Geodynamics

Scott King

Scott King is a member of the club of geodynamicists who have published on Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. He was the lead developer of ConMan (Convection in the Mantle), the first mantle convection code (2D Cartesian) freely available to the research community. This predated the open-source software movement. He developed the Edge-Driven Convection (EDC) hypothesis for intra-plate volcanism. EDC envisions that the near-vertical edge of a deep continental cratonic root cools the surrounding upper mantle, creating a cold, dense patch of material that sinks creating a corresponding passive upwelling return flow 600-1,000 km away from the cratonic root. EDC has become an important element in the understanding of intra-plate volcanism because it provided a testable alternative to mantle plumes to explain intra-plate volcanism. Because of the relationship between the Martian crustal dichotomy and recent volcanic activity at Tharsis and Elysium rises, he has been interested in applying EDC to Mars. He has been a member of the NASA Dawn at Ceres Mission Science Team and the NASA InSight Mission Science Team.

Geotandem: The Red Planet, often recognized as a dead planet, is not quite dead after all, at least geodynamically speaking

Scott King, Joshua Murphy and edited by Constanza Rodriguez Piceda February 21, 2024

Figure courtesy: Emily Hinshaw

Welcome to the first of its kind, the Geotandem 01! A collaborative series between EGU divisions. Interdisciplinarity is intrinsic to Geosciences, so we want to showcase how researchers approach the same topics from different but also complementing perspectives. In each edition, we will bring you a high-interest topic for the community seen from the eyes of diverse disciplines. Today, the Tectonic ...[Read More]