Tectonics and Structural Geology

Our epic battle with ever-changing weather forecasts while deploying ocean bottom instruments

Bernhard Steinberger, Zoltán Erdős and edited by Pauline Gayrin February 10, 2026

Deployment of an electromagnetometers (OBEM) from the institute GEOMAR. Photo by Bernhard Steinberger.

The question what drives tectonic plates has been around since plate tectonics was first developed. In principle, the fluid dynamics is well-known but what is not well known are the material properties, especially mantle viscosity structure which determines how much force is needed to pull a plate with a certain speed, but also how fast mantle convection, which may act as a driving force can occur ...[Read More]

TS Must-read – wrap up and tectonics history

The Must-read team January 22, 2026

TS Must-read series, the wrap up In 2020, we started the Must Read activity by asking the TS community a simple question: which papers do you think every tectonics and structural geology student should read? that led to more than a thousand nominations and lively debate. A short list of 48 Must Read papers was distilled by adding 3 complementary contributions to the 45 entries that had the larges ...[Read More]

Why Strike and Dip Conversions Confuse Even Professional Geologists ?

Nkodia Hardy January 16, 2026

Geologists taking structural measurements in the Congo River, with the overlay title: Why Strike and Dip Conversions Confuse Even Professional Geologists?

Photo: Nkodia Hardy

Whether you are a student, educator, or industry professional, you have likely encountered the myriad conventions used for recording geological orientations. For students, this landscape can be perplexing; for professionals, it may lead to the sinking feeling that a crucial undergraduate lecture was missed. Indeed, converting strike and dip measurements between different systems, such as Quadrants ...[Read More]

How Lava Domes Grow: Field Observations and Thermo-Mechanical Insights from the 1979 Soufrière Eruption

Takafumi Maruishi January 8, 2026

Photographs of the Soufrière lava dome from the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program: GVP-05128.

To kick off the New Year, we have invited a guest author, Takafumi Maruishi, a researcher in the Research Division for Volcanic Disasters / Center for Volcano Research Promotion, National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience, Japan. He explains the scaling law of lava dome growth and its physical insight. Effusive eruptions—when magma reaches the surface and is extruded as ...[Read More]

Berlin – the city of unusual geology

Lauretta Kaerger December 18, 2025

Brandenburg Gate, Berlin (Credits: Lauretta Kaerger)

“There is no geology here – just dirt!” or “It’s only a large sandbox.” are two common narratives told about the geology of the Berlin region. But is that true? Is there really nothing interesting to find and see for a geologist in the German capital? Let’s start digging! The hard rock One narrative is definitely true, Brandenburg, the state surrounding Berlin, like entire northern Germany, is a l ...[Read More]

Geomythology. Craitbul journey through the Newer Volcanics in SE Australia

Filippo Carboni December 11, 2025

Featured. Browne Lake, Mt. Gambier. B-69024 by Jack Riatta, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Aboriginals Australians had and hopefully will continue to have an important oral tradition, especially related to impacts, tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanoes. This time, I would like to set our new narrative in southeast Australia, where the Booandik people tell a story suggesting how their ancestors witnessed and interpreted volcanic activity in the Mount Gambier area. The story, reported b ...[Read More]

Gifting geologist made easy – a guide to spoil your favorite persons

Pauline Gayrin November 27, 2025

Credits: Freestocks via Unsplash

The end of the year is around the corner. For many of us, it will be a time of celebration, gathering, party, and GIFTS! And if you think spoiling a geologist is hard, then I’ve got your back. In this post I gather diverse gift ideas, the classics of course and some really unique treasures to get to your favorite geologist (who can be yourself of course). You’ll find ideas whatever you ...[Read More]

Beyond Tectonics (and Beyond Earth): On the geological timescales of other rocky bodies in our solar system

Hannah Davies November 20, 2025

Geological timescales Unless you regularly work in “deep” time or are very interested in Earth’s very ancient history you might not be too familiar with Earth’s geological timescale. What I am referring to is this: From the very beginning of Earth’s formation ~4.5 billion years ago to today each period is defined and catalogued by events that occurred wi ...[Read More]

The role of structural geology in radioactive waste disposal

Ritabrata Dobe October 23, 2025

A photo of Dr. Isabel Ashman who's work has been featured in this blog

Dr. Isabel Ashman is a postdoctoral research associate at the rock mechanics and deformation laboratory at the University of Liverpool

In this blog post, I have interviewed Dr. Isabel Ashman, who is part of the GeoSafe consortium at the University of Liverpool, looking into safe and long-term containment of radioactive waste in geological formations. Dr. Ashman, along with other project partners at the University of Liverpool, aim to better understand how small to large-scale (sub-mm to several km) structural variabilities in tar ...[Read More]

Faults vs. Fractures — How to Tell Them Apart ?

Nkodia Hardy October 16, 2025

$A futuristic Black geologist wearing AR glasses stands in a glowing cave surrounded by four holographic screens labeled Geological Aspect, Geometry, Topology, and Kinematics & Mechanism, each displaying geological diagrams and fracture models, symbolizing modern geoscience visualization.$

Observation. Measurement. Connection. Motion — the four pillars of the Holo-Geologist. Credit: Gemini 2.5.

Faults and fractures can sometimes be confusing, especially for students taking their first geology courses. When they go hiking in the mountains and see a crack in the rock, they often wonder — is this a fracture or a fault? Even scientists sometimes mix the two terms, so it’s good to understand the difference. Since faults and fractures are important in many fields such as tunnel engineering, hy ...[Read More]