Luc Lavier Research Professor, UTIG Assistant Professor, Department of Geological Sciences Telephone 512-471-0455 email: luc@ig.utexas.edu Ph.D., Columbia University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (1999); MD.E.A Tectonics & Geophysics (M. Sc. equivalent),Université de Montpellier, France (1991); Maîtrise & License in Theoretical Physics, Université de Besançon, France. Solid State Physics and Non Linear Optics (1990) Luc's CV

Luc's research focuses on large scale, tectonic questions, specifically the dynamic structural and geodynamical evolution of continental and oceanic rifts as well as collisional environments. To address these questions, he has used and developed numerical techniques to model tectonic processes on crustal and lithospheric scales. Luc uses a variety of geophysical and geological data to constrain and quantify tectonic processes, including "How To Break a Continent." These different studies led to the development of parametrizations to understand such phenomena as the localization of deformation and the initiation of subduction.

Research Projects
The effects of magma transfer and sedimentation on rifting, funded by Total Exploration France.

Uplift and faulting at the transition from subduction to collision - a field and modeling study of the Calabrian Arc, funded by NSF

North West Shelf, Australia: The Next Step in a Global Approach to Understanding the Role of Eustasy in the Generation and Preservation of Stratigraphy, funded by NSF

Collaborative Research: Taiwan Integrated Geodynamics Research, funded by NSF.

Collaborative Research: Constraining Fault Displacement Histories and Lithospheric Dynamics using Geology and Geophysics, funded by NSF.

Rheological Implications and Thermal Consequences of Extreme Extension in the Ultra-Deepwater Continental Margins of the South Atlantic Basins, funded by ExxonMobil.

Student Involvement

Selected Publications
Steckler, M. S., L. L. Lavier, From Carbonate Ramps to Clastic Progradation: Morphology and Stratigraphy of Continental Margins during Tertiary Global change, submitted to Nature, 2002.

Lavier, L. L. & Buck, W.R., Half-graben vs. large-offset low-angle normal fault: The importance of keeping cool during normal faulting, Journal of Geophysical Research, 2002.

Lavier, L. L., M. S. Steckler & F. Brigaud, Climatic and Tectonic Control on the Cenozoic Evolution of the West African Margin, Marine Geology, v. 178, p. 63-80, 2001.

Lavier, L. L., M.S. Steckler & F. Brigaud, An improved method for reconstruction of the stratigraphy and bathymetry of continental margins: Application to the Cenozoic tectonic and sedimentary history of the Congo margin, v. 84, n. 7, p. 923-939, AAPG, 2000.

Lavier, L. L., W. R. Buck & A. B. N. Poliakov, Factors controlling normal fault offset in an ideal brittle layer, Journal of Geophysical Research, B, Solid Earth and Planets, v. 105, p 23,431-23,442, 2000.

Lavier, L. L., W. R. Buck & A. B. N. Poliakov, A self-consistent rolling-hinge model for the evolution of large-offset low-angle normal faults, v. 27, p. 1127-1130, Geology, 1999.

Steckler M. S., S. Feinstein, B. P. Khon, L. L. Lavier & M. Eyal, Pattern of mantle thinning from subsidence and heat flow measurements in the Gulf of Suez: Evidence for the rotation of Sinai and along-strike flow from the Red Sea, Tectonics, n. 6, p. 903-920, 1998.

Lavier, L. L. & M. S. Steckler, The Effect of Sedimentary Cover on the Flexural Strength of Continental Lithosphere, Nature, vol. 389, p 476-479, 1997.

Luc's UTIG Contributions (Publications)