Position

Professor Emeritus
University Research Professor

Contact Information

Office: ER 4040
Phone: 709-864-7565
Fax: 709-864-2589
E-mail: mrochest@mun.ca

Research Interests

My research field is theoretical global geodynamics. It involves applying the conservation laws of physics (formulated as partial differential equations and boundary conditions) to better understand the dynamic behaviour of the Earth as a planet. Some of the most difficult problems in this research arise from the presence of the Earth's large liquid iron core (its "third ocean") and the combined effects of the Earth's gravitation, rotation, and magnetic field. My research currently has two principal objectives:

to build a more rigorous and satisfactory mathematical description of the small periodic changes in the orientation of the Earth's rotation axis, which geophysicists call "wobble" and astronomers call "nutation".to understand the spectrum of waves in the Earth's core, which might be excited by a sufficiently large deep earthquake, and be registered on the array of superconducting gravity meters now being deployed around the world as part of the international Global Geodynamics Project.