numerical modelling

Rift linkage and rotating microplates

Derek Neuharth and edited by Anne Glerum January 20, 2021

Image Credit: modified by Anne Glerum after NASA Earth Observatory/Joshua Stevens.

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 boundary dynamics are divided into three ...[Read More]

2021: 100th year of the craton concept and beyond

Jyotirmoy Paul January 13, 2021

Life on a craton, Hampi, India

One hundred years back, Leopold Kober first introduced the term “Kratogen”. With time, the concept of kratogen has evolved, and they are now known as cratons. In this week’s news and views, Jyotirmoy (@GeophyJo), a PhD student from the Indian Institute of Science revisits the history of craton science: how the craton concept has evolved and what are the modern problems related to them. &nbs ...[Read More]

What controls Victoria microplate rotation in the East African Rift?

Editorial team 1 July 15, 2020

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

Editorial Team 2 July 8, 2020

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]