Mark Richards - Faculty
Professor, Dean, Division of Physical Sciences, College of Letters and Science
285 McCone Hall
Berkeley, CA

Phone: (510) 642-8560
Fax: (510) 643-9980
E-Mail:

  Home | Academic Background | Research Interests | Awards | Students | Selected Publications

1. Richards, M. A., United States patent for direct view storage CRT design, invented 1977, issued 1979.

2. Born, G. H., M. A. Richards, and G. Rosborough, 1982, An empirical determination of the effects of sea state bias on SEASAT altimetry, J. Geophys. Res., 87, 3226.

3. Richards, M. A., and B. H. Hager, 1984, Geoid anomalies in a dynamic Earth, J. Geophys. Res., 89, 5987-6002.

4. Hager, B. H., R. W. Clayton, M. A. Richards, R. P. Comer, and A. M. Dziewonski, 1985, Lower mantle tomography, dynamic topography and the geoid, Nature, 313, 541-545.

5. Kiefer, W. S., M. A. Richards, B. H. Hager, and B. G. Bills, 1986, A dynamic model of Venus's gravity field, Geophys. Res. Lett., 13, 14-17.

6. Gubbins, D., and M. A. Richards, 1986, Core dynamo-mantle coupling: Thermal or topographic?, Geophys. Res. Lett., 13, 1521-1524.

7. Richards, M. A., and B. H. Hager, 1988, The Earth's geoid and the large-scale structure of mantle convection in The Physics of the Planets, S. K. Runcorn (editor), pp. 247-272.

8. Richards, M. A., B. H. Hager, and N. H. Sleep, 1988, Dynamically supported geoid highs over hotspots: Observation and theory, J. Geophys. Res., 93, 7690-7780.

9. Sleep, N. H., M. A. Richards, and B. H. Hager, 1988, Origin of mantle plumes from broad-scale flow: No old hotspot tracks?, J. Geophys. Res., 93, 7672-7689.

10. Richards, M. A., 1988, Seismic evidence for a weak basal layer during the 1982 surge of Variegated Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A., J. Glaciology, 34, 111-120.

11. Richards, M. A. and R. W. Griffiths, 1988, Deflection of plumes by mantle shear flow: Experimental results and a simple theory, Geophys. J. Roy. Astron. Soc., 94, 367-376.

12. Richards, M. A., and B. H. Hager, 1989, Effects of lateral viscosity variations on geoid anomalies and topography, J. Geophys. Res., 94, 10299-10313.

13. Hager, B. H. and M. A. Richards, 1989, Long-wavelength variations in Earth's geoid: Physical models and dynamical implications, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., A 328, 209-327.

14. Griffiths, R. W. and M. A. Richards, 1989, The adjustment of mantle plumes to changes in plate motion, Geophys. Res. Lett., 16, 437-440.

15. Richards, M. A. and G. F. Davies, 1989, On the separation of relatively buoyant components from subducted lithosphere, Geophys. Res. Lett., 16, 831-834.

16. Richards, M. A., R. A. Duncan, and V. E. Courtillot, 1989, Flood basalts and hotspot tracks: Plume heads and tails, Science, 246, 103-107.

17. Richards, M. A. and R. W. Griffiths, 1989, Thermal entrainment by deflected mantle plumes, Nature, 342, 900-902.

18. Richards, M. A. and C. W. Wicks, 1990, S-P Conversion from the transition zone beneath Tonga and the nature of the 670 km discontinuity, Geophys. J. Roy. Astron. Soc., 101, 1-35.

19. Duncan, R.A. and M.A. Richards, 1991, Hotspots, mantle plumes, flood basalts and true polar wander, Rev. Geophys., 29, 31-50.

20. Richards, M.A., 1991, Hotspots and the case for a high viscosity lower mantle, in Glacial Isostasy, Sea-Level and Mantle Rheology (R. Sabadini et al., eds.), Kluwer Academic Publisheres, Dordrecht, pp. 571-587.

21. Wicks, C. W. and M. A. Richards, 1991, Effects of shear-wave radiation patterns on S-P conversion beneath Tonga, Geophys. J. Roy. Astron. Soc., 107, 279-290.

22. Richards, M.A., D.L. Jones, D.J. DePaolo, and R.A. Duncan, 1991, A mantle plume initiation model for the formation of Wrangellia and other oceanic flood basalt plateaus, Science, 254, 263-267.

23. Christie, D.M., R.A. Duncan, A.R. McBirney, M.A. Richards, W.M. White, and Chris Fox, 1992, Drowned islands downstream from the Galapagos hotspot imply extended speciation times, Nature, 355, 246-248.

24. Davies, G.F. and M.A. Richards, 1992, Mantle convection, J. Geology, 100, 151-206.

25. Richards, M.A. and D.C. Engebretson, 1992, Large-scale mantle convection and the history of subduction, Nature, 355, 437-440.

26. Engebretson, D.C., K.P. Kelly, H.J. Cashman, and M.A. Richards, 1992, 180 million years of subduction, GSA Today, 2, 95-100.

27. Lithgow-Berteloni, C., M.A. Richards, Y. Ricard, R.J. O'Connell, and D.C. Engebretson, 1993, Toroidal-poloidal partitioning of plate motions since 120 Ma, Geophys. Res. Lett.., 20, 375-378.

28. Ricard, Y., M.A. Richards, C. Lithgow-Berteloni, and Y. LeStunff, 1993, A simple dynamical model of mantle heterogeneity, J. Geophys. Res., 98, 21895-21909.

29. Geist, D. and M.A. Richards, 1993, The origin of the Columbia Plateau and Snake River Plain: Deflection of the Yellowstone plume, Geology, 21, 789-792.

30. Wicks, C.W. and M.A. Richards, 1993, Depression of the seismic 670 km discontinuity beneath the Izu-Bonin and Marianas subduction zones, Science, 261, 1424-1427.

31. Feighner, M.A. and M.A. Richards, 1994, Lithospheric structure and compensation mechanisms of the Galapagos Archipelago, J. Geophys. Res., 99, 6711-6729.

32. Mitchell, C.E., P. Vincent, R.J. Weldon, III, and M.A. Richards, 1994, Present-day vertical deformation of the Çascadia margin, Pacific northwest, USA, J. Geophys. Res., 99, 12257-12277.

33. Farnetani, C.G. and M.A. Richards, 1994, Numerical investigations of the mantle plume initiation model for flood basalt events, J. Geophys. Res., 99, 13813-13833.

34. Feighner, M.A. and M.A. Richards, 1995, The fluid dynamics of plume-ridge and plume-plate interactions: An experimental investigation, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 129, 171-182.

35. Navrotsky, A., B. Romanowicz, M. Richards, and D. Weidner, 1995, Creating the Next Generation of Reference Earth Models, EOS, 76, 121-122.

36. Lithgow-Bertelloni, C. and M.A. Richards, 1995, Cenozoic plate driving forces, Geophys. Res. Lett., 22, 1317-1320.

37. Renne, P.R., Z. Zichao, M.A. Richards, M.T. Black, and A.R. Basu, 1995, Synchrony and causal relations between Permian-Triassic boundary crises and Siberian flood volcanics, Science, 269, 1413-1416.

38. Farnetani, C.G. and M.A. Richards, 1995, Thermal entrainment and melting in mantle plumes, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett, 136, 251-267.

39. Bunge, H.-P., M.A. Richards, and J.R. Baumgardner, 1996, Mantle convection with depth-dependent viscosity, Nature, 379, 436-438.

40. Richards, M.A. and C. Lithgow-Bertelloni, 1996, Plate motion changes, the Hawaiian-Emperor bend, and the apparent success of dynamical models, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 137, 19-27.

41. Bunge, H.-P. and M.A. Richards, 1996, The origin of long-wavelength structure in mantle convection: Effects of plate motions and viscosity stratification, Geophys. Res. Lett., 23, 2987-2990.

42. Farnetani, C.G. and M.A. Richards, 1996, Petrological models of magma evolution and deep crustal structure beneath hotspots and flood basalt provinces, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 143, 81-94.

43. Richards, M.A., Y. Ricard, C. Lithgow-Bertelloni, G. Spada, and R. Sabadini, 1997, An explanation for the long-term stability of Earth's rotation axis, Science, 275, 372-375.

44. Megnin, C., H.-P. Bunge, B. Romanowicz, and M.A. Richards, 1997, Imaging 3-D spherical convection models: What can seismic tomography tell us about mantle dynamics?, Geophys. Res. Lett., 24,1299-1302.

45. Bunge, H.-P., M.A. Richards, and J.R. Baumgardner, 1997, A sensitivity study of 3-D spherical mantle convection at 10**8 Rayleigh number: Effects of depth-dependent viscosity, heating mode, and an endothermic phase change, J. Geophys. Res., 102, 11991-12007.

46. Thoraval, C. and M.A. Richards, 1997, The geoid constraint in global geodynamics: Viscosity structure, mantle heterogeneity models, and boundary conditions, Geophys. J. Int., 131, 1-8.

47. Richards, M.A. and J.M. Stock, 1997, Follow the roving hotspots, EOS Trans. AGU, 78, 599-603.

48. Lithgow-Bertelloni, C. and M.A. Richards, 1998, The dynamics of Cenozoic and Mesozoic plate motions, Rev. Geophy., 36, 27-78.

49. Bunge, H.-P., M.A. Richards, C. Lithgow-Bertelloni, B.A. Romanowicz, and S.P. Grand, 1998, Time scales and heterogeneous structure in geodynamic Earth models, Science, 280, 91-95.

50. Richards, M.A., H.-P. Bunge, Y. Ricard, and J.R. Baumgardner, 1998, Polar wandering and inertial interchange events in mantle convection models, submitted to Geophys. Res. Lett.

51. Lithgow-Bertelloni, C. and M.A. Richards, 1998, Plume generation in natural thermal convection at high Rayleigh and Prandtl numbers, submitted to J. Fluid Mech.

52. Richards, M.A., H.-P. Bunge, C. Lithgow-Bertelloni, and J.R. Baumgardner, 1998, Mantle convection and plate motion history: Toward general circulation models, submitted to History and Dynamics of Global Plate Motions, AGU Monograph Series.

53. Bercovici, D., Y. Ricard, and M.A. Richards, 1998, The relation between mantle dynamics and plate tectonics: A somewhat biased primer, submitted to History and Dynamics of Global Plate Motions, AGU Monograph Series.