Geodynamics

Geodynamics in Planetary Science

Editorial Team 2 May 22, 2019

Credit: Modified by Iris van Zelst from Pixabay

It is a question that humankind has been asking for thousands of years: Are we alone in the Universe or are there other worlds like our own? As of today, it is unknown whether or not inhabited planets exist outside of our own solar system. With the discovery of the extrasolar planet 51 Peg b in 1992, it was confirmed that our sun is not the only star that hosts planets and therefore the search for ...[Read More]

Introducing the blog team!

Iris van Zelst May 15, 2019

Let's be real: we never hid from you anyway. We never wore a mask. You know who we are. Or do you? Maybe this time, someone is wearing a mask...

It’s time for another proper introduction of the blog team! As you will probably know, things have been a bit silent on the blog front lately. This is because all the blog editors were very busy and also: it’s hard to upload 52 times a year. You come up with some great blog ideas! (if you do: e-mail us, please!). Luckily, we used the EGU General Assembly to find some fresh blood for th ...[Read More]

The geodynamic processes behind the generation of the earliest continents

Anna Gülcher / Lucía Pérez Díaz May 8, 2019

The earliest continents played a fundamental role on Earth’s habitability. However, their generation is still not understood, and it requires an integrated approach between petrology and geodynamic modelling. In a new study, Piccolo and co-workers developed a method to handle the effects of chemical evolution on the geodynamic processes. They show that the production of the earliest felsic c ...[Read More]

Travel log – The Kenya rift

Editorial team 1 May 1, 2019

View from Subukia viewpoint into the rift valley with the opposite rift shoulders in the background. Pencil for scale. Courtesy of Corinna Kallich, Potsdam University.

A little over a year ago, I was lucky enough to join a field trip to the Kenya rift organized by Potsdam University and Roma III. This rift is part of the active East African Rift System, which I introduced in a previous blog post. With a group of 25 enthusiastic participants from Roma Tre, Potsdam University, Nairobi University and GFZ Potsdam (we somehow always managed to make the 20-person bus ...[Read More]