The PhD defence and trial lecture are fully digital and streamed using Zoom. The host of the session will moderate the technicalities while the chair of the defence will moderate the disputation.
Trial lecture
A comparison of the concepts of oceanic crust and oceanic lithosphere
Conferral summary (in Norwegian)
Hydratiseringen av jordens mantel er en avgjørende prosess for mange aspekter av planeten vår, fra bevegelsene til tektoniske plater, til den globale vannsyklusen og livets opprinnelse. Dette ph.d. arbeidet fremhever den viktigste rollen til tektonikk i initiering og vedlikehold av denne hydratiseringsprosessen, gjennom en kombinasjon av mikrostrukturelle- og seismiske studier.
Main research findings
Popular scientific article about Aupart’s dissertation:
Mechano-chemical feedbacks during serpentinization of ultramafic rocks
The hydration of the Earth’s mantle is a crucial process for many aspects of our planet, from the motion of the tectonic plates to the global water cycle and the origin of life. This process is called serpentinization and has a considerable impact on the rock’s behaviour when under stress. It makes rocks easier to break and is associated with a volume increase that can locally perturb tectonic stress and break surrounding rocks. The rock composing the mantle, peridotite, has however a very low permeability, and water has difficulties to circulate within it. Faulting is thus intimately linked to the water supply during serpentinization.
Even though the link between faulting and serpentinization has been established, the way these two processes interact is not fully understood. Tectonically and seismically active zones in oceanic context are recognized to be preferred zones of serpentinization, but most common models for serpentinization do not reflect this major role of tectonics. This PhD work and dissertation highlights the role of tectonics in serpentinization initiation and maintenance through a combination of microstructural and seismic studies.
Photo and other information:
Press photo: Claire Aupart, portrait; 240px. Photo: Private
Other photo material: Figure with description and credit as specified in the article above, size 1000px.