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Geodynamics

News & Views

What controls Victoria microplate rotation in the East African Rift?

July 15, 2020
Lake Magadi, Kenya.
Clouds reflecting in lake Magadi, Kenya, located in the Eastern Branch of the East African Rift System. The high rising flanks of the Rift’s border faults can be seen in the background. (Credit: Corinna Kalich, University of Potsdam)

This week in News & Views, Anne Glerum, postdoc at GFZ Potsdam, discusses how her numerical models support a lithosphere-driven mechanism for the rotation of large continental microplates, like Victoria in the East African Rift System. The East African Rift System (EARS) is a newly forming divergent boundary between the Nubian and Somalian plates (Fig. 1). The plate boundary system includes se ...[Read More]

Understanding intraplate earthquakes

July 8, 2020
Understanding intraplate earthquakes
Location of intraplate earthquakes along passive margins. Figure published in Wolin et al., 2012.

  One of the basic tenets of plate tectonics states that deformation occurs along plate boundaries while plate interiors remain almost undeformed. Intraplate earthquakes  defy this principle and hence are quite enigmatic.  In this week’s News and Views, Prof. Attreyee Ghosh from the Centre for Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, tries to explain the reasons behind intraplate ea ...[Read More]

Meet the incoming GD President – Jeroen van Hunen

June 17, 2020
Meet the incoming GD President – Jeroen van Hunen
Background image Reimund Bertrams from Pixabay

This week on the EGU GD Blog, we interview the newly elected incoming Geodynamics Division President, Jeroen van Hunen (Durham University). Jeroen takes on the role for 2021-2023, from Paul Tackley (ETH Zürich). Jeroen is a Professor within the Department of Geosciences, including the Geodynamics, Geophysics, and The Solid Earth research groups. He is originally from the Netherlands, having studie ...[Read More]

#Black In Geoscience

June 10, 2020
#Black In Geoscience
The artwork above can be requested for non-profit use by clicking here. Branded items (100% proceeds are donated to charity) are available here. 

The last few weeks have been filled with devastating news – harrowing stories about the police killing black people. Racial inequalities and discrimination go far beyond current events. In science in general, and in the geosciences in particular, little progress has been made regarding diversity over the past few decades. This is both the result of deep-seated institutional racism  (sometimes refe ...[Read More]