Ingo L. Stotz

Currently I am a Postdoctoral Researcher in Geodynamics at LMU in Munich since March 2020. Prior to this, I completed a PhD in Geophysics at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. But my scientific career began at the Universidad de Concepción in Chile, where I studied Geophysics as an undergraduate.

My research interests are on Earth dynamics through the use of advanced numerical simulations in high performance computing, elegantly simple analytical models, and a deliberately focus on observational constraints from geology and geophysics.

The Earth’s surface is marked by a variety of geological features, including mountains, volcanoes, and sedimentary basins. They arise from the complex interactions of processes within tectonic plates, in particular plate boundary forces, and mantle flow, which in turn drives the motion plates. They are best captured by using two distinct types of numerical models: a fluid dynamics model to simulate global mantle convection, and a thermo-mechanical/tectonic model to represent the intricacies of thermal and tectonic processes in the Earth’s crust and lithosphere. In my research career, I have become proficient in both types of models. Utilizing such models allows one to properly represent the mantle buoyancy distribution and plate boundary forces---which are difficult to include in geodynamic models of self consistent plate tectonics.

My research has shown that this approach is most effective in accurately capturing the complex interactions of mantle convection and plate tectonics, and has allowed me to address plate tectonic changes in various settings, spanning from the Pacific and Australia to North and South America. The way forward in Earth science will be to better integrate observations into the numerical models through state-of-the-art data assimilation techniques—which have shown their strength in meteorology.