Tectonics and Structural Geology

Features from the Field: Shear Zones and Mylonites

Samuele Papeschi, Sandra McLaren and Hannah Davies January 25, 2021

Dextral, ductile shear zones crosscut foliated schist at Cap de Creus (Catalona, Spain). Photo © Jordi Carreras

The San Andreas Fault in California, the Alpine Fault in New Zealand, or the Main Frontal Thrust in the Himalayas are some of the most famous and largest fault zones that accommodate the relative displacement between two adjacent crustal blocks. Such faults, however, represent only the shallower expression of something much bigger: a crustal shear zone. In the first 10 kilometers or so of the crus ...[Read More]

Mind your Head: Taking care of yourself during the Corona-virus crisis – Part 2

Anne Pluymakers and Hannah Davies December 11, 2020

Credit: Bongkarn Thanyakij. Distributed via Pexels

It has been many months since the first lockdown, in some countries about a year, in other countries perhaps eight months. A continuing learning curve, with many ups and downs. Now the end is slowly appearing on the horizon, with promises of vaccines, and several countries making definite plans on when and how to vaccinate. Still – it will take at least 6 months, quite possibly more, until it is o ...[Read More]

#ShareEGU20: An online EGU General assembly?

Hannah Davies April 21, 2020

Credit: cottonbro. Distributed via Pexels

In mid-March it was decided that the EGU conference in Vienna was to be cancelled, with an alternative proposed, the online GA. Being the first EGU general assembly to be held online, many people are doubtful about many aspects, such as how the conference will be organised and conducted. EGU has been providing answers to questions on their page and on Geolog, and we thought we would provide some h ...[Read More]

Beyond Tectonics: Building fictional worlds to better understand our own

Hannah Davies April 10, 2020

Artists illustration of the TRAPPIST-1 system. Image credit NASA

In this edition of “Beyond Tectonics” Ben Blackledge and Hannah Davies talk about worldbuilding and how it can be applied to the discipline of tectonics and tides. Ben Blackledge recently completed his MSc in Bangor and will soon be beginning a PhD in Bristol University. Let’s begin with a question. Are the tides always the same on every planet? Because of the force of gravity, ...[Read More]

Beyond Tectonics: How mountain building shaped biodiversity

Hannah Davies January 31, 2020

Humboldt's drawing of vegetation zones at mountains of the Andes, Tenerife, Himalaya, Alpes and Pyrenees, and Lapland, inspired by his travels through Europe and South America. Available via license: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

This edition of “Beyond Tectonics” is brought to you by Lydian Boschman. Lydian is a postdoctoral researcher at ETH Zürich. She has a background in geology and plate tectonic reconstructions, but now works with a group of biodiversity modelers of the Landscape Ecology group at ETH, bridging the gap between geology and biology. In her research, she focuses on the uplift history of the Andes, and ho ...[Read More]

Bangor and Snowdonia, a natural laboratory for geologists of the scientific revolution

Hannah Davies November 20, 2019

Bangor Pier with a snowy mountain backdrop Credit: Crown copyright (2012) Visit Wales

Bangor, once a tropical paradise on the coast of Gondwana, then a volcanic wasteland at the foothills of an immense mountain chain. The region would then be buried under glaciers for thousands of years before finally developing into an unassuming Welsh University town. Wales’ place in modern geology Perhaps you have looked at the chronostratigraphic chart of Earth history and wondered what ...[Read More]

Beyond Tectonics: Can only tectonically active planets sustain life?

Hannah Davies September 23, 2019

Earthrise, image source: Wikipedia

This edition of “Beyond Tectonics” is brought to you by David Waltham. David is a professor of Geophysics at Royal Holloway who studies Geology, Astronomy and Astrobiology. His current research focus is on whether the Earth is “special” because it is habitable, or if the Earth is one of a vast amount of life-bearing planets. “Is Earth Special? Do we live on a typical rocky ...[Read More]

Beyond tectonics: The present-day tides are the biggest they have been since the formation of Pangea

Hannah Davies July 12, 2019

Couesnon river estuary feeding into the English channel, at low tide, Northern France. Credit: Twitter

“Beyond tectonics” is a blog series which aims to highlight the connections between tectonics and other aspects of the Earth system. In this iteration of the “Beyond tectonics” series we talk about how plate tectonics have affected the tides on Earth over geological timescales. We will talk about tectonics on the Earth since the formation of Pangea to the present day, and i ...[Read More]