Rheological Boundaries in the Earth

The properties of lower crust control the coupling of mantle convection to shallow crustal dynamics, post-seismic creep and the chemical evolution of the Earth. On Earth we have xenolyths and exhumed lower crustal rocks to study and relate to geophysical, experimental and theoretical investigations. We will explore these avenues of research with the goal of synthesizing our understanding of the behavior of lower crust on Earth as well as other terrestrial planets.