Breaking the ice: Insights into the evolution of plate tectonics from numerical modelling of Europa's ice subduction

Subduction is the major driver for plate tectonics, linking present day surface and interior processes, and controlling the Earth's planetary evolution.

However, it is unclear how the Archean Earth evolved from potentially shallow subduction to deep subduction at present day.

The answer may be locked within the icy shell of the Jovian satellite Europa - the only other body in our Solar System to exhibit plate tectonic like deformation.

This project will use state of the art numerical models to model convection in a thin icy shell to understand ice subsumption dynamics on Europa.

Europa motivated models will then be compared to numerical models of early Earth convection and geological constraints for plate boundary and subduction evolution on Earth.

This project will provide new insights into the evolutionary links between different tectonic regimes for a better understanding of planetary bodies, a question that is also fundamental for understanding the deep and surface evolution of our planet from the Archean to present day and has implications for the origins of life.