Contact

Universität Potsdam
Institut für Geowissenschaften
Haus 27, Zi. 2.26
Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24
14476 Golm

Email: melnick@geo.uni-potsdam.de
Tel.: +49 331 977 5836
Fax: +49 331 977 5700

AGU Chapman Conference on Giant Earthquakes and Their Tsunamis

Valparaíso-Viña del Mar and Valdivia, Chile 17–24 May 2010
(includes the 50th anniversary of the giant 1960 Chile earthquake and tsunami)

Research Interests

In general active deformation processes at convergent margins, coastal geomorphology, segmentation of tectonic processes, structural geology, climate-tectonic interactions, active rifting, and volcanotectonics.

Research Projects

-The seismic cycle in subduction zones: quantification of deformation rates and strain partitioning in the 1960 Chile earthquake segment. In collaboration with Marco Cisternas, Marcos Moreno, Marcelo Lagos, Manfred Strecker.

-Holocene extension rate and structural style of the North Kenya Rift from deformed shorelines of the Suguta Valley and southern Turkana lake regions. In collaboration with Yannick Garcin and Manfred Strecker.

-Style of Quaternary deformation in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and rates from lacustrine shorelines. In collaboration with Yannick Garcin, Manfred Strecker, Alkor Sagansara, Attila Ciner, Kadir Dirik, and the Topoeurope VAMP project.

Education and Professional Experience

2007/2009 Research fellow in Geosciences at the University of Potsdam.

2004/2007 PhD Thesis: 'Neogene seismotectonics of the south-central Chile margin - Subduction processes over various temporal and spatial scales'. University of Potsdam, Germany. Developed at GeoForschungsZentrum-Potsdam.

2002/2004 MSc Thesis: 'Geología del Cuadrángulo Volcán Copahue (38°S, 71°O), VIII Región Chile, Provincia del Neuquén, Argentina: Implicancias en la tectónica regional'. Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra, Universidad de Concepción, Chile.

Reviewer for Geology, Tectonics, Journal of Geophysical Research, Tectonophysics, Marine Geophysical Letters, Terra Nova.

Publications

email me for pdf reprints

14. Scalabrino, B., LaGabrielle, Y., Malavieille, J., Dominguez, S., Melnick, D., Espinoza, F., Suarez, M., and Rossello, E. A., 2009, A morphotectonic analysis of Central Patagonian Cordillera. Negative inversion of the Andean belt over a buried spreading center?, Tectonics, doi:10.1029/2009TC002453, in press.

13. Stefer, S., Moernaut, J., Melnick, D., Echtler, H.P., Arz, H.W., Lamy, F., De Batist, M., Oncken, O., and Haug, G.H., 2009, Forearc uplift rates deduced from sediment cores of two coastal lakes in south-central Chile: Tectonophysics, in press.

12. Moreno, M.S., Bolte, J., Klotz, J., Melnick, D., 2009, Impact of megathrust geometry on inversion of coseismic slip from geodetic data: Application to the 1960 Chile earthquake: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 36, p. L16310.

11. Garcin, Y., Junginger, A., Melnick, D., Olago, D.O., Strecker, M.R., Trauth, M.H., 2009, Late Pleistocene-Holocene rise and collapse of the Lake Suguta, northern Kenya Rift: Quaternary Science Reviews, v. 28, p. 911-925.

10. Melnick, D., Bookhagen, B., Strecker, M., and Echtler, H., 2009, Segmentation of megathrust rupture zones from forearc deformation patterns over hundreds to millions of years, Arauco Peninsula, Chile: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 114, p. B01407.

9. Moreno, M. Klotz, J., Melnick, D., Echtler, H., Bataille, K., 2008, Active faulting and heterogeneous deformation across a megathrust segment boundary from GPS data, south-central Chile (36-39°S), Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, v. 9, Q12024.

8. Melnick, D., Bookhagen, B., Echtler, H., and Strecker, M., 2006, Coastal deformation and great subduction earthquakes, Isla Santa María, Chile (37°S): Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 118, p. 1463-1480.

7. Melnick, D., Charlet, F., Echtler, H.P., and De Batist, M., 2006, Incipient axial collapse of the Main Cordillera and strain partitioning gradient between the Central and Patagonian Andes, Lago Laja, Chile: Tectonics, v. 25, p. TC5004.

6. Melnick, D., and Echtler, H.P., 2006, Inversion of forearc basins in south-central Chile caused by rapid glacial age trench fill: Geology, v. 34, p. 709-712.

5. Melnick, D., Folguera, A., and Ramos, V.A., 2006, Structural control on arc volcanism: The Caviahue-Copahue complex, Central to Patagonian Andes transition (38S): Journal of South American Earth Sciences, v. 22, p. 66-88.

4. Rosenau, M., Melnick, D., and Echtler, H., 2006, Kinematic constraints on intra-arc shear and strain partitioning in the Southern Andes between 38°S and 42°S latitude: Tectonics, v. 25, p. TC4013.

3. Bookhagen, B., Echtler, H.P., Melnick, D., Strecker, M.R., and Spencer, J.Q.G., 2006, Using uplifted Holocene beach berms for paleoseismic analysis on the Santa María Island, south-central Chile: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 33, p. L15302.

2. Folguera, A., Ramos, V.A., and Melnick, D., 2003, Recurrencia en el desarrollo de cuencas de intraarco. Cordillera Neuquina (37°30'-38°S): Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina, v. 58, p. 3-19.

1. Folguera, A., Ramos, V.A., and Melnick, D., 2002, Transición de los Andes Patagónicos a los Andes Centrales: Extremo norte del sistema de Liquiñe-Ofqui (38°S): Revista Geológica de Chile, v. 29, p. 227-240.

Book Chapters

Melnick, D., Rosenau, M., Folguera, A., and Echtler, H., 2006, Neogene tectonic evolution of the Neuquén Andes western flank (37-39°S), in Kay, S.M., and Ramos, V.A., eds., Evolution of an Andean margin: A tectonic and magmatic view from the Andes to the Neuqun Basin (35-39°S lat), Volume 407, Geological Society of America Special Paper, p. 73-95.

Melnick, D., and Echtler, H.P., 2006, Morphotectonic and geologic digital map compilations of the south-central Andes (36-42°S), in Oncken, O., Chong, G., Franz, G., Giese, P., Götze, H.-J., Ramos, V.A., Strecker, M., and Wigger, P., eds., The Andes - Active Subduction Orogeny, Volume 1: Frontiers in Earth Sciences: Berlin Heidelberg New York, Springer-Verlag, p. 565-568.

Glodny, J., Echtler, H., Figueroa, O., Franz, G., Grfe, K., Kemnitz, H., Kramer, W., Krawczyk, C., Lohrmann, J., Lucassen, F., Melnick, D., Rosenau, M., and Seifert, W., 2006, Long-term geological evolution and mass-flow balance of the South-Central Andes, in Oncken, O., Chong, G., Franz, G., Giese, P., Götze, H.-J., Ramos, V.A., Strecker, M., and Wigger, P., eds., The Andes - Active Subduction Orogeny, Volume 1: Frontiers in Earth Sciences: Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, Springer-Verlag, p. 401-428.

Götze, H.-J., Alten, M., Burger, H., Goni, P., Melnick, D., Mohr, S., Munier, K., Ott, N., Reutter, K.J., and Schmidt, S., 2006, A 3D Geoinformation System of the SFB 267 for the Andes - from ink-painted maps to digital data bases, in Oncken, O., Chong, G., Franz, G., Giese, P., Götze, H.-J., Ramos, V.A., Strecker, M., and Wigger, P., eds., The Andes - Active Subduction Orogeny, Volume 1: Frontiers in Earth Sciences: Berlin, Heidelberg, Springer, p. 539-556.

Hackney, R., Echtler, H., Franz, G., Gtze, H.J., Lucassen, F., Marchenko, D., Melnick, D., Meyer, U., Schmidt, S., Tarov, Z., Tassara, A., and Wienecke, S., 2006, The Segmented Overriding Plate and Coupling at the South-Central Chilean Margin (36-42°S), in Oncken, O., Chong, G., Franz, G., Giese, P., Götze, H.-J., Ramos, V.A., Strecker, M., and Wigger, P., eds., The Andes - Active Subduction Orogeny, Volume 1: Frontiers in Earth Sciences: Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, Springer-Verlag, p. 355-374.

Haschke, M., Günther, A., Melnick, D., Echtler, H., Reutter, K.J., Scheuber, E., and Oncken, O., 2006, Andean tectonic evolution inferred from spatial and temporal variations in arc magmatism, in Oncken, O., Chong, G., Franz, G., Giese, P., Götze, H.-J., Ramos, V.A., Strecker, M., and Wigger, P., eds., The Andes - Active Subduction Orogeny, Volume 1: Frontiers in Earth Sciences: Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, Springer-Verlag, p. 337-353.

Personal Interests

Planet Earth, alpine and water ski, horseback riding, photography, mountain hiking, experimental cooking, rock climbing, windsurfing.