Dr. Dave Whipp
University of Helsinki

Topic: Can it be all so simple? Challenges and considerations using thermochronology to understand lithospheric dynamics.

Academic host: Becky Flowers

Abstract: Earth’s lithosphere is constantly evolving in response to tectonic, erosional, magmatic, and other surface and subsurface processes. Timescales associated with these processes can be up to millions of years, making their direct studying difficult. Thermochronology, a dating method that provides a measurement of the time since a mineral cooled below a system-specific temperature, offers a possible solution to the challenge of understanding rates of various geological processes over these immense timescales. However, the ages produced by thermochronological measurements are not unique, and many possible cooling histories (linked to different geological processes) can produce similar ages. In this talk I will present some examples of how we utilize geodynamic, thermal, and thermochronological models to understand the geological processes shaping the lithosphere and some of the complexities we must face to do so.