The East African Institute for Fundamental Research (EAIFR) and the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) wish to inform those who may be interested of a GEO@EAIFR webinar. This seminar will take place on December 12, 2023 and will be broadcast live on ZOOM. It will also be recorded and later posted on the ICTP-EAIFR YouTube channel, where one can find the previous recorded GEO@EAIFR webinars. Below all the details:

Speaker:  Professor Nicolas Coltice, Department of Earth Sciences, Université Côte d'Azur (France)

Title: Tectonics is a hologram

When: December 12, 2023 at 16:00  (Kigali time).

Register in advance for this meeting by clicking here.

All are very welcome.

Abstract: A holographic perspective, often applied to complex systems, describes a phenomenon where each part encapsulates nearly all information about the entire system. This metaphor is apt for understanding planetary tectonics, such as Earth's tectonic evolution driven by the lithosphere-mantle system. Advances in geodynamics, specifically numerical models of solid-state convection with yielding, have allowed us to explore global-scale tectonic processes. Over the past 15 years, these models revealed emergent behaviors, demonstrating that the whole tectonic system is both greater and smaller than the sum of its parts. Continents drift, seafloor spreads, and plates evolve in interdependence, defying simple causality relationships. This talk explores how these models have reshaped our understanding of Earth's tectonics and presents future prospects in this evolving field.

Biography:  I am a university professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at Université Côte d'Azur in France. My research focuses on the dynamics of the Earth's interior. I work on plate tectonics, convection in the Earth's mantle, the boundary between the core and the mantle, as well as the history of the planet, particularly its evolution during its "youth."