Lithosphere Deformation Mechanics

The course will introduce important concepts related to crustal and lithosphere deformation including the mechanics of brittle deformation, viscoelastic flow and poroelastic processes. The course will focus on rheology and modeling of deformation through solving ordinary and partial differential equations in two and three dimensions, for both static and time dependent behaviors. The students will gain expertise in describing the processes that deform the Earth in the crust and the lithosphere connected to the earthquake cycle. The students will be able to derive analytical solutions to governing equations for quasi-static deformation, including two-dimensional and three-dimensional elastic problems with dislocations, heterogeneous, brittle, poroelastic and viscoelastic materials.