Mantle Circulation Models with Variational Data Assimilation: Inferring Past Mantle Flow and Structure from Plate Motion Histories and Seismic Tomography
Prof. Dr. H. P. Bunge (Geophysics Section, Department of Geo and Environmental Sciences, Ludwig Maximilians University)

In this talk I will present computational methods to reconstruct the internal heterogeneity structure of the Earth back into its recent geologic past. The approach is just beginning to become feasible due to rapid advances on three related fronts: 1) well-known inverse formalisms (history matching) capable of constraining complex flow structures back in time, 2) increasingly realistic images of the internal structure of the Earth, 3) dramatic growth in computational power, aided in recent years primarily by cost-efficient, off-the-shelf distributed computing.
The latter is essential to handle the complexity embedded in modern global models of the Earth's dynamic interior.

I will present synthetic examples to demonstrate how planetary heterogeneity structure may be restored back into the Cretaceous geologic period some 100 million years ago, a time when Dinosaurs roamed the Earth. I will discuss the broader geologic significance of this result, which includes continental landscape evolution and implications for the magnetic reversal behavior of the Earth's core. I will conclude by stressing the great importance of modern high performance computing to continued progress in geophysical research.