This week in News & Views, dr. Marzieh Baes from GFZ Potsdam introduces us to the mechanisms behind subduction initiation. Moreover, she discusses the different types of subduction initiation in reaction to plume-lithosphere interaction that she observed in her recent 3-d numerical modelling study. Possible scenarios of subduction initiation According to plate tectonics, oceanic plates are for ...[Read More]
Plate tectonics is a key geological process on Earth, shaping its surface, and making it unique among the planets in the Solar System. Yet, how plate tectonics emerged and which factors controlled its evolution remain controversial. The recently published paper in Nature by Sobolev and Brown suggests new ideas to solve this problem…. What makes plate tectonics possible on contemporary Earth? It is ...[Read More]
This week we again turn our attention to a Remarkable Region that deserves a spot in the scientific limelight. Postdoctoral researcher Eva Bredow of Kiel University shares with us her long history with Réunion Island. At first glance, Réunion is a relatively small tropical island, located between Madagascar and Mauritius, and from my personal experience, most Germans have never even heard of it. T ...[Read More]
Geoscientists frequently use forward geodynamic simulations to test hypotheses derived from geophysical and geologic observations. While numerical simulations of lithospheric deformation have lead to key advances in our understanding of tectonic processes, in many cases it remains difficult to ascertain whether numerical models reproduce observations for the correct underlying regions. This week, ...[Read More]
