Research Expertise and Interest

Earth's mantle, material properties of Earth

Research Description

Harriet Lau is interested in understanding the large-scale properties of Earth, but in particular, the anelastic/viscous and buoyancy structure of the mantle. Her work involves studying processes across different timescales, from solid earth tides (~ hours) to post-glacial rebound (~ 10,000 years), making sure that our theoretical understanding of these dissipative processes is consistent across this broad spectrum. With such a framework, observations may then be used to infer various material properties of the Earth, from the long-wavelength buoyancy structure of the deep mantle to the transient nature of Earth's rheology.