philip_skemer@brown.edu
401-863-1044
Brown University
Dept of Geological Sciences
PO Box 1846
Providence, RI 02912
About Me
I'm currently a postdoc at Brown University, and will be moving to Washington University in St. Louis in the Fall of 2009.
updated 4/8/09
Research Interests
I'm interested in the rheology of Earth and planetary materials. My research involves a mixture of experimental rock deformation and structural geology, with the objective of reconciling observations from both fields. The problems that interest me the most are the ones with broad implications for the large scale dynamics of Earth and other planets, from the initiation of plate tectonics to the dynamics of plumes and subducting slabs.
Over the last couple of years I’ve become increasingly interested in shear localization, and have a number of ongoing projects that seek to determine the particular microstructural and rheological processes at work in mantle shear zones. Some current projects include:
Experimental deformation of peridotite to large strains with varying kinematics
Microstructural evolution in naturally deformed peridotite mylonites (Josephine Peridotite)
Microstructural evolution during grain boundary sliding
Deformation of partially molten ice
Recent Publications
Skemer P, Karato S-i (2008) Sheared lherzolite xenoliths revisited, Journal of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth, 113:B07205, doi:10.1029/2007JB005286
Karato S-i, Jung H, Katayama I, Skemer P, (2008) Geodynamic significance of seismic anisotropy of the upper mantle: New insights from laboratory studies, Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Science 36:59–95
Skemer P, Karato S-i (2007) Effects of solute segregation on the grain-growth kinetics of orthopyroxene with implications for the deformation of the upper mantle, Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors 164:186-196
Skemer P, Katayama I, Karato S-i (2006) Deformation fabrics of the Cima di Gagnone Peridotite Massif, Central Alps, Swizerland: Evidence of deformation at low temperatures in the presence of water, Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 152:43-51
Skemer P, Katayama I, Jiang Z, Karato S-i (2005) The misorientation index: Development of a new method for calculating the strength of lattice-preferred orientation, Tectonophysics 411:157-167
Software
mindex.m -- A matlab script for calculating the M-index
Mindex_GUI.fig | Mindex_GUI.m -- A new matlab based graphical user interface for calculating the M-index