Clint Conrad
Associate Professor


Office: Post 804
Phone: 808-956-6649
Fax: 808-956-5152
E-mail: clintc@hawaii.edu

Department of Geology and Geophysics
SOEST, University of Hawaii
1680 East-West Road
Honolulu, Hawaii 96822


Main | Research Interests | Research Group | Courses | Publications | Background | More Information


Conrad Peer-Reviewed Publications

All of the publications listed here were peer-reviewed. Please also see other contributions.

2013

  1. Ruban, D.A., and C.P. Conrad (2013), Late Silurian-Middle Devonian long-term shoreline shifts on the northern Gondwanan margin: Eustatic versus tectonic controls, Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, in press. [online version] [preprint]
  2. Conrad, C.P. (2013), The solid earth's influence on sea level, Geological Society of America Bulletin, 125, 1027-1052, doi:10.1130/B30764.1. [online version] [reprint] [GSA 125 articles] [cover image]
  3. Conrad, C.P., B. Steinberger, and T.H. Torsvik (2013), Stability of active mantle upwelling revealed by net characteristics of plate tectonics, Nature, 498, 479-482, doi:10.1038/nature12203. [online version] [online supplement] [auxiliary material]
    Press: [UH Manoa] [NBC News] [Discovery News] [phys.org] [Science Daily]
    [Radio Australia] [San Jose Sun] [Honolulu Star-Advertiser]
    [Science News for Kids]
    In German: [scinexx] [innovations report]
    In French: [bulletins-electroniques] [futura-sciences]
  4. van Summeren‡, J., E. Gaidos, and C.P. Conrad (2013), Magnetodynamo lifetimes for rocky, Earth-mass exoplanets with contrasting mantle convection regimes, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 118, 938-951, doi:10.1002/jgre.20077. [online version] [reprint]
  5. Ballmer‡, M.D., C.P. Conrad, E.I. Smith, and N. Harmon (2013), Non-hotspot volcano chains produced by migration of shear-driven upwelling toward the East Pacific Rise, Geology, 41, 479-482, doi:10.1130/G33804.1. [online version] [reprint] [auxiliary material] [News note in Earth]
  6. Faccenna, C., T.W. Becker, C.P. Conrad, and L. Husson (2013), Mountain building and mantle dynamics, Tectonics, 32, 80-93, doi:10.1029/2012TC003176. [online version] [reprint]

2012

  1. Husson, L., and C.P. Conrad (2012), On the location of hotspots in the framework of mantle convection, Geophysical Research Letters, 39, L17304, doi:10.1029/2012GL052866. [online version] [reprint]
  2. Natarov†, S.I., and C.P. Conrad (2012), The role of Poiseuille flow in creating depth-variation of asthenospheric shear, Geophysicsal Journal International, 190 , 1297-1310, doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2012.05562.x. [online version] [reprint]
  3. Combes, M., C. Grigné, L. Husson, C.P. Conrad, S. Le Yaouanq, M. Parenthoën, C. Tisseau, and J. Tisseau (2012), Multiagent simulation of evolutive plate tectonics applied to the thermal evolution of the Earth, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 13, Q05006, doi:10.1029/2011GC004014. [online version] [reprint]
  4. Heuret, A., C.P. Conrad, F. Funiciello, S. Lallemand, and L. Sandri (2012), Relation between subduction megathrust earthquakes, trench sediment thickness and upper plate strain, Geophysical Research Letters, 39, L05304, doi:10.1029/2011GL050712. [online version] [reprint] [auxiliary material]
  5. van Summeren‡, J., C.P. Conrad, and C. Lithgow-Bertelloni (2012), The importance of slab pull and a global asthenosphere to plate motions, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 13, Q0AK03, doi:10.1029/2011GC003873. [online version] [reprint] [theme issue]
  6. Husson, L., C.P. Conrad, and C. Faccenna (2012), Plate motions, Andean orogeny, and volcanism above the South Atlantic convection cell, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 317-318, 126-135, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2011.11.040. [online version] [reprint]
  7. Ruban, D.A., S.O. Zorina, C.P. Conrad, and N.I. Afanasieva (2012), In quest of Paleocene global-scale transgressions and regressions: constraints from a synthesis of regional trends, Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 123, 7-18, doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2011.08.003. [online version] [reprint]

2011

  1. Bianco‡, T.A., C.P. Conrad, and E.I. Smith (2011), Time-dependence of intraplate volcanism caused by shear-driven upwelling of low-viscosity regions within the asthenosphere, Journal of Geophysical Research, 116, B11103, doi:10.1029/2011JB008270. [online version] [reprint]
  2. van Summeren‡, J., C.P. Conrad, and E. Gaidos (2011), Mantle convection, plate tectonics, and volcanism on hot exo-Earths, The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 736, L15, doi:10.1088/2041-8205/736/1/L15. [online version] [reprint] [abstract in ExoPlanet News]
  3. Conrad, C.P., T.A. Bianco‡, E.I. Smith, and P. Wessel (2011), Patterns of intraplate volcanism controlled by asthenospheric shear, Nature Geoscience, 4, 317-321, doi:10.1038/ngeo1111. [online version] [reprint] [online supplement] [news & views] [news note in Earth] [article in New Scientist] [Basaltic volcanism locations: intraplate other]

2010

  1. Ruban, D., C.P. Conrad, and A.J. van Loon (2010), The challenge of reconstructing the Phanerozoic sea level and the Pacific Basin tectonics, Geologos, 16, 237-245, doi:10.2478/v10118-010-0007-9. [online version] [reprint]
  2. Ruban, D., S. Zorina, and C.P. Conrad (2010), No global-scale transgressive-regressive cycles in the Thanetian (Paleocene): evidence from interregional correlation, Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, 295, 226-235, doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.05.040. [online version] [reprint]
  3. Gaidos, E., C.P. Conrad, M. Manga, and J. Hernlund (2010), Thermodynamic limits on magnetodynamos in rocky exoplanets, Astrophysical Journal, 718, 596-609, doi:10.1088/0004-637X/718/2/596. [online version] [reprint]
  4. Fiedler§, J.W., and C.P. Conrad (2010), Spatial variability of sea level rise due to water impoundment behind dams, Geophysical Research Letters, 37, L12603, doi:10.1029/2010GL043462. [online version] [reprint] [highlighted in Nature] [response model]
  5. Conrad, C.P., and M.D. Behn (2010), Constraints on lithosphere net rotation and asthenospheric viscosity from global mantle flow models and seismic anisotropy, Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 11, Q05W05, doi:10.1029/2009GC002970. [online version] [reprint] [theme issue] [mantle flow model]
  6. Conrad, C.P., B. Wu†, E.I. Smith, T.A. Bianco‡, and A. Tibbetts (2010), Shear-driven upwelling induced by lateral viscosity variations and asthenospheric shear: A mechanism for intraplate volcanism, Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 178, 162-175, doi:10.1016/j.pepi.2009.10.001. [online version] [reprint] [highlighted in Nature Geoscience] [summary on MantlePlumes.org]

2009

  1. Naliboff, J.B., C.P. Conrad, and C. Lithgow-Bertelloni (2009), Modification of the Lithospheric Stress Field by Lateral Variations in Plate-Mantle Coupling, Geophysical Research Letters, 36, L22307, doi:10.1029/2009GL040484. [online version] [reprint] [AGU journal highlight in EOS]
  2. Conrad, C.P., and L. Husson (2009), Influence of dynamic topography on sea level and its rate of change, Lithosphere, 1, 110-120, doi:10.1130/L32.1. [online version] [reprint] [dynamic topography model]
  3. Cooper, C.M., and C.P. Conrad (2009), Does the mantle control the maximum thickness of cratons?, Lithosphere, 1, 67-72, doi:10.1130/L40.1. [online version] [erratum] [reprint]
  4. Métivier‡, L., O. de Viron, C.P. Conrad, S. Renault, M. Diament, and G. Patau (2009), Evidence of earthquake triggering by the solid earth tides, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 278, 370-375, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2008.12.024. [online version] [reprint] [New Scientist Article] [Geo.de Article (in German)] [Johns Hopkins News-Letter] [MSNBC-Discovery]
  5. Becker, T.W., C.P. Conrad, B. Buffett, and R.D. Müller (2009), Past and present seafloor age distributions and the temporal evolution of plate tectonic heat transport, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 278, 233-242, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2008.12.007. [online version] [reprint]

2008

  1. Métivier‡, L., and C.P. Conrad (2008), Body tides of a convecting, laterally heterogeneous, and aspherical Earth, Journal of Geophysical Research, 113, B11405, doi:10.1029/2007JB005448. [online version] [reprint] [auxiliary material]
  2. Meade, B.J., and C.P. Conrad (2008), Andean growth and the deceleration of South American subduction: Time evolution of a coupled orogen-subduction system, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 275, 93-101, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2008.08.007. [online version] [reprint] [Discovery Channel Article] [highlight in Nature Geoscience]
  3. Smith, E.I., C.P. Conrad, T. Plank, A. Tibbetts, and D. Keenan (2008), Testing models for basaltic volcanism: implications for Yucca Mountain, Nevada, American Nuclear Society, Proceedings of the 12th International High-Level Radioactive Waste Management Conference, 157-164. [printed version] [reprint]
  4. Wu†, B., C.P. Conrad, and A. Heuret, C. Lithgow-Bertelloni, and S. Lallemand (2008), Reconciling strong slab pull and weak plate bending: The plate motion constraint on the strength of mantle slabs, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 272, 412-421, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2008.05.009 [online version] [reprint] [table 1]
  5. Husson, L., C.P. Conrad, and C. Faccenna (2008), Tethyan closure, Andean orogeny, and westward drift of the Pacific basin, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 271, 303-310, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2008.04.022. [online version] [reprint] [highlight in Nature Geoscience]

2007

  1. Loyd, S.J., T.W. Becker, C.P. Conrad, C. Lithgow-Bertelloni, and F.A. Corsetti (2007), Time variability in Cenozoic reconstructions of mantle heat flow: Plate tectonic cycles and implications for Earth's thermal evolution, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104, 14266-14271, doi:10.1073/pnas.0706667104. [online version] [reprint] [Geology Times article] [Synopsis at PNAS]
  2. Conrad, C.P., M.D. Behn, and P.G. Silver (2007), Global mantle flow and the development of seismic anisotropy: Differences between the oceanic and continental upper mantle, Journal of Geophysical Research, 112, B07317, doi:10.1029/2006JB004608. [online version] [reprint] [auxiliary material] [flow model and anisotropy code]
  3. Steiner†, S.A., and C.P. Conrad (2007), Does active mantle upwelling help drive plate motions?, Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 161, 103-114, doi:10.1016/j.pepi.2007.01.005. [online version] [reprint]
  4. Conrad, C.P., and C. Lithgow-Bertelloni (2007), Faster seafloor spreading and lithosphere production during the mid-Cenozoic, Geology, 35, 29-32, doi:10.1130/G22759A.1. [online version] [reprint] [highlight in Nature] [spreading rate data]

2006

  1. Husson, L., and C.P. Conrad (2006), Tectonic velocities, dynamic topography, and relative sea level, Geophysical Research Letters, 33, L18303, doi:10.1029/2006GL026834. [online version] [reprint]
  2. Conrad, C.P., and C. Lithgow-Bertelloni (2006), Influence of continental roots and asthenosphere on plate-mantle coupling, Geophysical Research Letters, 33, L05312, doi:10.1029/2005GL025621. [online version] [reprint] [lithosphere thickness model]
  3. Xu, X., C. Lithgow-Bertelloni, and C.P. Conrad (2006), Global reconstructions of Cenozoic seafloor ages: Implications for bathymetry and sea level, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 243, 552-564, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2006.01.010. [online version] [reprint]

2005

  1. Jahren, A.H., C.P. Conrad, N.C. Arens, G. Mora, and C. Lithgow-Bertelloni (2005), A plate tectonic mechanism for methane hydrate release along subduction zones, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 236, 691-704, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2005.06.009. [online version] [reprint]
  2. Bilek, S.L., C.P. Conrad, and C. Lithgow-Bertelloni (2005), Slab pull, slab weakening, and their relation to deep intra-slab seismicity, Geophysical Research Letters, 32, L14305, doi:10.1029/2005GL022922. [online version] [reprint]

2004

  1. Conrad, C.P., S. Bilek, and C. Lithgow-Bertelloni (2004), Great earthquakes and slab pull: interaction between seismic coupling and plate-slab coupling, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 218, 109-122, doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(03)00643-5 [online version] [reprint]
  2. Conrad, C.P., C. Lithgow-Bertelloni, and K.E. Louden (2004), Iceland, the Farallon slab, and dynamic topography of the North Atlantic, Geology, 32, 177-180, doi:10.1130/G20137.1 [online version] [reprint]
  3. Conrad, C.P., and C. Lithgow-Bertelloni (2004), The temporal evolution of plate driving forces: Importance of "slab suction" versus "slab pull" during the Cenozoic, Journal of Geophysical Research, 109, B10407, doi:10.1029/2004JB002991. [online version] [reprint]
  4. Behn, M.D., C.P. Conrad, and P.G. Silver (2004), Detection of upper mantle flow associated with the African superplume, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 224, 259-274, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2004.05.026. [online version] [reprint]

2003

  1. Conrad, C.P., and M. Gurnis (2003), Mantle flow, seismic tomography and the breakup of Gondwanaland: Integrating mantle convection backwards in time, Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 4, 1031, doi:10.1029/2001GC000299. [online version] [reprint]

2002

  1. Conrad, C.P., and C. Lithgow-Bertelloni (2002), How mantle slabs drive plate tectonics, Science, 298, 207-209, doi:10.1126/science.1074161. [online version] [reprint] [online supplement] [U. Michigan press release] [Geotimes article]

2001

  1. Conrad, C.P., and B.H. Hager (2001), Mantle convection with strong subduction zones, Geophysical Journal International, 144, 271-288, doi:10.1046/j.1365-246x.2001.00321.x. [online version] [reprint]
  2. Lithgow-Bertelloni, C., M.A. Richards, C.P. Conrad, and R.W. Griffiths (2001), Plume generation in natural and thermal convection at high Rayleigh and Prandtl numbers, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 434, 1-21, doi:10.1017/S0022112001003706. [online version] [reprint]

2000

  1. Conrad, C.P. (2000), Convective instability of thickening mantle lithosphere, Geophysical Journal International, 143, 52-70, doi:10.1046/j.1365-246x.2000.00214.x. [online version] [reprint]

1999

  1. Conrad, C.P., and B.H. Hager (1999), Effects of plate bending and fault strength at subduction zones on plate dynamics, Journal of Geophysical Research, 104, 17551-17571, doi:10.1029/1999JB900149. [online version] [reprint]
  2. Conrad, C.P., and B.H. Hager (1999), The thermal evolution of an earth with strong subduction zones, Geophysical Research Letters, 26, 3041-3044, doi:10.1029/1999GL005397. [online version] [reprint]
  3. Conrad, C.P., and P. Molnar (1999), Convective instability of a boundary layer with temperature- and strain-rate-dependent viscosity in terms of "available buoyancy", Geophysical Journal International, 139, 51-68, doi:10.1046/j.1365-246X.1999.00896.x. [online version] [reprint]

1998

  1. Molnar, P., G.A. Houseman, and C.P. Conrad (1998), Rayleigh-Taylor instability and convective thinning of mechanically thickened lithosphere: Effects of non-linear viscosity decreasing exponentially with depth and of horizontal shortening of the layer, Geophysical Journal International, 133, 568-584, doi:10.1046/j.1365-246X.1998.00510.x. [online version] [reprint]

1997

  1. Conrad, C.P., and B.H. Hager (1997), Spatial variations in the rate of sea level rise caused by the present-day melting of glaciers and ice sheets, Geophysical Research Letters, 24, 1503-1506, doi:10.1029/97GL01338. [online version] [reprint]
  2. Conrad, C.P., and P. Molnar (1997), The growth of Rayleigh-Taylor-type instabilities in the lithosphere for various rheological and density structures, Geophysical Journal International, 129, 95-112, doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.1997.tb00939.x. [online version] [reprint]

1996

1995

  1. Conrad, C.P., and B.H. Hager (1995), The elastic response of the earth to interannual variations in Antarctic precipitation, Geophysical Research Letters, 22, 3183-3186, doi:10.1029/95GL03176. [online version] [reprint]

§ an undergraduate student working in my research group
† a graduate student working in my research group
‡ a postdoctoral scholar working in my research group



Other Conrad Publications

  • Conrad, C.P. (2012), Review of A Student's Guide to Geophysical Equations by W. Lowrie, 2011, Geological Magazine, 149, 1132-1133. [online version] [reprint]
  • Podcast: Net Characteristics and Driving Forces of Plate Tectonics , GG711 Seminar on Advanced Plate Tectonics, recorded in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 2, 2012. [GG711 Podcasts] [iTunes U]
  • Dalton, C.A., C.P. Conrad, and A.M. Trehu (2011), What is the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary? , EOS, Transactions American Geophysical Union, 92, 481, doi:10.1029/2011EO510009. (meeting report) [online version] [reprint] [Earthscope Institute Website]
  • Lecture: 50 Years of Plate Tectonics, but What is the Driving Force? , 24th Kongsberg Seminar, Norway lecture recorded in Kongsberg, Norway, May 12, 2011, [YouTube] [vimeo]
  • Conrad, C.P. (2000), Effects of lithospheric strength on convection in the Earth's mantle, PhD Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. [Available from MIT] [Abstract, Table of Contents, & Chap. 1] [Chap. 2] [Chap. 3] [Chap. 4] [Chap. 5] [Chap. 6] [Chap. 7 & Refs.]