earth cools is the driving force behind most tectonic and volcanic activity.  Mantle convection and plate motions are part of a linked system.   I use the computer as my laboratory and computer models as tools for hypothesis testing.   The observations constraining the dynamics of the Earth's interior come from seismology, mineral physics. geochemistry, geodesy, and geology.   I have projects working on subduction zones, hotspots, and plate reorganizations.   Because many of these problems require large computer calculations, other aspects of my research interests include improving the efficiency of computations and visualization of the results.

I also maintain a ConMan website.  ConMan is a 2D finite element code for convection in creeping fluids appropriate for mantle convection originally written in the late 1980's.   Over the years, ConMan has been extensively overhauled and a variety of improvements have been made by myself and many other individuals.  As they say, anything free comes with no guarantees; however, ConMan has been benchmarked against a number of other codes and various analytic solutions. 

I am also interested in the other terrestrial planets. Mars is particularly intriguing because the origin and evolution of two of the largest features (Tharsis rise and the crustal dichotomy) are poorly understood.   Mercury is interesting because even though it is quite small, there is (apparently) an active core dynamo.   Venus is similar in size to Earth but has no plate tectonics.

Other websites of interest

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Teaching

Fall 2006: EAS 556 Planetary Geology

Spring 2007: EAS 591 Gravity and Geodesy




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Publications (last five years)

  1. King,  S. D.,  Hotspots and edge-driven Convection, Geology, 35, 223-226, 2007. (reprint)

  2. King,  S. D.,  North Atlantic Topographic and Geoid Anomalies: The Result of a Narrow Ocean Basin and Cratonic Roots? in Foulger, G.R., Natland, J.H., Presnall, D.C., and Anderson, D.L., eds., Plates, Plumes, and Paradigms:  Geological Society of America Special Publication 388, 653-664, 2005. (reprint)

  3. Koglin Jr., D. E., S. Ghias, S. D. King, G. T. Jarvis, J. P. Lowman, Mantle Convection with Mobile Plates: A Benchmark Study, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 6, Q09003, doi:10.1029/2005GC000924, 2005. (reprint)

  4. King, S. D., Archean Cratons and Mantle Dynamics, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 234, 1-14, 2005. (reprint)

  5. van Keken, P. E., and S. D. King, Thermal Structure and Dynamics of Subduction Zones: Insights from Observations and Modeling, Phys. Earth Planet. Int., 149, 1-6, 2005. (reprint)

  6. Redmond, H. L and S.D. King, A numerical study of a mantle plume beneath the Tharis Rise: Reconciling dynamic uplift and lithospheric support models,  J. Geophys. Res., 109, E09008, 2004. (reprint)

  7. Lowman, J.P., S.D. King, and C.W. Gable, Steady plumes in viscously stratified, vigorously convecting, 3D numerical mantle convection models with mobile plates, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 5(1), 10.1029/2003GC000583, 2004. (reprint)

  8. Tackley, P.J., and S.D. King, Testing the tracer ratio method for modeling active compositional fields in mantle convection simulations, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 4(4), 10.1029/2001GC000214, 2003. (reprint)

  9. Lowman, J.P., S.D. King, and C.W. Gable, The role of the heating mode of the mantle in periodic reorganizations of the plate velocity field, Geophys. J. Int., 152, 455-467, 2003. (reprint)

  10. Soofi, M., and S.D. King, Post-Rift Deformation of the Midcontinent Rift Under Grenville Tectonism, Tectonophys., 359/3-4, 209-223, 2002. (reprint)

  11. Soofi, M., and S.D. King, Oblique convergence between India and Eurasia, J. Geophys. Res., 107, 10.1029/2001JB000636, 2002. (reprint)

  12. King, S.D., J.P. Lowman, and C.W. Gable, Episodic tectonic plate reorganizations driven by mantle convection, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 203, 83-91, 2002. (reprint)

  13. King, S.D., Geoid and topography over subduction zones: The effect of phase transformations, J. Geophys. Res., 107, 10.1029/2000JB000141, 2002. (reprint)

  14. King, S.D., Subduction: Observations and geodynamic models, Phys. Earth, Planet. Int., 127, 9-24, 2001. (reprint)

  15. Lowman, J.P., S.D. King, C.W. Gable, The influence of tectonic plates on mantle convection patterns, temperature and heat flow, Geophys. J. Int., 146, 619-637, 2001. (reprint)

  16. King, S.D., and J. Ritsema, African hotspot volcanism: Small-scale convection in the upper mantle beneath cratons, Science, 290, 1137-1140, 2000. (reprint)


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Contact Information


Fed-Ex address:
Scott King
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Purdue University
550 Stadium Mall Dr.
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2051

phone: 001-765-494-3696
fax: 001-765-496-1210
e-mail: sking (at) purdue (dot) edu
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