Paul Tackley
Institute for Geophysics, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Date
21 December 2011
Host
Michael Meyer
Title
The Dynamics and Evolution of Terrestrial Planets in our Solar System and Beyond
Abstract
Solid planets come in many shapes and sizes in our solar system, and now astronomers are beginning to discover very large rocky planets - so-called super-Earths, around other stars, which brings fresh impetus to efforts to understand the formation, structure and evolution of terrestrial planets. The dominant process determining the evolution, surface and interior dynamics of a terrestrial planet is solid-state convection of their rocky mantles, yet each planet in our solar system provides unique challenges to understand, with plate tectonics being one of the major puzzles. In this talk I will discuss the major issues and describe an integrated modelling effort with the goal of understanding all terrestrial planets in a unified framework, using large-scale numerical simulations of planets thermochemical evolution from their formation to billions of years later.