Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty

Mark D. Behn

Professor

Profile

My research focuses on active tectonic and magmatic processes in marine and terrestrial environments.ÌýÌýI use a wide range ofÌýgeophysical techniques to study deformation in rocks and ice, melt generation and extraction, and volcanic processes.ÌýÌýDeformation and mass transport depend critically on the rheologic properties (i.e., strength) of the crust and mantle.ÌýÌýThus, any quantitative study ofÌýactive tectonics requires a thorough understanding of the Earth’s rheology.Ìý My research groupÌýdevelops geodynamic models to relate laboratory-basedÌýrheologic and petrologic models to the large-scale behavior of the Earth. ÌýWe apply these models to a range of problems,Ìýincluding faulting, mantle convection, and melting and melt migration in the Earth’s mantle, as well as to societally-relevant issues, suchÌýas the dynamic response of ice sheets to climate change, global geochemical cycling, and hazards associated with earthquakes andÌývolcanic eruptions.

Current Graduate Students and Projects
(Note: the following list includes Ph.D. candidates advised by Prof. Behn at his former institution, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
  • Evan Saltman:ÌýUltrahigh resolution mapping of the Gofar Transform Fault
  • Victoria Richardson:ÌýModeling mantle melting processes at the ultraslow spreading Southwest Indian Ridge

Recent Alumni and Projects
(Note: the following list comprises Ph.D. candidates advised by Prof. Behn at hisÌýformerÌýinstitution, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
  • Joshua Rines:ÌýGrain Size Evolution in Ice Sheets
  • Fiona Clerc (WHOI Program):ÌýDeglaciation-enhanced mantle CO2 fluxes at Yellowstone imply positive climate feedback
  • William Shinevar (MIT/WHOI Joint Program):ÌýOrogensÌýand the Evolution of the Continental Lower Crust
  • Stephanie Brown Krein (Ph.D. MIT):ÌýMajorÌýand trace element modeling of mid-ocean ridge mantle melting from the garnet toÌýtheÌýplagioclase stability fields: Generating local and global compositionalÌývariability
  • Hannah Mark (Ph.D. MIT/WHOI Joint Program):ÌýSeismicÌýand numerical constraints on the formation and evolution of oceanic lithosphere
  • Jean-Arthur Olive (Ph.D. MIT/WHOI Joint Program):ÌýMechanical and geological controls on the long-term evolution of normal faultsÌý
  • Laura Stevens (Ph.D. MIT/WHOI Joint Program):ÌýInfluence of meltwater on Greenland ice sheet dynamics
  • Emma Woodford:ÌýControls on Morphology of Oceanic Transform Faults

Recent Publications
Ìý
  • Tian, X.,ÌýM.D. Behn, G. Ito, J. Schierjott, B.J.P. Kaus, A.A. Popov, 2024, Magmatism Controls Oceanic Transform Fault Topography, Nature Comm., v. 15, 1914,Ìýhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-46197-9.Ìý
  • Clerc, F.,ÌýM.D. Behn, and B.M. Minchew, 2024, Deglaciation-enhanced mantle CO2 fluxes at Yellowstone imply positive climate feedback, Nature Comm., v. 15, 1526,Ìýhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45890-z.
  • Schierjott, J.C., G. Apuzen-Ito,ÌýM.D. Behn, X. Tian, T. Morrow, B.J.P. Kaus, and J. Escartín, 2023, How transform fault shear influences where detachment faults form near mid-ocean ridges, Scientific Reports, v. 13, 9259,Ìýhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35714-3.
  • Urann, B.M., V. Le Roux, O. Jagoutz, O. Müntener, M.D. Behn, and E.J. Chin, 2022, High water content of arc magmas recorded in cumulates from subduction zone lower crust, Nat. Geosci., 15, 501–508,Ìýhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-00947w.Ìý
  • Olive, J.-A., L.C. Malatesa, M.D. Behn, and W.R. Buck, 2022, Rift tectonics modulated by the efficiency of river erosion, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., 119 (13) e2115077119,Ìýhttps://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2115077119.
  • Behn, M.D., D.L. Goldsby, and G. Hirth, 2021, The role of grain-size evolution in the rheology of ice: Implications for reconciling laboratory creep data and the Glen flow law, The Cryosphere, v. 15, 4589–4605,Ìýhttps://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4589-2021.
  • Lai, C.-Y., L.A. Stevens, D.L. Chase, T.T. Creyts, M.D. Behn, S.B. Das, and H.A. Stone, 2021, Seasonally evolving hydraulic transmissivity beneath Greenland supraglacial lakes, Nature Comm., v. 12, 3955, doi:10.1038/s41467-021-24186-6.Ìý
  • Liu, Y., J.J. McGuire, and M.D. Behn, 2020, Aseismic transient slip on Gofar transform fault, East Pacific Rise, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., v. 117, 10,188–10,194, doi:10.1073/pnas.1913625117.

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