Department of Statistics SeminarNorth Carolina State University presents Ping MaUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign A Journey to the Center of the Earth
ABSTRACT At a depth of
~2890 km, the core-mantle boundary (CMB) separates turbulent flow of liquid
metals in the outer core from slowly convecting,
highly viscous mantle silicates. The CMB marks the most dramatic change in
dynamic processes and material properties in our planet, and accurate images of
the structure at or near the CMB -- over large areas -- are crucially important
for our understanding of present day geodynamical processes and the
thermo-chemical structure and history of the mantle and mantle-core system. In
addition to mapping the CMB we need to know if other structures exist directly
above or below it, what they look like, and what they mean (in terms of
physical and chemical material properties and geodynamical processes).
Detection, imaging, (multi-scale) characterization, and understanding of
structure (e.g., interfaces) in this remote region have been -- and are likely
to remain -- a frontier in cross-disciplinary geophysics research. We will
discuss the statistical problems and challenges in imaging the CMB through
generalized Radon transform.
Friday, October 24, 2008
3:35-4:35 pm
321 Riddick
Refreshments will be served in the Riddick Reading Room at 3:00pm. NOTE: No food or drink is allowed in any of the classrooms in Riddick Hall.