Lucy M. Flesch
            Department of Geosciences
            State University of New York at Stony Brook
            Stony Brook, NY 11794-2100
            e-mail: flesch@stillwater.ess.sunysb.edu

[Research]  [CV]  [Publications]  [Geophysics Group]  [Department of Geosciences]  [SUNY at Stony Brook] 

I am a graduate student in the Geophysics Lab working with Bill Holt and John Haines ( University of Cambridge ) on the dynamics of continental plate margins, specifically in central Asia and the western United States. We are interested in understanding and quantifing the driving forces involved in diffuse continental deformation. We first determine the stresses associated with gravity acting on density variations within the Earth's lithosphere from crustal thickness estimates, seismic velocities, and the geoid . The next step is to solve for a for the stress field associated with plate interaction resulting from relative plate motion. With the knowledge of the total stress field (the linear sum of the two above stress fields) and strain rate field from kinematic studies we are also able to investigate the rheology of continental lithosphere.



Figure Caption: The total stress field, in Asia, that is a linear sum of the stress field contribution from potential energy differences within the lithosphere assuming an isostatic compensation model and far-field stresses associated with the best-fit leading-order stress boundary conditions for India-Eurasia relative motion. Deviatoric tensional stresses are open white principal axes and compressional stress are black principal axes.

Selected Publications

Flesch, L.M., A.J. Haines and W.E. Holt, Dynamics of the India-Eurasia collision zone, J. Geophys. Res., in press, 2001.

Flesch, L.M., W.E. Holt, A.J. Haines, and B. Shen-Tu, Dynamic of the Pacific-North American plate boundary zone in the western United States, Science, 287, 834-836, 2000.

Flesch, L.M., B. Li, and R.C. Libermann, Sound velocities of MgSiO3 - orthopyroxene to 10 GPa at room temperature, Am. Min., 83, 444-450, 1998.

Liu, J., J. Zhang, L.M. Flesch, B. Li, D.J. Weidner, and R.C. Liebermann, Thermal equation of state of stishovite, Phys. Earth and Planet. Int., 112, 257-266, 1999.

Selected Abstracts

Kreemer, C., L.M. Flesch, and W.E. Holt, The dynamics and kinematics of the central Andes; Understanding strike-slip and extensional earthquakes in the high Andes , 26th General Assembly of EGS, Nice, France, March, 2001.

Flesch, L.M., W.E. Holt, A.J. Haines, B. Shen-Tu, and M.W. Hamburger, Kinematic and Dynamic Models of western North America, EOS Transactions, AGU, 81(48), Fall Meeting Supplement, 2000.

Flesch, L.M., W.E. Holt, and A.J. Haines, Dynamic Models of Central and Southeast Asia, EOS Transactions, AGU, 81(48), Fall Meeting Supplement, 2000.

Flesch, L.M., W.E. Holt, A.J. Haines, and B. Shen-Tu, Understanding the dynamics of the western United States using seismic, geologic, topographic, and geodetic data, Geological Society of America, A-243, 2000.

Flesch, L.M., W.E. Holt, A.J. Haines, and B. Shen-Tu, Stress and rheology in the lithosphere: Examples in Asia and the western United States, EOS Transactions, AGU, 81(19), Spring Meeting Supplement, 2000.

Flesch, L.M., W.E. Holt, and A.J. Haines, The dyanics of the India-Eurasia collision zone, Eos Trans., AGU, 79(45), Fall Meeting Supplement, 204, 1998.

Holt, W.E., L.M. Flesch, B. Shen-Tu, and A.J. Haines, The Kinematics and dynamics of the western US inferred from Quaternary fault data, GPS and VLBI velocities, and topography and Geoid data, Eos Trans., AGU, 79(45), Fall Meeting Supplement, 1998.

Flesch, L.M., B. Li, and R.C. Liebermann, Sound velocities of polycrystalline MgSiO3 - orthopyroxene to 11 GPa at room temperature, Eos Trans, AGU, 78(17), 312 Spring Meeting Supplement, 1997.

last edited 06/08/01 by L. Flesch