Rock strength plays a significant role in governing the pace and dominant process of landscape evolution, in that it (1) provides the source of erosive tools through breakdown processes, and (2) modulates the efficacy of the erosive processes which lead to that breakdown. Thus, understanding the characteristic timescales of rock strength evolution and how external forcing drive strength change is necessary to inform process-based models of landscape evolution across scales.

​

Fatigue, or cumulative damage in response to small, cyclic stresses, has been well-studied in engineering, with specific regard to metals, but the application of cumulative damage laws and the physics of wear have not been applied as widely to geologic processes, though cyclic stressing by small forces (i.e. thermal stresses, small bedload impacts, etc.) are common drivers of rock breakdown. A successful application of a fatigue model to earth surface processes would be a step forward in bridging the fields of materials science, engineering, and earth science.

​

The overarching goal of my postdoctoral work is to develop a quantitative and mechanistic understanding of rock damage accumulation and healing in response to cyclic forcing, and to better determine the relation between damage accumulation and the pace of bedrock erosion. 

​

To begin to evaluate the role of cyclic stresses in driving damage we've set up a seismic observatory to monitor sea cliff response to cyclic wave action on the Orkney Islands in Scotland.  Instruments are in and recording - stay tuned!

​

​

tl;dr Do small forces matter for rock strength evolution and variations in erodibility?  I'm working on it!

​

​

Work detailed here is ongoing - email me for more info!

​

​