Subduction zones

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]

Exploration of Deep Earthquakes and Planetary Interiors

Ayako Tsuchiyama and edited by Rajani Shrestha December 6, 2023

Cross-sectional view showing location of deep earthquakes

Deep earthquakes inside the Earth (Image credit: Ayako Tsuchiyama)

Most earthquakes on Earth start in the shallow, brittle part of the planet. However, there are several regions where earthquakes happen deep in the mantle. Where are these regions? Why do these earthquakes get so deep? In this week’s blog post, Ayako Tsuchiyama from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) takes us on a journey into the mysterious world of deep earthquakes. Growing u ...[Read More]

Reflections on the geological and geodynamic evolution of the Southern Central Andes

Matías Barrionuevo and edited by Michaël Pons June 21, 2023

Sketch showing the flat slab configuration, where the Nazca plate subducts beneath the South American plate with a subhorizontal angle (modified from Sanchez et al., 2019)

Reflections on the geological and geodynamic evolution of the Southern Central Andes

How does slab tearing evolve?

Nevena Andrić-Tomašević, Alexander Koptev and edited by Giridas Maiti March 29, 2023

Slab tearing refers to the gradual propagation of the break-off of a subducting plate. As observed in numerous modern and ancient convergent tectonic settings, the growth of the tear “window” in the downgoing plate has strongly influenced various geologic and geodynamic processes, such as depocenter migration of foreland basins, uplift rates in mountain ranges, earthquakes, volcanism, and flow pat ...[Read More]