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Overview
Affiliations
AffiliationRoom numberTelephone
Professor in the Department of Earth SciencesRm 325+44 (0) 191 33 42293
Fellow in the Durham Energy Institute  

Biography


2017 – present  — Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University
2013 – present  — Reader, Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University
2011 – 2013 — Senior Lecturer, Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University
2006 – 2011 — Lecturer, Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University
2004 – 2006 — Oberassistent, ETH, Zurich, Switzerland
2002 – 2004 — Postdoctoral researcher, Department of Physics, University of Colorado at Boulder, USA
2001 — PhD, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
1996 — MSc, Utrecht University, The Netherlands

Research Interests

  • Subduction dynamics
  • Dynamics of the early Earth
  • Sub-lithospheric small-scale convection
  • Plumes and intraplate volcanism
  • Interaction between tectonics and paleo-climate
  • Mine Geothermal energy
  • Carbon Capture and Storage
Career Research Interests

My research involves the application of fluid dynamics applied to the Earth on a variety of length and time scales:

  • Starting at Earth's earliest history, I am interested in the evolution and dynamics of plate tectonics through time, which led to an ERC starting grant 2012-2017 on 'Modelling the Archaean Subduction Environment' (MASE). 
  • Related to this is the growth and destruction of cratonic lithosphere, which I have worked for a number of years now.
  • I have also worked extensively on subduction dynamics, from shallow flat subduction (my PhD work back in the '90s) to continental collision and slab break-off.
  • Another research interest is on the interaction between mantle and lithosphere, which results in small-scale convection, edge-driven convection, and intraplate volcanism.
  • On a smaller scale, I am interested in sustainable, renewable, or clean energy solutions. Work on this includes Carbon Capture and Storage, and, since recently, modelling of geothermal heat extracted from abandoned, flooded mines, something we have plenty of here in the Northeast of England. 

Committee and Society Service
2021-2025 — President of EGU Geodynamics division
2017-2021 — Deputy president of EGU Geodynamics division
2012 – present — Research Council Member of NERC Peer Review College.
2014 – present — Associate Editor of 'Tectonics'
2010 – 2016 — Associate Editor of 'Solid Earth'
2010 – 2013 — EGU programme committee for geodynamics division.

Recent and Current Grants
  • 2021 --- 'Geothermal Energy and Solar-geothermal heat (GEMS)’, EPSRC/NERC Decarbonising Heating and Cooling scheme grant£1.4M
  • 2020 --- Royal Society award ‘Understanding craton stability using geodynamical and geochemical tools’, 
    £8k.
  • 2016 — 'NNESMO', NERC Advanced Training grant on numerical modelling, £32k
  • 2015 — 'Subitop', as participant of an EU Horizon2020 ITN, PI: GFZ, Potsdam, Germany, €3.9M; Durham component: €273k.
  • 2015 — 'NNESMO', NERC Advanced Training grant on numerical modelling, £30k
  • 2014 — 'The Feedback Between Volatiles and Mantle Dynamics', NERC, £341k
  • 2014 — 'NNESMO', NERC Advanced Training grant on numerical modelling, £34k
  • 2012 — ‘What drives and resists plate sinking through the transition zone’, NERC, ~£366,000, with co-I Dr. Goes (Imperial College London).
  • 2011 — ‘Modelling the Archean Subduction Environment (MASE)’, ERC Starting Grant, €1.5M
  • 2010 — ‘TOPOMOD’, as participant of an EU FP7 International Training Network, PI: Univ. Roma Tre, Rome, Italy, €3.8M; Durham component: ~€473k.
  • 2010: — ‘The dynamics of continental collision and slab break-off’, Charles Waites PhD studentship, 3yrs,
  • 2010Orogenic Plateau Magmatism – NERC Standard Grant. NE/H021620/1 - Co-I. 
  • 2009 — ‘Timescales, mechanisms and/or numerical tools for CO2 dissolution in brine’, ONE North East and GRL, UK, 3 yrs FTE PhD project of Francesca Watson.
  • 2008 — ‘Multigrid Improvements’, NERC/EPSRC/NAG Ltd. UK, 12 months, Distributed Computational Science and Engineering (dCSE) support for software development. 

Research groups

  • Geodynamics Research Group
  • Geophysics Research Group

Related Links

Esteem Indicators

  • 2011: University of Liverpool, May, 2011:
  • 2007: Co-organiser of the 'Tenth International Workshop on Modelling of Mantle Convection and Lithospheric Dynamics.' September 2007:
  • 2007: Convenor of EGU special session: 'Geodynamics and Geochemistry of the Early Earth':
  • 2007: Invited Speaker at the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds:
  • 2007: Keynote speaker at 'Archaen Oceans' workshop, April 2007:
  • 2006: Convenor of Special session at EGU. 'Mantle Plumes, intraplate magmatism and hotspot-ridge interaction: Geodynamical, Geophysical and Geochemical Aspects':
  • 2005: Convenor of Special session at EGU. 'Mantle Plumes, intraplate magmatism and hotspot-ridge interaction: Geodynamical, Geophysical and Geochemical Aspects':
  • 2005: Invited speaker at the EGU April 2005:
  • 2004: Invited Speaker at the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Prague, Czech Republic: Sepetember 2004
  • 2003: Invited Speaker at the Department of Earth Sciences, Caltech, USA:
  • 2002: Invited seminar at the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds:

Publications

Book review

Chapter in book

Doctoral Thesis

  • van Hunen J. (2001). Shallow and buoyant lithospheric subduction: causes and implications from thermo-chemical modeling. Earth Sciences . Utrecht University. PhD.

Journal Article

Supervision students