Alik Ismail-Zadeh is a mathematical geophysicist known for his contribution to computational geodynamics and natural hazard studies, pioneering work on data assimilation in geodynamics as well as for outstanding service to the Earth and space science community. He is Research Professor (Privatdozent) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany.
Biography and academic career Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, Ismail-Zadeh attended the Bulbul specialized secondary music school of the Baku Academy of Music and Baku High School #134 (specialized in mathematics) between 1967 and 1978. He graduated from the Baku State University and the Lomonosov Moscow State University in 1983 before being awarded a Ph.D. degree in 1990 and D. Sc. (Habilitation) in 1997 from the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, Russia. Ismail-Zadeh has been affiliated with the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Geology and Geophysics (1983-1986, 1990–1992). He has been chief scientist, research professor and scientific leader of research group "Computational Geodynamics and Geohazard Modeling" of the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Earthquake Prediction Theory and Mathematical Geophysics, Moscow (1992–2022).
He has been a visiting scholar, lecturer and professor at several universities and academic centers, including the University of Cambridge (UK), University of California at Los Angeles, the University of Tokyo (Japan), Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (France), the University of Uppsala (Sweden), and the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste (Italy).
Research Ismail-Zadeh has conducted research in the fields of geodynamics, seismology, sedimentary basins and tectonics (incl. research for petroleum industry), geological hazards, disaster risk reduction analysis, science diplomacy, and history. He is a principal author and co-author of over 150 peer-reviewed papers and several books published by the Cambridge University Press, Springer Nature, and others. Scientific results obtained by him and his group are as follows:
Inverse problems and data assimilation Introduction of data assimilation in models of geodynamics and applications to mantle (plume) dynamics.;Ismail-Zadeh, A., Schubert, G., Tsepelev, I., and Korotkii, A., Inverse problem of thermal convection: Numerical approach and application to mantle plume restoration, Phys. Earth Planet. Inter., 145, 99-114, 2004.Ismail-Zadeh, A., Schubert, G., Tsepelev, I., and Korotkii, A., Three-dimensional forward and backward numerical modeling of mantle plume evolution: Effects of thermal diffusion, J. Geophys. Res., 111, B06401, doi:10.1029/2005JB003782, 2006. Reconstruction of sinking lithosphere in the southeastern Carpathians;Ismail-Zadeh, A., Schubert, G., Tsepelev, I., and Korotkii, A., Thermal evolution and geometry of the descending lithosphere beneath the SE-Carpathians: An insight from the past, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 273, 68-79, 2008. Reconstruction of the western Pacific and Philippine plate subduction beneath the Japanese islands and implication on the Japan Sea opening;Ismail-Zadeh, A., Honda, S., and Tsepelev, I., Linking mantle upwelling with the lithosphere descent and the Japan Sea evolution: a hypothesis, Scientific Reports, 3, 1137, doi: 10.1038/srep01137, 2013. Reconstruction of flow and temperature inside volcanic lava flow based on surface observations;Korotkii, A., Kovtunov, D., Ismail-Zadeh, A., Tsepelev, I., and Melnik, O., Quantitative reconstruction of thermal and dynamic characteristics of lava from surface thermal measurements, Geophys. J. Int., 205, 1767–1779, 2016. Restoration of sedimentary basin evolution complicated by salt tectonics: application to Pricaspian basin of the East European platform.Ismail-Zadeh, A.T., Talbot, C.J., and Volozh, Yu.A., Dynamic restoration of profiles across diapiric salt structures: numerical approach and its applications, Tectonophysics, 337, 21-36, 2001.Ismail-Zadeh, A.T., Tsepelev, I.A., Talbot, C.J., and Korotkii, A.I., Three-dimensional forward and backward modelling of diapirism: Numerical approach and its applicability to the evolution of salt structures in the Pricaspian basin, Tectonophysics, 387, 81-103, 2004.
Lithosphere dynamics and seismicity Model of the block-and-fault dynamicsSoloviev, A. A., and Ismail-Zadeh, A. T., Models of dynamics of block-and-fault systems, in Nonlinear Dynamics of the Lithosphere and Earthquake Prediction, Keilis-Borok, V. I., and Soloviev, A. A. (eds.), pp. 69-138, Springer, Heidelberg, 2003.Ismail-Zadeh, A., Le Mouël, J.-L., and Soloviev, A., Modeling of extreme seismic events, in Extreme Events and Natural Hazards: The Complexity Perspective, Sharma, S. A., Bunde, A., Dimri, V. P., and Baker, D. N. (eds.), Geophysical Monograph 196, American Geophysical Union, Washington, D. C., pp. 75-97, 2012.Ismail-Zadeh, A., Soloviev, A., Sokolov, V., Vorobieva, I., Muller, B., and Schilling, F., Quantitative modeling of the lithosphere dynamics, earthquakes and seismic hazard, Tectonophysics, 746, 624-647, 2018. Quantitative models of a fault network interaction in the Tibet-Himalayan region to explain seismicity and slip rates at major regional faults;Ismail-Zadeh, A., Le Mouël, J.-L., Soloviev, A., Tapponnier, P., and Vorovieva, I., Numerical modeling of crustal block-and-fault dynamics, earthquakes and slip rates in the Tibet-Himalayan region, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 258, 465-485, 2007. Peculiarities of the Vrancea intermediate-depth seismicityIsmail-Zadeh, A.T., Keilis-Borok, V.I., and Soloviev, A.A., Numerical modelling of earthquake flows in the southeastern Carpathians (Vrancea): Effect of a sinking slab, Phys. Earth Planet. Inter., 111, 267-274, 1999.
Seismic and volcanic hazard and risk Deterministic and probabilistic seismic hazard assessments for the Vrancea region (Romania), Tibet-Himalaya, and Shillong Plateau (India).Ismail-Zadeh, A., Sokolov, V., and Bonier, K., Geodynamics, seismicity and seismic hazard of the south-eastern Carpathians, Natural Hazards, 42, 493-514, 2007.Sokolov, V., and Ismail-Zadeh, A., Seismic hazard from instrumentally recorded, historical and simulated earthquakes: Application to the Tibet-Himalayan region, Tectonophysics, 657, 187-204, 2015.Sokolov, V., and Ismail-Zadeh, A., On the use of multiple-site estimations in probabilistic seismic hazard assessment, Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am., 106(5), 2233–2243, 2016.Baro, O., Kumar, A., and Ismail-Zadeh, A., Seismic hazard assessment of the Shillong Plateau, India, Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk, 9(1), 841-861, 2018. Earthquake risk assessment for the Baku city (Azerbaijan);Babayev, G., Ismail-Zadeh, A., and Le Mouël, J.-L., Scenario-based earthquake hazard and risk assessment for Baku (Azerbaijan), Nat. Hazards Earth Sys. Sci., 10, 2697-2712, 2010. Volcanic lava hazard evaluation based on lava flow with debris.Tsepelev, I., Ismail-Zadeh, A., Melnik, O., and Korotkii, A., Numerical modelling of fluid flow with rafts: An application to lava flows, J. Geodyn., 97, 31-41, 2016.
Tectonic stress Understanding of tectonic stress localization and its change in the lithospheric slab in terms of style of the slab subduction;Ismail-Zadeh, A., Mueller, B., and Wenzel, F., Modelling of descending slab evolution beneath the SE-Carpathians: Implications for seismicity, in Perspectives in Modern Seismology, Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences, Volume 105, pp. 205-226, F. Wenzel (Ed.), Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, 2005 Explanation of coexisting shortening - extension and seismic activity in the Central Apennines by the buoyancy of the lithosphere;Aoudia, A., Ismail-Zadeh, A., and Romanelli, F., Buoyancy-driven deformation and contemporary tectonic stress in the lithosphere beneath Central Italy, Terra Nova, 19(6), 490-495, 2007.Ismail-Zadeh, A., Aoudia, A., and Panza, G., Three-dimensional numerical modeling of contemporary mantle flow and tectonic stress beneath the Central Mediterranean, Tectonophysics, 482, 226-236, 2010. Tectonic stress localization in the Vrancea earthquake-prone body beneath the south-eastern Carpathians.Ismail-Zadeh, A.T., Panza, G.F., and Naimark, B.M., Stress in the descending relic slab beneath Vrancea, Romania, Pure Appl. Geophys., 157, 111-130, 2000.Ismail-Zadeh, A., Mueller, B., and Schubert, G., Three-dimensional modeling of present-day tectonic stress beneath the earthquake-prone southeastern Carpathians based on integrated analysis of seismic, heat flow, and gravity observations, Phys. Earth Planet. Inter., 149, 81-98, 2005.
Sedimentary basins Introduction of eclogitization-induced mantle flow mechanism for sedimentary basin evolution;Ismail-Zadeh, A.T., Naimark, B.M., and Lobkovsky, L.I., Hydrodynamic model of sedimentary basin formation based on development and subsequent phase transformation of a magmatic lens in the upper mantle, Comput. Seism. Geodyn., 3, 42-53, Amer. Geophys. Union, Washington D.C., 1996. DOI: 10.1029/CS003p0042. Quantitative models of the evolution of intracratonic sedimentary basins in North America (Illinois, Michigan and Williston basins),Naimark B.M., and Ismail-Zadeh, A.T., Numerical models of subsidence mechanism in intracratonic basin: Application to North American basins, Geophys. J. Int., 123, 149-160, 1995. East European (Dnieper-Donets, Moscow, Pre-Ural, Timan-Pechora basins),Lobkovsky, L.I., Ismail-Zadeh, A.T., Krasovsky, S.S., Kuprienko, P.Ya., and Cloetingh, S., Origin of gravity anomalies and possible forming mechanism of the Dnieper-Donets Basin, Tectonophysics, 268, 281-292, 1996.Ismail-Zadeh, A.T., Kostyuchenko, S.L., and Naimark, B.M., The Timan-Pechora Basin (northeastern European Russia): tectonic subsidence analysis and a model of formation mechanism, Tectonophysics, 283, 205-218, 1997. and Siberian (Tunguska and Viluy basins) platforms;Ismail-Zadeh, A.T., Naimark, B.M., and Kostyuchenko, S.L., Quantitative modelling of the Tunguska Basin evolution in the Palaeozoic: A role of eclogitization within the uppermost mantle, J. Geodyn., 23, 47-63, 1997.Ismail-Zadeh, A.T., The Devonian to Permian subsidence mechanisms in basins of the East-European platform, J. Geodyn., 26, 69-83, 1998. Models of geothermal evolution of the Astrakhan Arch of the Pricaspian Basin.Ismail-Zadeh, A., Wilhelm, H., and Volozh, Yu, Geothermal evolution of the Astrakhan arch region of the Pricaspian Basin, Int. J. Earth Sci., 97, 1029-1043, 2008.Ismail-Zadeh, A., Wilhelm, H., Volozh, Y., and Tinakin, O., The Astrakhan Arch of the Pricaspian Basin: Geothermal analysis and modelling, Basin Research, 22, 751–764, 2010.
Numerical methods for geodynamics New numerical methods and algorithms of an enhanced accuracy to study problems of Earth's dynamics;Ismail-Zadeh, A., and Tackley, P. J., Computational Methods for Geodynamics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2010. Numerical methodology for data assimilation in geodynamics (backward advection, variational/adjoint, and quasi-reversibility methods).Ismail-Zadeh, A., Korotkii, A., and Tsepelev, Data-driven Numerical Modeling in Geodynamics: Methods and Applications, Springer, Heidelberg, 2016.
Gravitational and thermal instability Theoretical results in problems of Rayleigh-Taylor and Rayleigh-Bernard instabilities of the (geo) structures including analysis of Newtonian, Maxwell, non-Newtonian power law, and perfectly plastic rheologies;Naimark, B.M., and Ismail-Zadeh, A.T., Gravitational instability of Maxwell upper mantle, Comput. Seism. Geodyn., 1, 36-42, Amer. Geophys. Union, Washington D.C., 1994. DOI: 10.1029/CS001p0036.Ismail-Zadeh, A.T., Gravitational instability and propagation of tectonic waves in a two-layer model of the upper mantle, Comput. Seism. Geodyn., 2, 76-80, Amer. Geophys. Union, Washington D.C., 1994. DOI: 10.1029/CS002p0076.Doglioni, C., Ismail-Zadeh, A., Panza, G., and Riguzzi, F., Lithosphere-asthenosphere viscosity contrast and decoupling, Phys. Earth Planet. Inter., 189, 1-8, 2011.