I study icy geophysics, primarily through modeling. I aim to better understand the interior composition and structure of icy bodies.
Ceres
I use the finite element method (FEM) to construct crater relaxation models on Ceres. Ice flows more readily than rock over geologic time. I use my FEM models to constrain the ice content on Ceres’ crust based on how much agreement there is between the simulations and observations.
Because Ceres is the closest icy body to the sun, insolation may be able to drive topographic evolution. Large craters will have cold, poleward facing walls and warm, equatorward facing walls. The difference in temperature may lead to the equatorward facing wall viscously relaxing more resulting in asymmetric crater walls. I model these larger craters on Ceres to try to reproduce wall slope measurements made from topographic data.
Callisto
Callisto is thought to be the only Galilean moon that could be partially differentiated. I will be studying how nonhydrostatic stresses could affect the measured moment of inertia value. These nonhydrostatic effects could be hiding a lower moment of inertia value that suggests a fully differentiated Callisto.
I also have investigated convection in Callisto’s ice shell. With a new rheology invoked, Callisto would resist convection in its ice shell with a small impurity content.