Earth and Planetary Dynamics
In the Earth and Planetary Dynamics theme we pursue an understanding of the physicochemical properties that determine the evolution and current structure of the Earth and other Solar System bodies.
This includes information on the formation and evolution of these bodies through physical and chemical observations of terrestrial rocks and fluids and extra-terrestrial materials (meteorites, and material obtained via sample return missions). The tools employed include geophysical imaging, experimental petrology, isotope geochemistry, remote sensing, high-performance simulations and numerical modelling, all supported by state-of-the-art experimental, analytical and super-computing infrastructure.
Highlights and achievements
- The addition of the Experimental Mineral Physics research group, applying novel methodologies to the reproduction of extremely high pressures within planetary bodies.
- The development to full capacity of the two research groups Magmatic Petrology and Volcanology, investigating controls on volcanic eruptions and the generation of the continental crust, and Planetary Geochemistry, investigating the early evolution of planets with focus on extraterrestrial sample analysis.
- The Earth and Planetary Magnetism research group developed novel facilities to simulate flow in planetary cores, including the effects of precession and libration, and the Exploration and Environmental Geophysics research group founded of the Centre for Immersive Wave Experimentation (CIWE) to study complex wave propagation.
- New waveform modelling and inversion tools with applications ranging from Earth Science to medicine developed in the Seismology and Wave Physics research group.
- The Seismology and Geodynamics research group is participating in space missions, such as the recently launched NASA InSight mission to study the internal structure of Mars and in the LISA mission to measure and model gravitational waves.
- AlpArray, the densest broad-band seismic array ever installed worldwide, comprising over 600 stations. The project is coordinated by the Seismology and Geodynamics research group.
In the ETH News
Mystery of the Martian core solved
Mars’s liquid iron core is smaller and denser than previously thought. Not only is it smaller, but it is also surrounded by a layer of molten rock. This is what ETH Zurich researchers conclude on the basis of seismic data from the InSight lander.