Biography
2020–present: Assistant Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge
UKRI Future Leaders Fellow
Head of the Microgeodynamics Research Group
Assistant Professor in structural geology, mineralogy, and fieldwork
Manager of the high-temperature and sample-preparation laboratories
2017–2020: Assistant Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University
Principle Investigator in the Structural Geology and Electron Microscopy Group
2016–2017: Research Associate, University College, University of Oxford
2015–2017: Postdoctoral Research Assistant, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford
Advisors: Dr. Lars Hansen and Prof. Angus Wilkinson
Project: A new method for mapping stresses in mantle rocks: Dislocation density from electron backscatter diffraction
2010–2014: Ph.D. (Geology), School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Supervisors: Dr. Richard Phillips and Dr. Geoff Lloyd
Thesis: Micro-geodynamics of the Karakoram Fault Zone, Ladakh, NW Himalaya
2006–2010: MSci. Honours Degree in Geoscience (Geology), Department of Earth Sciences, University of Durham
Supervisors: Dr. Mark Allen and Dr. Jonathan Imber
Thesis: Deformation within the basal units of the Lizard ophiolite, SW Cornwall: A combined field and microstructural study
Research
The Microgeodynamics Group in the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, tackles problems in rock deformation from the crystal-lattice to lithospheric-plate scales. We develop and employ advanced microanalytical techniques to decipher the processes of rock deformation. High-angular resolution electron backscatter diffraction (HR-EBSD) provides a key tool for quantifying distributions of dislocations and stress heterogeneity within grains. We combine such microstructural analyses with rock deformation experiments to develop a new generation of microphysical models of deformation processes. Analyses of key field sites allow us to up-scale laboratory results to establish the role of microscale processes in macroscopic geodynamics.
We maintain close links with collaborators at a range of institutions, including Utrecht University, University of Minnesota, and University of Oxford.
Publications
2024
Toffol, G., Pennacchioni, G., Menegon, L., Wallis, D., Manuele, F., Camacho, A., Bestmann, M. (2024) On-fault earthquake energy density partitioning from shocked garnet in an exhumed seismogenic mid-crustal fault. Science Advances, 10, eadi8533, doi:10.1126/sciadv.adi8533.
Kumamoto, K.M., Hansen, L.N., Breithaupt, T., Wallis, D., Li, B.-S., Armstrong, D.E.J., Goldsby, D.L., Li, Y., Warren, J.M., Wilkinson, A.J. (2024) The effect of intracrystalline water on the mechanical properties of olivine at room temperature. Geophysical Research Letters, 51, e2023GL106325, doi:10.1029/2023GL106325.
Gardner, J., Wallis, D., Hansen, L.N., Wheeler, J. (2024) Weighted Burgers Vector analysis of orientation fields from high-angular resolution electron backscatter diffraction. Ultramicroscopy, 257, 113983, doi:10.1016/j.ultramic.2023.113893.
2023
Avadanii, D., Hansen, L., Marquardt, K., Wallis, D., Ohl, M., Wilkinson, A. (2023) The role of grain boundaries in low-temperature plasticity of olivine revealed by nanoindentation. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 128, e2023JB026763, doi:10.1029/2023JB026763.
Fan, S., Prior, D.J., Pooley, B., Davidson, L., Wallis, D., Piazolo, S., Qi, C., Goldsby, D.L., Hager, T.F. (2023) Grain growth of natural and synthetic ice at 0 °C. The Cryosphere, 17, 3448–3459, doi:10.5194/tc-17-3443-2023.
Harbord, C., Brantut, N., Wallis, D. (2023) Grain-size effects during semi-brittle flow of calcite rocks. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 128, e2023JB026458, doi:10.1029/2023JB026458.
Verberne, R., van Schrojenstein Lantman, H.W., Reddy, S.M., Alvaro, M., Wallis, D., Fougerouse, D., Langone, A., Saxey, D.W., Rickard, W.D.A. (2023) Trace-element heterogeneity in rutile linked to dislocation structures: Implications for Zr-in-rutile geothermometry. Journal of Metamorphic Geology, 41, 3–24, doi:10.1111/jmg.12686.
2022
Plümper, O., Wallis, D., Teuling, F., Moulas, E., Schmalholz, S.M., Amiri, H., and Müller, T. (2022) High-magnitude stresses induced by mineral-hydration reactions. Geology, 50, 1351–1355, doi:10.1130/G50493.1.
Fan, S., Wheeler, J., Prior, D., Negrini, M., Cross, A.J., Hager, T.F., Goldsby, D.L., and Wallis, D. (2022) Using misorientation and weighted Burgers vector statistics to understand intragranular boundary development and grain boundary formation at high temperatures. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 127, e2022JB024497, doi:10.1029/2022JB024497.
Rutter, E., Wallis, D., Kosiorek, K. (2022) Application of electron backscatter diffraction to calcite-twinning paleopiezometry. Geosciences, 12, 222. doi:10.3390/geosciences12060222.
Wallis, D., Sep, M., and Hansen, L.N. (2022) Transient creep in subduction zones by long-range dislocation interactions in olivine. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 127, e2021JB022618, DOI: 10.1029/2021/JB022618.
Wallis, D. Harris, J., Böhm, C.F., Wang, D., Zavattieri, P., Feldner, P., Merle, B., Pipich, V., Hurle, K., Leupold, S., Hansen, L.N., Marin, F., and Wolf, S.E. (2022) Progressive changes in crystallographic textures of biominerals generate functionally graded ceramics. Materials Advances, 3, 1527. doi:10.1039/D1MA01031J.
2021
Cao, R., Hansen, L.N., Thom, C., Wallis, D. (2021) An apparatus for measuring nonlinear viscoelasticity of minerals at high temperature. Review of Scientific Instruments, 92, 073902, DOI: 10.1063/5.0035699.
Wallis, D., Hansen, L.N., Wilkinson, A.J., and Lebensohn, R.A. (2021) Dislocation interactions in olivine control postseismic creep of the upper mantle. Nature Communications, 12, 3496, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23633-8.
Hansen, L.N., Wallis, D., Breithaupt, T., Thom, C.A., and Kempton, I. (2021) Dislocation creep of olivine: Backstress evolution controls transient creep at high temperatures. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, e2020JB021325, DOI: 10.1029/2020JB021325.
Ohl, M., Nzogang, B., Mussi, A., Wallis, D., Drury, M.R., Plümper, O. (2021) Crystal-plastic deformation of carbonate fault rocks through the seismic cycle. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 126, e2020JB020626, DOI: 10.1029/2020JB020626.
van Schrojenstein Lantman, H.W., Scambelluri, M., Gilio, M., Wallis, D., Alvaro, M. (2021) Extensive fluid-rock interaction and pressure solution in a UHP fluid pathway recorded by garnetite, Lago di Cignana, Western Alps. Journal of Metamorphic Geology, 39, 501–518, DOI: 10.1111/jmg.12586.
Dyck, B., Goddard, R.M., Wallis, D., Hansen, L.N., Martel, E. (2020) Metamorphic evolution of the Great Slave Lake shear zone. Journal of Metamorphic Geology, 39, 567–590, DOI: 10.111/jmg.12576.
2020
Goddard, R.M., Hansen, L.N., Wallis, D., Stipp, M., Holyoke, C.W., Kumamoto, K.M., Kohlstedt, D.L. (2020) A subgrain-size piezometer calibrated for EBSD. Geophysical Research Letters, e2020GL090056, DOI: 10.1029/2020GL090056.
Wallis, D., Hansen, L.N., Kumamoto, K.M., Thom, C.A., Plümper, O., Ohl, M., Durham, W.B., Goldsby, D.L., Armstrong, D.E.J., Meyers, C.D., Goddard, R., Warren, J.M., Breithaupt, T., Drury, M., and Wilkinson, A.J. (2020) Dislocation interactions during low-temperature plasticity of olivine and their impact on the evolution of lithospheric strength. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 543, 116349, DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116349.
Hansen, L.N., David, E.C., Brantut, N., and Wallis, D. (2020) Insight into the microphysics of antigorite deformation from spherical nanoindentation. In: McCaig, A., Kelemen, P., Früh-Green, G., and Teagle, D. (Eds.) Serpentinite in the Earth System, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, 378, 20190197, DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2019.0197.
Ohl, M., Plümper, O., Charzaras, V., Wallis, D., Vollmer, C., and Drury, M. (2020) Mechanisms of fault mirror formation in carbonate rocks. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 530, 115886, DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2019.115886.
2019
Wallis, D., Hansen, L.N., Britton, T.B., and Wilkinson, A.J. (2019) High-angular resolution electron backscatter diffraction as a new tool for mapping lattice distortion in geological minerals. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 124, 6337–6358, DOI: 10.1029/2019JB017867.
Hansen, L.N., Kumamoto, K.M., Thom, C.A., Wallis, D., Durham, W.B., Goldsby, D.L., Breithaupt, T., Meyers, C., and Kohlstedt, D.L. (2019) Low-temperature plasticity in olivine: Grain size, strain hardening, and the strength of the lithosphere. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 124, 5427–5449, DOI: 10.1029/2018JB016736.
Wallis, D., Hansen, L.N., Tasaka, M., Kumamoto, K., Lloyd, G.E., Parsons, A.J., Kohlstedt, D.L., and Wilkinson A.J. (2019) The impact of water on dislocation content and slip system activity in olivine and the formation of bimodal crystal preferred orientations. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 508, 51–61, DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2018.12.007.
Wallis, D., and Searle, M.P. (2019) Spatial and temporal distributions of deformation in strike-slip faults: The Karakoram Fault in the India-Asia collision zone. Duarte, J.C. (Ed.) Transform Plate Boundaries and Fracture Zones, Elsevier, 271–300, DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-812064-4.00011-6.
Wallis, D., Parsons A.J., and Hansen, L.N. (2019) Quantifying geometrically necessary dislocations in quartz using HR-ESBD: Application to chessboard subgrain boundaries. In: Hippertt, J., Alsop, I., Dunne, W., Passchier, C., and Takeshita, T. (Eds.) Back to the Future: 40 years of Structural Geology and Beyond, Journal of Structural Geology 40th Anniversary Special Issue, 125, 235–247, DOI: 10.1016/j.jsg.2017.12.012.
2018
Ambrose, T.K., Wallis, D., Hansen, L.N., Waters, D.J., and Searle, M.P. (2018) Controls on rheology of peridotites at a palaeosubduction interface: a transect across the base of the Oman-UAE ophiolite. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 491, 193–206, DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2018.03.027.
Qi, C., Hansen, L.N., Wallis, D., Holtzman, B.K., Kohlstedt, D.L. (2018) Crystallographic preferred orientation of olivine in sheared partially molten rocks: the source of the “a-c switch”. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 19, 316–336, DOI: 10.1002/2017GC007309.
Wallis, D., Lloyd, G.E., and Hansen, L.N. (2018) The transition from dislocation-mediated to frictional deformation of marbles within the Karakoram Fault, NW India. Journal of Structural Geology, 107, 25–37, DOI: 10.1016/j.jsg.2017.11.008.
2017
Kumamoto, K.M., Thom, C., Wallis, D., Hansen, L.N., Armstrong, D.E.J., Warren, J.M., Goldsby, D.L., and Wilkinson A.J. (2017) Size effects resolve debate in 40 years of work on low-temperature plasticity in olivine. Science Advances, 3, e1701338, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1701338.
Wallis, D., Hansen, L.N., Britton, T.B., and Wilkinson, A.J. (2017) Dislocation interactions in olivine revealed by HR-EBSD. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 122, 7659–7678, DOI: 10.1002/2017JB014513.
Boneh, Y., Wallis, D., Hansen, L.N., Krawczynski, M.J., and Skemer, P. (2017) Oriented grain growth and modification of ‘frozen anisotropy’ in the lithospheric mantle. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 474, 368–374, DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2017.06.050.
2016
Wallis, D., Hansen, L.N., Britton, T.B., and Wilkinson, A.J. (2016) Geometrically necessary dislocation densities in olivine obtained using high-angular resolution electron backscatter diffraction. Ultramicroscopy, 168, 34–45, DOI: 10.1016/j.ultramic.2016.06.002.
Britton, T.B., Jiang, J., Guo, Y., Vilalta-Clemente, A., Wallis, D., Hansen, L., Winkelmann, A., and Wilkinson, A.J. (2016) Tutorial: Crystal Orientations and EBSD – or which way is up? Materials Characterization, 117, 113–126, DOI: 10.1016/j.matchar.2016.04.008.
Wallis, D., Carter, A., Phillips, R.J., Parsons, A.J., and Searle, M.P. (2016) Spatial variation in exhumation rates across Ladakh and the Karakoram: new apatite fission track data from the Eastern Karakoram. Tectonics, 35, 704–721, DOI: 10.1002/2015TC003943.
2015
Wallis, D., Lloyd, G.E., Phillips, R.J., Parsons, A.J., and Walshaw, R.D. (2015) Low effective fault strength due to frictional-viscous flow in phyllonites, Karakoram Fault Zone, NW India. Journal of Structural Geology, 77, 45–61, DOI: 10.1016/j.jsg.2015.05.010.
2014
Wallis, D., Phillips, R.J., and Lloyd, G.E. (2014) Evolution of the Eastern Karakoram Metamorphic Complex, Ladakh, NW India, and its relationship to magmatism and regional tectonics. Tectonophysics, 626, 41–52, DOI: 10.1016/j.tecto.2014.03.023.
Wallis, D., Parsons, A.J., Phillips, R.J., Searle, M.P., and Ferré E. (2014) Comment on "Interplay of deformation and magmatism in the Pangong Transpressional Zone, Eastern Ladakh, India: Implications for remobilization of the trans-Himalayan magmatic arc and initiation of the Karakoram Fault" by K. Sen, B.K. Mukherjee and A.S. Collins, Journal of Structural Geology 62 (2014) 13–24. Journal of Structural Geology, 65, 117–119, DOI: 10.1016/j.jsg.2014.03.008.
2013
Wallis, D., Phillips, R.J., and Lloyd, G.E. (2013) Fault weakening across the frictional-viscous transition zone, Karakoram Fault, NW Himalaya. Tectonics, 32, 5, 1227–1246, DOI: 10.1002/tect.20076.
