Geodynamics

Science has no borders. Researchers do: a modern Odyssey

Katherine Villavicencio August 5, 2026

A conceptual illustration of the modern scientific journey, inspired by Homer's Odyssey, where the pursuit of knowledge unfolds alongside the challenges of international academic mobility. Image generated using IA.

When Homer wrote The Odyssey nearly three thousand years ago, he described a journey filled with storms, uncertainty, unexpected detours, and the relentless hope of eventually reaching Ithaca. Today’s journeys may no longer cross the Mediterranean, but they continue to test researchers’ resilience in unexpected ways. Not because researchers sail across unknown seas, but because the pur ...[Read More]

The pulsed rise of the Nahuelbuta Range: How glaciers indirectly built a mountain in Patagonia

Ambrosio Vega-Ruiz, edited by Lorenzo Mantiloni and edited by Michaël Pons July 29, 2026

Mapuche creational myth of the struggle between Caicai Vilu (water snake) and Trentren Vilu (earth snake), which shaped the Patagonian forearc. Credit: Ambrosio Vega-Ruiz.

Forearc ranges are a striking example of how tectonic processes shape our planet. The Nahuelbuta Range in southern Chile is one of such settings. This week, Ambrosio Vega-Ruiz from the GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Germany, is telling us the story of this remarkable range, exploring how climate feedback can influence tectonic uplift across coastal forearcs. Tectonic uplift before tectonic ...[Read More]

From rifts to reefs: the geodynamic origins of shallow coral reef habitats at passive continental margins

Zhibin Lei, edited by Michaël Pons and illustrated by Lea Pennacchioni July 22, 2026

Coral reef platforms in rift systems form where tectonic extension, subsidence, and sediment redistribution create shallow marine basement suitable for reef growth. Illustrated by Lea Pennacchioni.

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

Manel Ramos and illustrated by Lea Pennacchioni July 15, 2026

Odysseus (drama queen) and Strabo trying to understand where is Itaka. Illustration made by Lea Pennacchioni

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]