Upcoming Event: PhD Dissertation Defense

Modeling Subsurface Flow of Water in Earth and Planetary Sciences

Mohammad Afzal Shadab, Ph.D. Candidate, Oden Institute

Abstract

Water is essential for all known life forms. This thesis addresses key challenges involving the subsurface flow of water in Earth and planetary sciences by developing and utilizing advanced models. In Earth Science, we develop theoretical and mathematical models for infiltration into soil and firn (sintered and compacted snow). These fast, accurate, and large-scale models enable the study of prominent problems, such as the densification of firn, which leads to the depletion of glacier health and ultimately contributes to global sea-level rise.

Next, we delve into planetary science by investigating the subsurface flow of water within planetary bodies to assess their habitability (potential to sustain life). We develop mathematical and numerical models to study subsurface water migration on early Mars and present-day icy ocean worlds. The first estimates of migration and residence of water inside the Martian dunes and crust are made, impacting its resulting surface geomorphology and total water budget. Lastly, we develop new theoretical and numerical models to study the transport of meltwater generated from meteorite impacts across the ice shells of ocean worlds, delivering life-supporting materials into their corresponding subsurface oceans.

Ultimately, this work integrates advanced theoretical and mathematical models with observations (if available) to address complex geoscience problems, aiming to improve our understanding of subsurface water dynamics and its implications for climate change and planetary habitability.

Committee: Marc Andre Hesse, Clint Dawson, Bjorn Engquist, Patrick Heimbach, Surendra Adhikari (NASA Jet Propulsion Lab), Cyril Grima (University of Texas Institute for Geophysics), Ian Hewitt (University of Oxford)

 

Biography

Mohammad Afzal Shadab (Afzal, he/him) is a PhD Candidate in Computational Science, Engineering and Mathematics at the University of Texas at Austin and a NASA Jet Propulsion Lab Graduate Fellow ('22 & '23). His PhD thesis is on Modeling Subsurface Flow of Water in Earth and Planetary Sciences supervised by Prof. Marc Hesse at the Jackson School of Geosciences. He holds master's degrees in Computational Science, Engineering, and Mathematics from UT, as well as in Mechanical Engineering from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Prior to enrolling in the PhD program, he was a Visiting Graduate Researcher at MIT Fluids Lab.