Professor Ross Kerr
Emeritus Professor
email ross.kerr@anu.edu.au
call +61 2 61254622

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About

Personal Website

Academic Education and Qualifications

B.Sc. (Hons.): First Class Honours in Physics and University Medal, The University of Queensland, 1980.
Ph.D.: Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, 1984.

Employment History

Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Physical Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts, USA, 1985.

Research Fellow, Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, 1986-89.

Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Group, Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University. (Research Fellow 1989-96; Fellow 1996-2001; Senior Fellow 2001-)

Professional Society Activities

I am a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Physics (since 2001), a member of the American Geophysical Union (since 1985), and a member of the Australasian Fluid Mechanics Society.

Fellowships

Research Fellowship, The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, 1986-1987.

Gulbenkian Junior Research Fellowship, Churchill College, Cambridge, 1986-1989.

Australian Research Council Fellowship, 1993-1998.

Affiliations

Research interests

Geological and environmental fluid mechanics: experimental and theoretical studies in fluid mechanics, and their application to the Earth. Physical processes of interest include: thermal, compositional and multi-component convection; melting, dissolving and crystallization; porous media flow; turbulent plumes and fountains; convective mixing; laminar and turbulent gravity currents; and sedimentation. 

Projects

Teaching information

 

Since 2012, I have been the Course Convenor for PHYS3034 (Physics of Fluid Flows), which attracts a wide range of students, with interests in physics, applied mathematics, engineering, earth science, computational science and astronomy.

Location

J7, 213

Publications

 

Kerr, R.C. & Turner, J.S. 1982 Layered convection and crystal layers in multicomponent systems. Nature 298, 731–733.

Huppert, H.E., Kerr, R.C. & Hallworth, M.A. 1984 Heating and cooling a stable compositional gradient from the side. Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 27, 1395–1401.

Kerr, R.C. & Tait, S.R. 1985 Convective exchange between pore fluid and an overlying reservoir
of denser fluid: a post-cumulus process in layered intrusions. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 75, 147–156.

Sparks, R.S.J., Huppert, H.E., Kerr, R.C., McKenzie, D.P. & Tait, S.R. 1985 Postcumulus processes in layered intrusions. Geol. Mag. 122, 555–568.

Kerr, R.C. & Tait, S.R. 1986 Crystallization and compositional convection in a porous medium with application to layered igneous intrusions. J. Geophys. Res. 91, 3591–3608.

Tait, S.R. & Kerr, R.C. 1987 Experimental modelling of interstitial melt convection in cumulus piles. In: Origins of Igneous Layering. (Edited by I. Parsons) D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 569–587.

Kerr, R.C. & Lister, J.R. 1987 The spread of subducted lithospheric material along the mid-mantle boundary. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 85, 241–247.

Kerr, R.C. & Lister, J.R. 1988 Island arc and mid-ocean ridge volcanism, modelled by diapirism from linear source regions. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 88, 143–152.

Lister, J.R. & Kerr, R.C. 1989 The effect of geometry on the gravitational instability of a buoyant region of viscous fluid. J. Fluid Mech. 202, 577–594.

Kerr, R.C., Woods, A.W., Worster, M.G. & Huppert, H.E. 1989 Convection and disequilibrium during solidification of a binary melt. Proc. 10th Australasian Fluid Mech. Conf., Melbourne. 14.29-14.32.  

Lister, J.R. & Kerr, R.C. 1989 The propagation of two-dimensional and axisymmetric viscous gravity currents along a fluid interface. J. Fluid Mech. 203, 215–249.

Kerr, R.C., Woods, A.W., Worster, M.G. & Huppert, H.E. 1989 Disequilibrium and macrosegregation during solidification of a binary melt. Nature 340,   357–362.

Kerr, R.C., Woods, A.W., Worster, M.G. & Huppert, H.E. 1990 Solidification of an alloy cooled from above. Part I : Equilibrium Growth. J. Fluid Mech. 216, 323–342.

Kerr, R.C., Woods, A.W., Worster, M.G. & Huppert, H.E. 1990 Solidification of an alloy cooled from above. Part II : Nonequilibrium interfacial kinetics. J. Fluid Mech. 217, 331–348.

Kerr, R.C., Woods, A.W., Worster, M.G. & Huppert, H.E. 1990 Solidification of an alloy cooled from above. Part III : Compositional stratification within the solid. J. Fluid Mech. 218, 337–354.

Lister, J.R. & Kerr, R.C. 1990 Fluid-mechanical models of dyke propagation and magma transport. In: Mafic dykes and emplacement mechanisms. (Edited by A.J. Parker, P.C. Rickwood and D.H. Tucker), A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, 69–80.

Kerr, R.C. & Lister, J.R. 1991 The effects of shape on crystal settling and on the rheology of magmas. J. Geology 99, 457–467.

Huppert, H.E., Kerr, R.C., Lister, J.R. & Turner, J.S. 1991 Convection and particle entrainment driven by differential sedimentation. J. Fluid Mech. 226, 349–369. 

Lister, J.R. & Kerr, R.C. 1991 Fluid-mechanical models of crack propagation and their application to magma transport in dykes. J. Geophys. Res. 96, 10049–10077.

Kerr, R.C. 1991 Erosion of a stable density gradient by sedimentation-driven convection. Nature 353, 423–425.

Lister, J.R., Campbell, I.H. & Kerr, R.C. 1991 The eruption of komatiites and picrites in preference to primitive basalts. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 105, 343–352.

Bedard, J.H., Kerr, R.C. & Hallworth, M.A. 1992 Porous sidewall and sloping floor crystallization experiments using a reactive mush: implications for the self-channelization of residual melts in cumulates. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 111, 319–329.

Kerr, R.C. & Lister, J.R. 1992 Further results for convection driven by the differential sedimentation of particles. J. Fluid Mech. 243, 227–245.

Shirtcliffe, T.G.L. & Kerr, R.C. 1992 On the use of electrical resistance and temperature as measures of the solid fraction in a mushy layer. J. Crystal Growth 125, 495–501.

Petford, N., Kerr, R.C. & Lister, J.R. 1993 Dike transport of granitoid magmas. Geology 21, 845–848.

Petford, N., Lister, J.R. & Kerr, R.C. 1994 The ascent of felsic magmas in dykes. Lithos 32, 161–168.

Lister, J.R. & Kerr, R.C. 1994 Comment on ‘Influence of cooling on lava-flow dynamics’ by M.V. Stasiuk, C. Jaupart and R.S.J. Sparks. Geology 22, 93.

Kerr, R.C. 1994 Melting driven by vigorous compositional convection. J. Fluid Mech. 280, 255–285.

Kerr, R.C. 1994 Dissolving driven by vigorous compositional convection. J. Fluid Mech. 280,  287–302.

Petford, N., Kerr, R.C. & Lister, J.R. 1994 Dike transport of granitoid magmas: Reply to Comment of S.R. Paterson Geology 22, 474–475.

Worster, M.G. & Kerr, R.C. 1994 The transient behaviour of alloys solidified from below prior to the formation of chimneys. J. Fluid Mech. 269, 23–44.

Kerr, R.C. 1995 Convective crystal dissolution. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 121, 237–246.

Kerr, R.C. & Lister, J.R. 1995 The lateral intrusion of silicic magmas into unconsolidated sediments: the Tennant Creek porphyry revisited. Aust. J. Earth Sci. 42, 223–224.

Kerr, R.C. & Lister, J.R. 1995 Comment on ‘On the relationship between dike width and magma viscosity.’ by Y. Wada. J. Geophys. Res. 100, 15541.

Kerr, R.C. 1995 Melting and dissolving driven by vigorous compositional convection. Proc. 12th Australasian Fluid Mech. Conf., Sydney. 163-166.   

Kerr, R.C. & Turner, J.S. 1996 Crystallization and gravitationally controlled ponding during the formation of mound springs, terraces and “black smoker” flanges. J. Geophys. Res. 101, 25125–25137.

Kerr, R.C. & Kuiper, G.S. 1997 Particle settling through a diffusive-type thermohaline staircase in the ocean. Deep-Sea Research 44, 399–412.

Kerr, R.C. 1997 Heat transfer and hydrothermal fluid flow at flanges on large seafloor sulphide structures. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 152, 93–99.

Bloomfield, L.J. & Kerr, R.C. 1998 Turbulent fountains in a stratified fluid. J. Fluid Mech. 358, 335–356.

Williams, D.A., Kerr, R.C. & Lesher, C.M. 1998 Emplacement and erosion by Archean komatiite lava flows at Kambalda: Revisited. J. Geophys. Res. 103, 27533–27549.

Bloomfield, L.J. & Kerr, R.C. 1998 Mixing by a turbulent fountain in a confined stratified region. Proc. 13th Australasian Fluid Mech. Conf., Melbourne. 859-862.   

Jellinek, A.M., Kerr, R.C. & Griffiths, R.W. 1998 Mixing by natural convection. Proc. 13th Australasian Fluid Mech. Conf., Melbourne. 1023-1026.

Williams, D.A., Kerr, R.C. & Lesher, C.M. 1999 Thermal erosion modeling of lavas in the Raglan Block. In: Komatiitic Peridotite-Hosted Fe-Ni-Cu-(PGE) Sulphide Deposits in the Raglan Area, Cape Smith Belt, New Qu ́ebec. (Edited by C.M. Lesher), Mineral Exploration Research Centre, Laurentian University (Sudbury), Guidebook Series, 2, 174–176.

Williams, D.A., Kerr, R.C. & Lesher, C.M. 1999 Thermal and fluid dynamics of komatiitic lavas associated with magmatic Ni-Cu-(PGE) sulphide deposits. In: Dynamic Processes in Magmatic Ore Deposits and their Application in Mineral Exploration. (Edited by R.R. Keays, C.M. Lesher, P.C. Lightfoot and C.E.G. Farrow), Geological Association of Canada Short Course, 13, 367–412.

Jellinek, M.A., Kerr, R.C. & Griffiths, R.W. 1999 Mixing and compositional layering produced by natural convection. Part 1. The experiments, and their application to the Earth’s core and mantle. J. Geophys. Res. 104, 7183–7201.

Jellinek, M.A. & Kerr, R.C. 1999 Mixing and compositional layering produced by natural convection. Part 2. Applications to the differentiation of basaltic and silicic magma chambers, and komatiite lava flows. J. Geophys. Res. 104, 7203–7218.

Bloomfield, L.J. & Kerr, R.C. 1999 Turbulent fountains in a confined stratified environment. J. Fluid Mech. 389, 27–54.

Kerr, R.C. 1999 Mass transfer. In: Encyclopedia of Geochemistry. (Edited by C.P. Marshall and R.W. Fairbridge), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 384–387.

Bloomfield, L.J. & Kerr, R.C. 2000 A theoretical model of a turbulent fountain. J. Fluid Mech. 424, 197–216.

Kerr, R.C. & Bloomfield, L.J. 2000 The behaviour of turbulent fountains in a stratified fluid. Proc. 5th International Symposium on Stratified Flows, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. 685-690.    

Jellinek, M.A. & Kerr, R.C. 2001 Magma dynamics, crystallization, and chemical differentiation of the 1959 Kilauea Iki lava lake, Hawaii, revisited. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 110, 235–263.

Williams, D.A., Kerr, R.C., Lesher, C.M. & Barnes, S.J. 2001 Analytical/Numerical Modeling of Komatiite Lava Emplacement and Thermal Erosion at Perseverance, Western Australia. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 110, 27–55.

Kerr, R.C. 2001 Thermal erosion by laminar lava flows. J. Geophys. Res. 106, 26,453–26,465.

Griffiths, R.W., Kerr, R.C. & Cashman, K.V. 2001 Surface solidification in open channel flow. Proc. 14th Australasian Fluid Mech. Conf., Adelaide.  461-464.   

Kerr, R.C. 2001 Theoretical and experimental modelling of thermal erosion by laminar lava flows. Proc. 14th Australasian Fluid Mech. Conf., Adelaide. 477-480.  

Bloomfield, L.J. & Kerr, R.C. 2002 Inclined turbulent fountains. J. Fluid Mech. 451, 283–294.

Griffiths, R.W., Kerr, R.C. & Cashman, K.V. 2003 Patterns of solidification in channel flows with surface cooling. J. Fluid Mech. 496, 33–62.

Kerr, R.C. & M ́eriaux, C. 2004 Structure and dynamics of sheared mantle plumes. G3: Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 5, Q12009, doi:10.1029/2004GC000749 (42 pages).

Coman, M.A., Hughes, G.O. & Kerr, R.C. 2004 Convective exchange between two connected chambers. Proc.15th Australasian Fluid Mech. Conf., Sydney. AFMC paper 80. 

Lyman, A.W., Kerr, R.C. & Griffiths, R.W. 2005 Effects of internal rheology and surface cooling on the emplacement of lava flows. J. Geophys. Res. 110, B08207, doi:10.1029/2005JB003643 (16 pages).

Kerr, R.C. & Meriaux, C. 2005 The dynamics of sheared mantle plume tails. Proc. 16th Australian Institute of Physics Congress, ANU, Canberra. Papers-1, 191-194.   

Cashman, K.V., Kerr, R.C. & Griffiths, R.W. 2006 A laboratory model of surface crust formation and disruption on irregular channelized lava flows. Bull. Volcanol. 68, 753–770, doi:10.1007/s00445-005-0048-z.

Coman, M.A., Hughes, G.O., Kerr, R.C. & Griffiths, R.W. 2006 The effect of a barrier on laminar convection in a box with differentially-heated endwalls. Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 49, 2903–2911.

Lyman, A.W. & Kerr, R.C. 2006 The effect of surface solidification on the emplacement of lava flows on a slope. J. Geophys. Res. 111, B05206, doi:10.1029/2005JB004133 (14 pages).

Kerr, R.C., Griffiths, R.W. & Cashman, K.V. 2006 The formation of channelized lava flows on an unconfined slope. J. Geophys. Res. 111, B10206, doi:10.1029/2005JB004225 (13 pages).

Kerr, R.C. & Lyman, A.W. 2007 Importance of surface crust strength during the flow of the 1988-1990 andesite lava of Lonquimay Volcano, Chile. J. Geophys. Res. 112, B03209, doi:10.1029/2006JB004522 (8 pages).

Kerr, R.C., Meriaux, C. & Lister, J.R. 2008 Effect of thermal diffusion on the stability of strongly tilted mantle plume tails. J. Geophys. Res. 113, B09401, doi:10.1029/2007JB005510 (12 pages).

Kerr, R.C. & Lister, J.R. 2008 Rise and deflection of mantle plume tails. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 9, Q10004, doi:10.1029/2008GC002124 (8 pages).

Kerr, R.C. & Meriaux, C. 2008 The effect of diffusion on the stability of strongly tilted mantle plume tails. Proc. XXII ICTAM, Adelaide. CD-ROM (ISBN 978-0-9805142-1-6).   

Kerr, R.C. 2009 Thermal erosion of felsic ground by the laminar flow of a basaltic lava, with application to the Cave Basalt, Mount St. Helens, Washington. J. Geophys. Res. 114, B09204, doi:10.1029/2009JB006430 (14 pages).

Robertson, J.C. & Kerr, R.C. 2010 Rheological controls on the dynamics of channeled lava flows. Proc.17th Australasian Fluid Mech. Conf., Auckland. AFMC paper number 167. 

Lister, J.R., Kerr, R.C., Russell, N.J. & Crosby, A. 2011 Rayleigh-Taylor instability of an inclined buoyant viscous cylinder. J. Fluid Mech., 671, 313–338.

Meriaux, C., Mansour, J.A., Moresi, L.N., Kerr, R.C. & May, D.A. 2011 On the rise of strongly tilted mantle plume tails. Phys. Earth Planet. Int. 163, 63-79.

Williams, D.A., Kerr, R.C. & Lesher, C.M. 2011 Mathematical modeling of thermomechanical erosion beneath Proterozoic komatiitic basaltic sinuous rilles in the Cape Smith Belt, New Qu ́ebec, Canada. Mineralium Deposita 46, 943–958, doi:10.1007/s00126-011-0364-5.

Robertson, J.C. & Kerr, R.C. 2012 Isothermal dynamics of channeled viscoplastic lava flows and new methods for estimating lava rheology. J. Geophys. Res. 117, B01202, doi:10.1029/2011JB008550 (19 pages).

Robertson, J.C. & Kerr, R.C. 2012 Solidification dynamics in channeled viscoplastic lava flows. J. Geophys. Res. 117, B07206, doi:10.1029/2012JB009163 (18 pages).

McConnochie, C.D. & Kerr, R.C. 2014 Turbulent dissolution of a vertical ice wall into homogeneous and stratified salty water. Proc. 19th Australasian Fluid Mech. Conf., Melbourne. AFMC paper 289. 

Kerr, R.C. & McConnochie, C.D. 2015 Dissolution of a vertical solid surface by turbulent compositional convection. J. Fluid Mech. 765, 211-228. 

Gayen, B., Griffiths, R.W. & Kerr, R.C. 2015 Melting driven convection at the ice-seawater interface. IUTAM Symposium on Multiphase flows, Hyderabad, India,  (8-11 December, 2014) Procedia IUTAM, 15, 78-85.

Griffiths, R.W. & Kerr, R.C. 2015 Coupling of cooling, solidification and gravity-driven flow. IUTAM Symposium on Multiphase flows, Hyderabad, India (8-11 December, 2014) Procedia IUTAM, 15, 165-171

McConnochie, C.D. & Kerr, R.C. 2016 The turbulent wall plume from a vertically distributed source of buoyancy. J. Fluid Mech. 787, 224-236.         

McConnochie, C.D. & Kerr, R.C. 2016 The dissolution of polar ice into a stratified ocean. Proc. 8th International Symposium on Stratified Flows, San Diego, California. University of California eScholarship archive. 

McConnochie, C.D. & Kerr, R.C. 2016 The effect of stratification on the dissolution of a vertical ice face. J. Fluid Mech., 791, 589-607.      

Mondal, M., Gayen, B., Griffiths, R.W. & Kerr, R.C. 2016 High resolution simulation of dissolution process under sloping ice-shelves in saline water. Proc. 20th Australasian Fluid Mech. Conf., Perth. AFMC paper 685. 

Gayen, B., Griffiths, R.W. & Kerr, R.C. 2016 Simulation of convection at a vertical ice face dissolving into saline water. J. Fluid Mech., 798, 284-298.     

McConnochie, C.D. & Kerr, R.C. 2016 An external line plume next to a dissolving ice face. Proc. 20th Australasian Fluid Mech. Conf., Perth. AFMC paper number 767. 

McConnochie, C.D. & Kerr, R.C. 2017 Enhanced ablation of a vertical ice wall due to an external freshwater plume. J. Fluid Mech., 810, 429-447.       

McConnochie, C.D. & Kerr, R.C. 2017 Testing a common ice-ocean parameterization with laboratory experiments. J. Geophys. Res., DOI:10.1002/2017JC012918.

McConnochie, C.D. & Kerr, R.C. 2017 Dissolution of a sloping solid surface by turbulent compositional convection. J. Fluid Mech., revised paper submitted.

Mondal, M., Gayen, B., Griffiths, R.W. & Kerr, R.C. 2017 Ablation of sloping ice faces into polar sea water. J. Fluid Mech., revised paper submitted.