Dr. Fabio Capitanio - Honours Projects

Climatic and erosional controls on mountain belts and plateaux topography evolution

Supervisor(s): Fabio Capitanio and Andrew Gunn
Field of study: Tectonics, geomorphology and computational geodynamics
Support offered: Training in geodynamics and geomorphology modelling
Preferred Programme: Honours

Mountains are created by the interaction of tectonics and climate; on human timescales they often appear immobile but over longer timescales they are born and die as our planet’s surface is recycled. The dynamics of actively deforming collisional belts and plateaux, e.g., Himalaya and Tibet, are influenced by climate. The climate-triggered variations in erosion are expected to have an impact on the rate of uplift and sediment output, which feedback with isostatic and flexural response of the deeper lithosphere increasing localised rock uplift. The aim of this project is to understand the interplay between climate and tectonics occurring at the Earth’s surface, and how this controls the large-scale evolution of elevated landscapes. Fundamental questions are investigated using numerical modelling approach and established computational tools for surface processes modelling.

For further information contact:  Fabio Capitanio, Andrew Gunn

The impact of extreme climate on landslides

Supervisor(s): Fabio Capitanio and Andrew Gunn
Field of study: Tectonics, geomorphology and computational geodynamics
Support offered: Training in geodynamics and geomorphology modelling
Preferred Programme: Honours

Surface erosion is a consequence of climate, and principally precipitation. This may initiate a feedback with the solid Earth: as sediments are eroded away from mountains and transported into basins, the lithosphere rebounds in response to that sediment mass redistribution, creating new topography and hence enhancing erosion. Mounting evidence suggests that extreme climate can trigger large-scale events, such as landslides, at an unprecedented scale. Examples are landslides in Taiwan and along the Himalayan front. The aim of this project is to test the sensitivity of landslides to climatic forcing and solid Earth response, by means of numerical modelling encompassing surface processes and deep lithospheric readjustments.

For further information contact:  Fabio Capitanio, Andrew Gunn