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Welcome to my personal website. I’m Marco, a geoscientist at the Andalusian Earth Sciences Institute (IACT-CSIC) in Granada, Spain. My research focuses on the physical properties of solid Earth materials (rocks and minerals) using a combination of observational, experimental, and computational approaches. I am interested in how rocks behave and evolve within the Earth’s lithosphere, from microscopic processes to kilometre-scale structures. This includes, for example, how rocks respond to applied stress (deformation and rheology), how microstructure and crystal orientation influence mechanical properties and sound wave propagation through rocks. A large part of my work involves analysing rock microstructures and crystal preferred orientation (CPO) using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and image-analysis techniques. I also enjoy coding and actively support open-source and open-science practices, often developing tools and projects that connect programming with geoscience applications. More recently, I have been expanding my interests towards rock thermodynamic modelling, particularly using Perple_X, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), as a way to expand my skillset and approach geological problems from complementary angles. Beyond my core research, this website also hosts other things I enjoy working on, such as teaching materials, manuals, and short pieces of writing.

Personal details

Full name (name, SURNAME): Marco Antonio LÓPEZ SÁNCHEZ

Location:
Office 137 Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra (IACT-CSIC), Spanish Research Council (CSIC) Avda. de Las Palmeras, 4, 18100, Armilla. Granada, SPAIN.

e-mail:
marco.lopez [to be found at] csic [dot] es

phone 958230000 Ext.436635

On the web

CV (PDF): https://github.com/marcoalopez/marcoalopez.github.io/blob/master/Resume.pdf
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0261-9267
Scopus author ID: 56320859100
Google scholar: scholar.google
Research-ID: https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/A-4290-2015
Github page: https://github.com/marcoalopez
At work: IACT-CSIC personal page
Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marco-Lopez-Sanchez

Research

A summary of my research activities

Publications

What I work(ed) on, with links to my publications and PDF files.

Peer-reviewed publications

2025

Lopez-Sanchez MA, Cárdenes V, Barou F, Llana-Fúnez S, 2025. Predictive modelling of seismic properties in single-foliated slates. Tectonophysics 908: 230765. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2025.230765 / PDF
Boissonneau G, Tommasi A, Barou F, Lopez-Sanchez MA, Montagnat M. Dynamic recrystallization and mechanical behavior of Mg alloy AZ31: Constraints from tensile tests with in-situ EBSD analysis. Comptes Rendus Mécanique 353: 235-258 https://doi.org/10.5802/crmeca.267

2023

Lopez-Sanchez MA, Chauve T, Montagnat M, Tommasi A. Decoupling between strain localisation and the microstructural record revealed by in-situ strain measurements in polycrystalline ice. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 611: 118149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2023.118149 / PDF
Wang X, Zhang J, Tommasi A, Lopez-Sanchez MA, Jing Z, Shi F, Liu W, Barou F. Experimental Evidence for a Weak Calcic-Amphibole-Rich Deep Crust in Orogens. Geophysical Research Letters 50: e2022GL102320 https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL102320 / PDF

2022

Lopez-Sanchez MA, Demouchy S, Thoraval, C. Comment on “If not brittle: Ductile, Plastic, or Viscous? By Kelin Wang. Seismological Research Letters 93 (3): 1960-1965_ https://doi.org/10.1785/0220210191 / PDF

2021

Lopez-Sanchez MA, Tommasi A, Ben Ismail W, Barou F. Dynamic recrystallization by subgrain rotation in olivine revealed by electron backscatter diffraction. Tectonophysics 815: 228916 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2021.228916 / PDF
Ben Ismail W, Tommasi A, Lopez-Sanchez MA, Rutter EH, Barou F, Demouchy S. Deformation of upper mantle rocks with contrasting initial fabrics in axial extension. Tectonophysics 815: 228997. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2021.228997 / Preprint
Cárdenes V, Lopez-Sanchez MA, Barou F, Olona J, Llana-Fúnez S. Crystallographic preferred orientation, seismic velocity and anisotropy in roofing slates. Tectonophysics 808: 228815 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2021.228815 / Preprint

2020

Lopez-Sanchez MA, Tommasi A, Barou F, and Quey R. (2020) Dislocation-driven recrystallization in AZ31B magnesium alloy imaged by quasi-in situ EBSD in annealing experiments. Materials Characterization 165: 110382 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2020.110382 / PDF
Wenk HR, Yu R, Cárdenes V, Lopez-Sanchez MA, Sintubin M. (2020) Fabric and anisotropy of slates: From classical studies to new results. Journal of Structural Geology 138: 104066 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2020.104066
Lopez-Sanchez MA (2020) Which average, how many grains, and how to estimate robust confidence intervals in unimodal grain size populations. Journal of Structural Geology 135: 104042 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2020.104042 / PDF

2019

Lopez-Sanchez MA, García-Sansegundo J, and Martínez, FJ (2019) The significance of early Permian and early Carboniferous U-Pb zircon ages in the Bossòts and Lys-Caillaouas granitoids (Pyrenean Axial Zone). Geological Journal 54: 2048-2063 https://doi.org/10.1002/gj.3283 / PDF

2018

Lopez-Sanchez MA (2018) GrainSizeTools: a Python script for grain size analysis and paleopiezometry based on grain size. Journal of Open Source Software 3: 863, https://doi.org/10.21105/joss.00863 / PDF
Lopez-Sanchez MA and Llana-Fúnez S (2018) A cavitation-seal mechanism for ultramylonite formation in quartzfeldspathic rocks within the semi-brittle field (Vivero fault, NW Spain). Tectonophysics 745: 132-153 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2018.07.026 / PDF

2016

Lopez-Sanchez MA and Llana-Fúnez S (2016) An extension of the Saltykov method to quantify 3D grain size distributions in mylonites Journal of Structural Geology 93: 149-161; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2016.10.008 / PDF
Lopez-Sanchez MA, Aleinikoff J, Marcos A, Martínez FJ, and Llana-Fúnez S. (2016) An example of low Th/U zircon overgrowths of magmatic origin in a late orogenic variscan intrusive: the San Ciprián Massif (NW Spain). Journal of the Geological Society 173: 282-291; https://doi.org/10.1144/jgs2015-071 / PDF

2015

Lopez-Sanchez MA and Llana-Fúnez S (2015) An evaluation of different measures of dynamically recrystallized grain size for paleopiezometry or paleowattmetry studies. Solid Earth 6: 475-495; https://doi.org/10.5194/se-6-475-2015 / PDF
Lopez-Sanchez MA, Marcos A, Martínez FJ, Llana-Fúnez S, and Iriondo A (2015) Setting new constrains on the age of crustal-scale normal fault (Vivero Fault): Implications for the evolution of Variscan orogeny in the Iberian Massif. International Journal of Earth Sciences 104: 927-962; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-014-1119-1 / PDF
Lopez-Sanchez MA, Iriondo A, Marcos A, and Martínez FJ (2015) A U-Pb zircon age (479±5 Ma) from the uppermost layers of the Ollo de Sapo Fm near Viveiro (NW Spain): implications for the duration of rifting-related Cambro-Ordovician volcanism in Iberia. Geological Magazine 152: 341-350; https://doi.org/10.1017/S0016756814000272 / PDF

Geological Excursion Guides

Tilhac R, Lopez-Sanchez, MA, Llana-Fúnez, S, Padrón-Navarta JA. 2024. Field guide to the mantle section of the Cabo Ortegal Complex. Available from https://github.com/lherzolite2024/fieldguide/
Marcos A, Bastida F, Aller J, Fernández FJ, Llana-Fúnez S and Lopez-Sanchez MA. 2011 DRT post-conference Fieldtrip Guide: West Asturian Leonese Zone, Cabo Ortegal, Malpica-Lamego Line. Deformation, Rheology and Tectonics (DRT - Oviedo) meeting 42 pp + map. link to PDF

Links to my research projects' websites

OUTCROP project (2021-2023)

Project website: https://marcoalopez.github.io/OUTCROPproject/

What it is about: The OUTCROP project stands for From the Lower Crust to the mantle: elastic properties, anisotropy, and water content of the Cabo Ortegal complex. This is a two-year research project funded by the PCTI-Asturias (Spain) led by Marco A. Lopez-Sanchez at the University of Oviedo. We aim to determine the seismic properties (wave speeds & anisotropy) and water content of an ancient volcanic arc root section (lower crust and mantle).

IDEA project (MSCA-COFUND Grant) (2018-2019)

Project website: https://marcoalopez.github.io/IDEAproject/

What it is about: The IDEA project stands for In-situ Deformation Experiments to study microstructure and texture evolution in Anisotropic crystalline materials. It is a research project funded by a Marie Skłodowska-Curie “Clarín”-COFUND Action postdoctoral fellowship, based at Géosciences Montpellier (Université de Montpellier - CNRS) in France.

Coding projects and databases

GrainSizeTools

Website: http://marcoalopez.github.io/GrainSizeTools/

What is it: A free, open-source Python script that can be used to: (1) quantify and visualize grain size populations, (2) apply stereological methods to approximate the true grain size distribution from 2D sections, and (3) estimate differential stress using a piezometric database.

PyRockWave

Website: https://marcoalopez.github.io/PyRockWave/

What is it: A free, open-source Python tool for reading single-crystal elasticity databases and modelling the elastic properties (i.e. seismic velocities) of Earth materials (yet in alpha phase!).

FTIRkit

Website: To be released soon

What is it: A free, open-source Python tool that can be used to estimate crystallographic orientation from FTIR spectra, as well as synthesize FTIR spectra along principal orientations from a set of randomly oriented grain spectra.

You can find a full list my pet coding projects here. Some selections are listed below:

Ternary plots: no-fuss ternary plots in Python using Matplotlib.

Teaching & Outreach

I previously taught at the University of Oviedo, where I was involved in several courses in the Geology and Mining Engineering degrees. These included Structural Geology, Geological Mapping (fieldwork and geological map interpretation), Geodynamics, Plate Tectonics, Geophysical and Geochemical Prospecting, and Applied Geology for Engineering Problems. For further details, please see my CV. When time allows, which is not often these days, I enjoy creating free educational material, such as workshops, short courses, and a variety of scientific notes. This includes Jupyter notebooks, videos, and short essays on a range of topics, mostly in English but occasionally in Spanish. Links to this material can be found below. I am not particularly active on social media, but I occasionally share brief thoughts and updates at https://fediscience.org/@marcoalopez

Workshops and courses

An introduction to the Python programming language for data analysis in the Earth sciences

Website: https://github.com/marcoalopez/Python_course

What is it: This is an introductory course to the Python programming language for data analysis, which uses examples from the Earth sciences. Still in progress.

Scientific notes and Jupyter notebooks

Jupyter4DICe

Website: https://github.com/marcoalopez/Jupyter4DICe

What is it: A series of Jupyter notebooks written in Python for post-processing digital image correlation (DIC) data obtained with the open-source digital image correlation tool DICe.

Strength envelopes

Website: https://marcoalopez.github.io/strength_envelopes/

What is it: A set of Jupyter notebooks to generate crust and lithosphere strength envelopes (a little stuck for lack of time!) .

Guides

Essays

2019: Is it necessary to smooth the grain boundaries in MTEX when characterizing particle shapes?

Media

I have a YouTube channel called Earth Science Talks, where I occasionally upload videos about my research. Please be aware that the topics covered so far are very niche and unlikely to be of interest to the general public. Click here to visit the channel. Below is the list of available videos:

Links

Links to tools that I like and/or use frequently.

Online tools

https://zbib.org/: A free service that helps you to quickly create a bibliography in any citation style.

https://myhdf5.hdfgroup.org/: HDF5 viewer.

https://bentopdf.com/: Privacy-focused, browser-based PDF tools (i.e. all processing happens locally in your browser). Alternative: https://luxpdf.com/

https://keepitalive.app/: to keep your device awake (useful when running models).

https://it-tools.tech/: Handy tools for developers.

https://smallpond.ca/jim/scale/: A compact printable 10 cm reference scale designed by Jim Elder. It features a checkerboard pattern for measuring 2D scale, a circular fiducial mark for measuring perspective, and a grey patch for color correction.

https://www.angryreviewer.com/: Free academic style corrector for modern scientific writing by Roman Anufriev.

https://colorbrewer2.org/: This color mapping tool produces color-blind-compliant color maps and warns users if their chosen colors will print correctly. These colour maps are already included in the Python ecosystem. For MATLAB, you can download them here.

https://www.fabiocrameri.ch/colourmaps/: A comprehensive set of color maps to represent data without visual distortion by Fabio Crameri.

https://squoosh.app/: This is a tool that reduces image file size while maintaining high quality. It's very handy for websites.

Scientific software

https://www.perplex.ethz.ch/: Perple_X is a collection of Fortran 77 programs for calculating phase diagrams, thermobarometry, manipulating thermodynamic data, and modeling equilibrium phase fractionation and reactive transport.

https://mtex-toolbox.github.io/index: MTEX is a free, open-source MATLAB toolbox for analyzing and modelling crystallographic textures using EBSD or pole figure data.