About Patrick

Earth's mantle lies between the crust and the core. The mantle convects, driven by internal variations in temperature and composition. This circulation causes the tectonic plates above to uplift and subside in response to upwelling and sinking mantle, respectively. It is important to map variations in mantle temperature and composition through space and time so that we can better understand the mantle's role in shaping Earth's surface. My research focuses on using a variety of different methods to probe the temperature and chemical structure of the uppermost mantle, i.e., the top 200 km. 1. Volcanic rocks begin life as melts generated within the mantle. I collect these rocks and analyse their chemical compositions to uncover important information about the mantle from which the were derived. 2. The speed at which earthquake waves propagate through the Earth depends on the temperature and composition of each layer they encounter. I use earthquake data to create maps of seismic wave speeds and then I convert those maps into temperature to investigate the thermal structure of the uppermost mantle. 3. I develop computational models of mantle convection and mantle melting to understand how changes to the thermal and chemical structure of the uppermost mantle impact lithospheric structure and volcanic activity.

Google Scholar Profile CV

Interests

  • Dynamic Topography
  • Geodynamics
  • Igneous Geochemistry
  • Seismology

Education

Ph.D, Earth Sciences - University of Cambridge
Cambridge, UK, 2019

MEarthSci, Earth Sciences - University of Oxford
Oxford, UK, 2015

Graduate & Advisor Program

Derek Schutt
Professor in the Department of Geosciences

Wolfgang Bangerth
Professor in the Department of Mathematics

Selected Articles

Asthenospheric and Lithospheric Controls on North African Volcanism

Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 3520-3555, July

Ball, P. W., White, N. J., Masoud, A., Nixon, S., Hoggard, M., Maclennan, J., Stuart, F. M., Oppenheimer, C., Kroepelin, S.

Global Influence of Mantle Temperature and Plate Thickness on Intraplate Magmatism

Nature Communications, 1-12, April

Ball, P. W., White, N. J., Maclennan, J., Stephenson, S. N.

Thermal Structure of Eastern Australia's Upper Mantle and its Relationship to Cenozoic Volcanic Activity and Dynamic Topography

Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 1-22, August

Ball, P. W., Czarnota, K., White, N. J., Kloecking, M., Davies, D. R.