Professor Greg Houseman

Profile

Professor Greg Houseman attended Sydney University (BSc Hons I) and Cambridge University (PhD, 1982) where his thesis was on the subject of convection in the Earth's mantle. He subsequently held research positions at Harvard University and the Australian National University and, from 1988 to 2000, taught in the Departments of Earth Sciences and Mathematics at Monash University in Melbourne.  He has been based at the University of Leeds since 2001 as Professor of Geophysics.

Research interests

Professor Houseman's research focusses on the large-scale structure of the Earth's lithosphere and the processes that have acted through geological time to produce the structures we observe today.  Mantle convection and tectonic plate movements cause large-scale deformation of the continental lithosphere. Professor Houseman has developed innovative modelling software using 2D and 3D finite element methods to explain how the deformation is distributed at the regional scale and has used models of such deformation to measure the large-scale rheological properties of the crust and lithosphere.  In support of these investigations Professor Houseman has undertaken large-scale seismic experiments involving the deployment of temporary seismograph stations, with the objective of mapping the large-scale lithospheric structure of the paleozoic fold belts of south-east Australia (1998-2000), the Pannonian-Carpathian region (2005-2011) and the North Anatolian Fault in Turkey (2012-2013).  In addition to using non-linear viscous models to explain geological deformation on the long time scale, he has developed visco-elastic deformation modelling software to explain how the earth responds during and after a major earthquake.

Research groups and institutes

• Institute of Geophysics and Tectonics