Geodynamics 101

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]

Rayleigh-Taylor instability in geodynamics

Dip Ghosh and edited by Jyotirmoy Paul February 17, 2021

Flow against gravity is a common feature in the geodynamic phenomenon. In this week’s Geodynamics 101, Dip Ghosh from Jadavpur University Geodynamics Lab will explain the fundamentals of Rayleigh-Taylor instability: A key to understanding the anti-gravity flow. It has long been realized that most of the geodynamic processes can be described in terms of slow viscous flow. Thus, like many othe ...[Read More]

Geodynamics 101: Dynamic Topography

Fred Richards and edited by Anna Gülcher November 26, 2020

The Geodynamics 101 series serves to showcase the diversity of research topics and/or methods in the geodynamics community. In this week’s post, Fred Richards explains how ‘Dynamic Topography’ is used in the Geosciences, and discusses the knowns, unknowns, and the challenges ahead. Since shortly after its tumultuous formation 4.5 billion years ago, Earth has been steadily cooling, wit ...[Read More]

Enigmas at depth

Editorial team 1 November 13, 2019

The Geodynamics 101 series serves to showcase the diversity of research topics and/or methods in the geodynamics community in an understandable manner. In this week’s Geodynamics 101 post, Marcel Thielmann, Senior Researcher at the University of Bayreuth, discusses the possible mechanisms behind the ductile deformation at great depths that causes deep earthquakes. Earthquakes are one of the expre ...[Read More]