Frederic Deschamps Email & Phone Number

My research activities address the structure, dynamics, and composition of planetary interiors, and more specifically of the mantles of rocky planets, including our Earth, and of the ice layers of icy moons and dwarf planets, such as Europa, Titan, and Pluto. These activities imply a multidisciplinary approach that combines numerical simulations of convection (which is thought to be the main mode of heat and mass transfer within planetary bodies), mineral physics data (which gives information on the physical properties of planetary mantles' materials), and of course geophysical observations.Because convection in planetary mantles may be affected by many different parameters, a central task of my research is to better understand the individual roles played by each of these parameters. For this, I perform numerical simulations with different levels of complexities. Important parameters include the mode of heating (i.e., the source of energy driving convection), the rheology (the way rock or ice are deforming), and the presence of different chemical components with different properties (e.g., density and viscosity).In the case of the Earth, different chemical components are likely present in the deep mantle, and may play a key role in explaining today's structure and dynamics. The thermo-chemical structures predicted by simulations can be tested against existing observations to identify the best possible model. So far, the best constraints on the deep mantle structure are obtained from travel time seismological data, from which tomographic models (i.e., 3D-maps of seismic velocity changes) are built. Other observables that may provide hints include the topography of interfaces (including the boundary separating the mantle and the core), seismic attenuation, and seismic normal modes.In the case of icy moons and dwarf planets, models of convection may be used to reconstruct the thermal histories and radial structures of these bodies, which can be, again, tested against available data. These bodies are typically composed of a rocky core surrounded by layers of ices. Due to the phase diagram of water, a liquid layer, or sub-surface ocean, may exist today in between their outer ice shell and their rocky core (or high pressure ice layer in the case of larger bodies like Titan and Ganymede). Several parameters may influence the cooling of these bodies. In particular, heating due to tidal dissipation, if present may play a key role. More details on these activities can be found on https://www.earth.sinica.edu.tw/content/people/frederic/index.html

Listed skills include Latex, Scientific Computing, Science, Physics, and 18 others.