Peter van
KekenHe/His
Peter van Keken uses advanced computational models to study the dynamics that underlie plate tectonics. The tectonic evolution of the Earth is driven by the slow release of heat from the Earth's interior that is conducted and advected by the slow solid-state deformation of the Earth's mantle.
The melting at mid-oceanic ridges and subsequent recycling of the oceanic lithosphere at subduction zones imparts unique chemical characteristics, which over the long term cause a profound chemical evolution of the Earth's mantle, as is seen in mid-oceanic ridge and hotspot lavas.
Van Keken's models use constraints from mineral physics and petrology and are tested using observations from geodynamics, seismology, geochemistry, and petrology.
Research
Van Keken develops computational models that use finite element techniques to solve the governing equations for slow convection in the silicate Earth. These models use constraints from mineral physics and petrology and are tested using observations from geodynamics (such as plate velocities and surface heatflow), seismology (tomography, receiver functions, phase conversions), geochemistry (radiogenic isotope constraints on mantle composition) and petrology (mineral stability under high pressure and temperature). Significant work is performed in collaborative and interdisciplinary projects with researchers in the United States (the University of Michigan, Cornell, UC Santa Barbara, Columbia University) and abroad (Tohoku University, Oxford, Imperial, ETH Zürich).
As part of his specialization in computational geodynamics van Keken develops community benchmarks, high-resolution 3D models of subduction, and tests numerical models against laboratory experiments. He has contributed to reviews on mantle convection and its role in the geochemical evolution of the Earth, the dynamics of subduction zones, and the nature of hot spot volcanism.
In recent years, van Keken, together with Carnegie scientist Cian Wilson, a number of NSF and Carnegie Endowment-supported postdocs, and with collaboration from external collaborators has made significant advances in a number of areas including:
- the development of new finite element modeling approaches and benchmarking based in particular on the FEniCS finite element framework (e.g., Wilson et al., 2017; Geballe et al., 2020; Sime et al., in press)
- obtaining a better understanding of the importance of the shallow forearc and fluids in determining the thermal structure and dynamics of subduction zones (Abers et al., 2017; 2020; Morishige et al., 2017; 2018; Wei et al., 2017; van Keken et al., 2018; 2019; Shirey et al., in press)
- establishing quantitative limits on the resolvability of plumes and lower mantle structures using seismic tomography and scattering (Maguire et al., 2016; 2018; Haugland et al., 2018; T. Jones et al., 2020)
- further constraining the importance of oceanic crust recycling in the geochemical evolution of the Earth’s mantle (R. Jones et al., 2019; Tucker et al., 2020; T. Jones et al., in press).
CV
- 1993 PhD cum laude University of Utrecht, The Netherlands
- 1989 MSc University of Utrecht, The Netherlands
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (Fellow)
- Geological Society of America (Fellow)
- American Geophysical Union Geochemical Society
- 2020– Staff Scientist Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science
- 2016–2020 Staff Scientist Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution for Science
- 2016–2020 Adjunct Research Scientist University of Michigan
- 2011–2015 Associate Chair for Curriculum Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan
- 2010–2015 Professor Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan
- 2008–2010 Professor of Geological Sciences, University of Michigan
- 2002–2008 Associate Professor Geological Sciences, University of Michigan
- 1996–2002 Assistant Professor Geological Sciences, University of Michigan
- 1994–1996 Visiting Assistant Professor Geological Sciences, University of Michigan
- 1993–1994 Visiting Fellow Army High Performance Computing Research Center, University of Minnesota
- 1993 Postdoctoral Assistant Earth Sciences, University of Utrecht
- 1989–1993 Research Assistant Earth Sciences, University of Utrecht
- 2010–2012 GeoPRISMS Distinguished Lecturer
- 2009 Faculty Recognition Award, University of Michigan
- 2009 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
- 2005 Fellow, Geological Society of America
- 2002 Computer World Honors
- 2001 LSA Excellence in Education Award, University of Michigan
- 1998 LSA Excellence in Education Award, University of Michigan
- 1993 PhD cum laude, University of Utrecht
- 1993 Royal Dutch Shell Travel Prize for the most outstanding thesis in the natural sciences at Utrecht University
Recent Talks
When Earth Attacks: Causes and Consequences of a Tectonic Planet
Peter van Keken: A Broad Introduction to Geophysical Studies of Subduction Zones
Peter van Keken/Cian Wilson: Thermal Structure of Subduction Zones