edited by Tobias Rolf

Finding stillness in chaos: The emergence of stable cratons in a hectic young Earth

Fabio Capitanio and edited by Tobias Rolf April 7, 2021

Artistic concept of the young Earth (Image Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab)

Today we know the Earth as a tectonically busy planet, shaped by mantle convection and plate tectonics. But this is nothing compared to the earlier phases of planetary evolution. This week, Fabio Capitanio (ARC Future Fellow and Associate Professor at the School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment at Monash University, Australia) takes us on a modelling tour back to a time when the Earth’s tecton ...[Read More]

Paleogeography – A window into past mantle dynamics

Boris Robert and edited by Tobias Rolf March 3, 2021

Example of a paleogeographic reconstruction (Scotese, 2014) that shows the possible continent distribution on Earth at 201.6 Ma, featuring the supercontinent Pangea.

Paleogeography refers to the past distribution of landmasses and oceans and gives important insights into the state of previous tectonics. This is a useful cornerstone for many aspects of geodynamics and this week Boris Robert – previously postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics Oslo (Norway) and currently visiting scientist at GFZ Potsdam (Germany) – tells us how we may ...[Read More]

On the way back to Mercury

Nicola Tosi and edited by Tobias Rolf November 18, 2020

Artist impression of BepiColombo approaching Mercury (Credit: ESA/ATG for spacecraft, NASA/JPL for Mercury)

It is the smallest planet of the Solar System, the closest to the Sun and the quickest at orbiting around it, the one with the least inclined and most elongated orbit, the only one where a day lasts two-thirds of a full year, the one with the highest bulk density. Mercury is a planet of extremes, but rarely visited by space missions (compared to Mars, Venus and the Moon). This week Dr. Nicola Tosi ...[Read More]

The mantle as seen from the core: more than a thermostat

Stefano Maffei, Chris Davies and edited by Tobias Rolf September 30, 2020

Earth's Magnetic Field from Space [Image credit: NASA Observatory]

Geodynamics does not stop at the core-mantle boundary – the Earth’s outer core is a truly dynamic geosystem. This week Stefano Maffei (Research fellow) and Chris Davies (Associate Professor) from the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds tell us more about the possible interplay between mantle and core and some of the remaining mysteries of the Earth’s magnetic field generatio ...[Read More]