ERC Advanced 882450 – 2020-2025
Micro-scale dependent, time- and space-evolving rheologies: the key for generating strain localization in the Earth
RhEoVOLUTION aims to unravel how the evolution of rock rheology controls strain localization at different scales in the Earth. To do so, we will develop a framework for modeling self-consistently strain localization in rocks deforming by ductile processes. We will design: (1) stochastic descriptions of the evolution of the rheology in time and space and (2) fast (supervised machine-learning) methods to calculate the evolution of its anisotropy, which we will incorporate in geodynamical and ice-flow models.
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News
New Research engineer in Computational Mechanics at GEOSCIENCES MONTPELLIER – from September 2025
Modeling Anisotropy in Geodynamics. She will contribute to the RhEoVOLUTION by developing new modelling tools to simulate the dynamics of the solid Earth. She will develop supervised machine learning models to predict how rocks change their structure and mechanical properties – specifically their elastic and viscoplastic anisotropy – as they deform deep within the Earth. Read more
NEW PREPRINT
Andréa Tommasi, Felipe Sáez-Leiva, Michel Peyret, Riad Hassani, Maurine Montagnat (2025) Modelling spontaneous ductile (viscous) strain localisation on Earth. https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.01360
Just hired: NEW PhD at GEOSCIENCES MONTPELLIER starting October 2025
Modelling plate tectonics: How do processes at different scales interact to create strain localization at the planet scale? The aim of the PhD project is to explore the interactions between processes active at different spatial (and temporal) scales during strain localization and develop coarse-graining techniques to define rheological laws able to produce self-consistently strain localization and, hence, simulate plate tectonics in geodynamical models. The work will build on the results of the entire ERC RhEoVOLUTION team, that is composed by >15 researchers of varied backgrounds (Geology, Glaciology, Solid and Fluid Mechanics, Material Sciences, Applied Mathematics…). Read more
NEW ARTICLE
Boissonneau, G., Tommasi, A., Barou, F., Lopez-Sanchez M.A., Montagnat, M. (2025) Dynamic recrystallization and mechanical behavior of Mg alloy AZ31: Constraints from tensile tests with in-situ EBSD analysis. Comptes Rendus Mécanique, 353:235-258, doi: 10.5802/crmeca.267
NEW ARTICLE
Kerswell, B., Cerpa, N., Tommasi, A., Godard, M. Padron-Navarta, J.A. RocMLMs: Predicting Rock Properties through Machine Learning Models. Journal of Geophysical Research – Machine Learning and Computation, e2024JH000264. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JH000264
NEW ARTICLE
Chardelin, M., Tommasi, A., Padron-Navarta, J.A. Progressive strain localization and fluid-focusing in mantle shear zones during rifting: Petrostructural constraints from the Zabargad peridotites, Red Sea. J. Petrology, in press. Preprint at HAL https://hal.science/hal-04387529
JUST PUBLISHED!
Chauve, T., Montagnat, M., Dansereau, V. Saramito, P., Fourteau, K., Tommasi, A. (2024) A physically-based formulation for texture evolution during dynamic recrystallization. A case study for ice. Comptes rendus Mécanique, in press. Preprint: https://hal.science/hal-04231338
PUBLICATION
Decoupling between strain localisation and the microstructural record: evidence from in-situ strain measurements in polycrystalline ice.
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Evolution of strain field and microstructure in polycrystalline ice using in situ experiments
PUBLICATION
Dynamic recrystallization by subgrain rotation in olivine revealed by high-spatial resolution electron backscatter diffraction.
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PUBLICATION
The Borborema strike-slip shear zone system (NE Brazil): Large-scale intracontinental strain localization in a heterogeneous plate.
