GD
Geodynamics

Geodynamics 101

The Hidden Topography of the Deep Earth

The Hidden Topography of the Deep Earth

Travel across the globe and you will see landscapes change along the way. But what if the same were true inside Earth? What if the landscapes we see on the surface also exist deep within? In this week’s Geodynamics 101 post, Ankit Barik, Assistant Research Scientist at Johns Hopkins University, explores the hidden topography deep inside our planet and why do they matter. The only fluid part of the ...[Read More]

The truth about The Odyssey: Geodynamics, lies, cries and the hunt for Ithaca

The truth about The Odyssey: Geodynamics, lies, cries and the hunt for Ithaca

If you have ever tried to draw a geological cross-section under a fantasy map, Homer is surprisingly cooperative (and if you remember my Middle-earth geology post, you already know I live for this). The Odyssey is full of real places and real people—Troy, Mycenae, Sparta—stitched together with storms, monsters and divine interventions that would make any structural geologist reach for a stress ten ...[Read More]

Modeling the full spectrum of observed seismicity: Insights from friction laws, fault instability, and fault-zone mechanics

Modeling the full spectrum of observed seismicity: Insights from friction laws, fault instability, and fault-zone mechanics

Introduction Despite advances in our understanding of rock mechanics, the frictional behavior of rocks, and the physics of instability in geological materials, the coexistence of slow and fast earthquakes, as well as various types of fault-zone seismic radiation such as tremor, remains enigmatic. Can fault mechanics and friction laws reproduce the full spectrum of observed seismicity? In this week ...[Read More]

Fluid injection-induced seismicity: the case of hydrofracking

Fluid injection-induced seismicity: the case of hydrofracking

Seismicity is undoubtedly an integral part of Geodynamics, since seismic data, from large-scale geophysical monitoring, can provide many valuable insights regarding the state of the Earth’s crust; seismicity, however, is not always natural, it can also be induced. In this week’s blog, we explored the subject of fluid injection-induced seismicity mainly through the lens of hydraulic fracturing (HF; ...[Read More]