tectonics

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]

The Sassy Scientist – Rock-‘N’-Roll

The Sassy Scientist June 12, 2020

Aïda rummages around within the lavish ball pit of rock samples as often as not, but is left unsure which rock type should be her number one: What is your favourite rock? Dear Aïda, I’ll be honest with you. Yeah, I’m surprised too… I don’t occupy myself that often with constructing countdown lists of rock types, and simply consider all rocks as equally and most important. O ...[Read More]

Can plume-lithosphere interaction initiate a modern subduction zone?

Editorial team 1 April 15, 2020

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]

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]