A mixture of landfill stabilized waste and rock fragments (LGM) can be used as topsoil substitute during ecological restoration in abandoned quarries. Target species grew best when the volume fraction of landfill stabilized waste was 50 %. Moderate compaction enhanced plant growth in LGM when the volume fraction of landfill stabilized waste was lower than 20 %.

Our work demonstrated that the Emeishan large igneous province was generated by the crustal and/or mantle lithospheric delamination rather than the upwelling mantle plume.

We present a field-based study of relay zone development using examples from the Koa’e fault system (Hawai’i) and the Krafla fissure swarm (Iceland). We show the evolution of second-order deformation within these zones and illustrate the effects of horizontal (heave) displacement gradients in evolving continental rift systems. Data are consistent with faults and intrusions from the Faroe Islands and E Greenland. We propose a new model for the evolution of segmented basins along the NE Atlantic.

I present a new family of analytical flow solutions to the incompressible Stokes equation in a spherical shell. The velocity is tangential to both inner and outer boundaries, the viscosity is radial, and the solution has been designed so that the expressions for velocity, pressure, and body force are simple to implement in (geodynamics) codes. This forms the basis of a numerical benchmark for convection codes, and I have implemented it in two finite-element codes.

We examine rocks from the middle crust to explore how fluids circulate and influence a rock’s response to larger-scale tectonic movements. A model is developed in which fluids deep in the Earth migrate to clusters of pores generated during those movements. We document how distinct pores form in a specific order in association with local changes in how quartz deforms. The porosity evolves out of the deformation, changing the rate the rock moved under tectonic forces.

The strength of Earth's lower crust affects the cycle of earthquakes in tectonic plate boundaries. To understand the mechanical properties of the lower crust beneath northern Baja California, Mexico, we studied rocks, which were transferred to the surface during the eruption of Quaternary volcanoes. The lower crust is strongly deformed, hot, and dry. During transient events of deformation, the lower crust is weak, and its strength is similar to the strength of the upper mantle.

We demonstrate a new method that enhances our ability to interpret large datasets commonly used in the earth sciences, including point clouds and rasters. Implemented as plugins for CloudCompare and QGIS, we use a least-cost-path solver to track structures and contacts through data, allowing for expert-guided interpretation in a way that seamlessly utilises computing power to optimise the interpretation process and improve objectivity and consistency.