CPG
Tel: +966 (013) 860 2566
Fax: +966 (013) 860 2595

Location: Bldg. 76, Rm. 2169

Dr. Peter Mora

Professor, Department of Geosciences

Peter Mora obtained a B.Sc. Hons in Geophysics from Adelaide University, Australia in 1979 with a thesis on Seismic Raytracing. He worked for 2 years as an Exploration Geophysicist for ESSO Australia and as a consultant in seismic ray tracing to Delhi Petroleum. He obtained an M.Sc. in 1984 and Ph.D. in Geophysics in 1987 from Stanford University on the topic of Full Elastic Wavefield Inversion. After working for 2 years for a pioneering massively parallel supercomputer company – Thinking Machines – he worked as a researcher and then Professor at Institut de Physique du Globe in Paris, France until 1994. He then joined The University of Queensland where he formed a research centre, initially QUAKES and later Earth Systems Science Computational Centre (ESSCC). In 1999, he established the APEC Cooperation for Earthquake Simulation, a collaborative research effort to simulate earthquake related phenomena. In 2002 he established a Major National Research Facility – The Australian Computational Earth Systems Simulator – aimed at simulating geophysical phenomena. From 2010-2018 he was Chief Scientist of a startup company aimed at predicting Foreign Currency Exchange Rates (FOREX). In January, 2019, he joined the CPG at KFUPM. His research spans Full Wavefield Inversion and computational geophysics ranging from simulation of earthquakes and fracture, to simulation of convection and fluid flow. He has over 200 publications. He has supervised over 20 Ph.D. students and 12 M.Sc. Students.

Educational Qualification

  • Ph.D. in Geophysics from Stanford University, 1987
  • M.S. In Geophysics from Stanford University, 1984
  • B.S.Hons (First Class) in Geophysics from Adelaide University, 1979
  • B.S. From Adelaide University, 1978

Research Interests

  • Convection, fluid flow and multi-phase flow
  • Simulation of earthquakes, fracture and friction
  • Seismic modelling and Full Wavefield Inversion

Selected Publications

  • Mora, P., Morra, G. & Yuen, D. (2021) Optimal surface tension isotropy in the Rothman-Keller colour gradient Lattice Boltzmann Method for multi-phase flow, Rev. E, 103 (3), 033302, 19pp, https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.103.033302.
  • Mora, P., Morra, G.,Yuen, D. & Juanes, R. (2021) Optimal wetting angles in Lattice Boltzmann simulations of viscous fingering, Transport in Porous Media, 136, 831–842, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-020-01541-7.
  • Mora, P., Morra, G.,Yuen, D. & Juanes, R. (2021) Influence of wetting on viscous fingering via 2D Lattice Boltzmann simulations, Transport in Porous Media, 138, pp. 511-538, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-021-01629-8.
  • Wang, Y., Mora, P. & Liang, Y. (2021), Calibration of Discrete Element Modeling: Scaling laws and dimensionless analysis , Particuology, 65(2022), pp 17-31  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2021.03.020.
  • Alonso-Marroquin & Mora, P. (2021) Beverloo law for hopper flow derived from self-similar profiles, Granular Matter, 23, 7, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-020-01067-1.
  • Jiang, Y., Mora, P., Herrmann, H. & Alonso-Marroquin, F. (2021) An Irregular Replaceable Particle Model Based on strain energy field, Rev. E, 104, 045311, 23pp, https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.104.045311.
  • Mora, P., Morra, G. & Yuen, D. (2020) A concise python implementation of the lattice Boltzmann method on HPC for geo-fluid flow, J. Int., 220(1), 682-702, https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggz423.
  • Jiang, Y., Alonso-Marroquin, F., Herrmann, H. & Mora, P. (2020) Particle fragmentation based on strain energy field, Granular Matter, 22, 69, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-020-01038-6.
  • Mora, P. & Wu, Z. (2018) Elastic vs acoustic inversion for marine surveys, Geophysical Journal Int. 214 (1), 596-622, https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggy166.
  • Mora, P. & Yuen, D. (2018) Simulation of regimes of thermal convection and plume dynamics by the Lattice Boltzmann Method, Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 275, 69-79, DO: 10.1016/j.pepi.2018.01.003.
  • Mora, P. & Yuen, D.A. (2018) Comparison of convection for Reynolds and Arrhenius temperature dependent viscosities, Fluid Mechanics Research International Journal, 2 (3), 99-107.
  • Mora, P. & Yuen, D. (2017) Simulation of plume dynamics by the Lattice Boltzmann Method, Geophysical Journal International Express Letters, 212 (3), 1932-1937.
  • Wang Y, Mora P (2009) ESyS_Particle: A new 3-D discrete element model with single particle rotation, in: Advances in Geocomputing, Springer, Ed. Xing H, 183-228.
  • Wang Y, Mora P (2008) Macroscopic elastic properties of regular lattices, J Mech Phys Solids, 56, 3459–3474.
  • Xu, H., Xing, H., Wyborn, D. & Mora, P. (2007) Analytical and numerical investigation of thermo-fluid flow of fracture dominated geothermal reservoir, Lecture Notes in Computer Sciences (LNCS), 4489, 1156-1163.
  • Xing H, Makinouchi A, Mora P (2007) Finite-element modeling of interacting fault systems, Physics of The Earth and Planetary Interiors, 163, 106–121.
  • Xing H, Mora P (2006) Construction of an intraplate fault system model of South Australia, and simulation tool for the iSERVO institute seed project, PAGEOPH, 163, 2297-2316.
  • Abe S, Place D, Mora P (2004) A Parallel Implementation of the Lattice Solid Model for the Simulation of Rock Mechanics and Earthquake Dynamics, PAGEOPH, 161, 2265-2277.
  • Mora P (1987) Nonlinear 2D elastic inversion of multi-offset seismic data, Geophysics, 52, 1211-1228.
  • Mora P (1987) Elastic wavefield inversion, PhD Thesis, Stanford University (SEP-52), 143pp.
  • Mora P (1988) Elastic wavefield inversion of reflection and transmission data, Geophysics, 53, 750-759.
  • Mora P (1989) Inversion = migration + tomography, Geophysics, 54, 1575-1586.
  • Mora P, Place D (1994) Simulation of the frictional stick-slip instability, PAGEOPH. 143, 61-87.
  • Donzé F, Mora P, Magnier SA (1994) Numerical simulation of faults & shear zones, Geophys. J. Int., 116, 46-52.
  • Igel H, Mora P, Riollet B (1995) Anisotropic wave propagation through finite-difference grids, Geophysics, 60, 1203-1216.
  • Komatitsch D, Coutel F, Mora P (1996) Tensorial formulation of the wave-equation for modeling curved interfaces, Geophysical Journal International, 127, 156-168.
  • Coutel F, Mora P (1998) Simulation based comparison of four site-response estimation techniques, BSSA., 88, 30-42.
  • Mora P, Place D (1998) Numerical simulation of earthquake faults with gouge: towards a comprehensive explanation for the heat flow paradox. J. Geophys. Res. 103, 21067-21089.
  • Place D, Mora P (1999) The lattice solid model to simulate the physics of rocks and earthquakes: incorporation of friction, J. Comp. Phys., 1502, 332–372.
  • Place D, Mora P (2000) Numerical simulation of localisation phenomena in a fault zone, PAGEOPH., 157, 1821-1845.
  • Abe S, Mora P, Place D (2000) Extension of the lattice solid model to incorporate temperature related effects, PAGEOPH, 157, 1867-1887.
  • Mora P, Wang Y, Yin C, Place D, Yin XC (2002) Simulation of the load-unload response ratio & critical sensitivity in the lattice solid model, PAGEOPH, 159, 2525–2536.
  • Mora P, Wang Y, & Marroquin F (2015) The Lattice Solid/Boltzmann microscopic model to simulate solid/fluid systems – a tool to study creation of fluid flow networks for viable deep geothermal energy, J. Earth Science (Special Issue on Deep Geothermal Energy), 26, 11-1
  • Mora P, Place D (2002) Stress correlation function evolution in lattice solid elasto-dynamic models of shear and fracture zones and earthquake prediction, PAGEOPH, 159, 2413–2427
  • Mora P, Wang Y. & Marroquin, F (2012) Particle simulation of hydraulic fracture and sustainable geothermal reservoir fluid flow: towards realization of a new green energy, in: Proc. International Workshop of Deep Geothermal Systems, Wuhan, China, June 29-30, 2012.
  • Mora P, Wang Y. & Marroquin, F (2013) Particle-based simulation of hydraulic fracture and fluid/heat flow in geothermal reservoirs. in: Proc. 7-th Intl. Conf. on Powders & Grains pg2013.unsw.edu.au/, AIP Conf. Proc. 1542, 177-180.

Awards & Honors

  • Honorable Mention (Geophysics), 1988 for paper titled: Elastic wavefield inversion of reflection and transmission data.
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