Building the Earth in a sandbox The Main Ethiopian Rift stretches for hundreds of kilometers through Ethiopia, a massive fracture where Africa is slowly tearing apart to birth a new ocean. However, the processes driving this continental breakup remain hidden deep beneath layers of volcanic rock and millions of years of geological history. …[Read More]
Continental rifts are a striking manifestation of the forces at work in the Earth’s interior and are often associated with volcanic activity. Contrary to intuition, volcanism is not confined to rift grabens, but migrates as the rifts evolve. How and why this happens is still not clear. This week, Gaetano Ferrante from Rice University, Houston …[Read More]
The Earth’s internal engine drives several geodynamic processes such as continental rifting and dynamic topography, shaping mesmerizing landscapes. Through numerical modeling, insights into formations like the Continental Rift of Southeastern Brazil deepen our appreciation of Earth’s dynamic nature and the forces sculpting its surface. The heat engine beneath our feet Not so long ago, human …[Read More]
The human lifespan is too short compared to the geological time. To comprehend long-term phenomena, numerical modeling emerges as an imperative approach. But, there are several ways for visualizing the output of these models. Among these, animations stand out as a powerful tool, allowing us to watch the dynamic evolution of our planet over geological …[Read More]
2020 left your head spinning? This week Derek Neuharth from GFZ Potsdam introduces us to the spinning microplates that can be found in extensional plate boundaries such as the East African Rift System and the East Pacific Rise. Divergent plate boundaries Microplates are enigmatic features that form in the boundaries between tectonic plates. Generally, plate …[Read More]
In this week’s post, Mohamed Gouiza discusses the challenges of living under constant stress, paralysed by the possibility of failure and self-perceived inevitability of impending breakup. Continental rifting, of course! Oh… did you think I was talking about life as a researcher? Under tensile stress, the lithosphere stretches, the asthenosphere rises, the crust fails, and …[Read More]
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. …[Read More]
