I am a geologist and finished my university studies at the Free University Berlin in April, 2009. For my diploma thesis, I used analog models of giant megathrust subduction earthquakes to study the surface deformation during the course of a seismic cycle. This work was carried out in the framework of the German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam (GFZ Potsdam). Since October, 2009, I am part of Simula's “Computational Geoscience” research group in close collaboration with the geodynamics group at the Ludwig-Maximilian University (LMU Munich) and Statoil. During my first year at Simula I worked as a research trainee. This "extra" year provided me the required time to acquire a deeper understanding of geophysical processes and the functionality of numerical models. Since October, 2010, I am a PhD student supervised by Dr. Stuart R.Clark (Simula) and Professor Hans-Peter Bunge (LMU Munich). During the first part of my PhD, I focused on the kinematic reconstruction and on the regional mantle dynamics of the Scotia Sea. Just recently, I extended this work by developing a mantle/lithosphere numerical model of the Scotia Sea to further understand the geodynamics of this region.
During my spare time, I enjoy long distance running, cross country skiing and playing basketball.
Research Interests:
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Plate reconstruction modelling
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Numerical modelling of the forces that drive tectonic plates
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Analog modelling of earthquakes
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Geodynamics in general
Research Activities:
I am currently involved in the following research projects:
Publications:
Nerlich, R., Clark, S. R., and H.-P. Bunge (2012), The Scotia Sea gateway: no outlet for the Pacific mantle, (submitted to Tectonophysics).
Rosenau, M., Nerlich, R., Brune, S., and O. Oncken (2010), Experimental insights into the scaling and variability of local tsunamis triggered by giant subduction megathrust earthquakes, J. Geophys. Res., 115, B09314, doi:10.1029/2009JB007100.
Talks:
Nerlich, R., Clark, S. R., Moder, C., and H.-P. Bunge (2012), The Scotia Sea: Mantle dynamics + plate forces, Computational Geoscience Workshop, Geilo (Norway), January 2012.
Nerlich, R., Clark, S. R., and H.-P. Bunge (2011), The Scotia Sea gateway: An outlet for Pacific mantle at present day?, Geological Society of America (GSA) - Fragile Earth, Munich (Germany), September 2011.
Nerlich, R., Clark, S. R., and H.-P. Bunge (2011), Reconstructing the Scotia Sea: an evaluation of existing plate reconstructions and their kinematic and dynamic implications, EGU, Vienna (Austria), April 2011.
Poster:
Nerlich, R., Clark, S. R., and H.-P. Bunge (2012), The Scotia Sea: no asthenosphere outlet from under the Pacific, EGU, Vienna (Austria), April 2012.
Nerlich, R., Clark, S. R., and H.-P. Bunge (2011), The Scotia Sea gateway: no longer an outlet for the Pacific mantle, SAMPLE Workshop, Potsdam (Germany), June 2011.
