Mountain dynamics

Our research into tectonics and mountain building covers the processes and mechanisms relating to how mountains form on the surface of our planet and how the continental crust deforms from the macroscale to the microscale. In particular, our research focuses on mountain belts that form during continent-continent collision, such as the modern Himalayas and Caucasus and the ancient Caledonides. We try to unravel how, when and how quickly the mountain belts formed, the tectonic processes and mechanisms in operation during their uplift, and how their growth fed back into the solid Earth-surface processes-climate system. We achieve this through a combination of geochronology, structural geology, geochemical studies and metamorphic/igneous petrology.

Mountain Dynamics is a key theme in our Dynamic Earth Research Group. At any one time we commonly have two or three full-time PhD students, and have regular discussion meetings about the latest data from the laboratory and results/interpretations in recently published literature.

Entry requirements

Minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) and prior research experience is preferred. If you are not a UK citizen, you may need to prove your knowledge of English.

Potential research projects

We encourage enquiries from prospective students on any geochemical, petrological, structural or geochronological aspect of mountain building or tectonic process.

Current/recent research projects

• The effect of crustal melting on the structural and geodynamic evolution of mountain belts
• The evolution of major tectonic structures in mountain building processes
• The role of major structures in driving exhumation during mountain building
• Determining the evolving balance between buoyancy, tectonics and surface processes during plate collisions
• The geochemistry of magmatism during and following plate collision

Potential supervisors

• Dr Tom Argles – the evolution and provenance of highly deformed and metamorphosed rocks in orogenic belts
• Dr Sarah Sherlock – ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology
• Professor Clare Warren – metamorphic evolution, U-Pb and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology, geodynamic evolution.

Fees and funding

Some of our research students are funded via the Central England NERC Training Alliance; others are self-funded.

For detailed information about fees and funding, visit Fees and studentships.

To see current funded studentship vacancies across all research areas, see Current studentships.

Links

• Dynamic Earth Research Group
• School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences