Tectonics and Structural Geology

Minds over Methods: Mineral reactions in the lab

EGU Guest blogger March 4, 2019

CL image of a sheared quartz-muscovite gouge. Credit: André Niemeijer.

Mineral reactions in the lab André Niemeijer, Assistant Professor, Department of Earth Sciences at Utrecht University, the Netherlands In this blogpost we will go on a tour of the High Pressure and Temperature (HPT) Laboratory at Utrecht University and learn about some of the interesting science done there. André’s main interest is fault friction and all the various processes that are invol ...[Read More]

Minds over Methods: Massively dilatant faults in Iceland – from surface to subsurface structures

Michael Kettermann & Christopher Weismüller January 29, 2019

View towards Ármannsfell (North) at Thingvellir. Lake Thingvallavatn on the right and the southern part of the Almannagjá massively dilatant fault on the left. Note the tilted blocks dipping towards the lake. Credit: Michael Kettermann.

In this Minds over Methods we don’t have one, but two scientists talking about their research! Michael Kettermann and Christopher Weismüller, both from Aachen University, explain us about the multidisciplinary approach they use to understand more about massively dilatant faults. How do they form and what do they look like at depth? Massively dilatant faults in Iceland – from surface to subsu ...[Read More]

Minds over Methods: Tectonochemistry of Melting Mud in the Mantle, evidence from the Oman/UAE ophiolite

Christopher Spencer January 1, 2019

A lonely road in Wadi Al Hoqain, Oman. To the right: a date palm farm. To the left: mantle peridotite. The mantle section in the Haylayn massif can be as much as 15 kilometres thick. Credit: Christopher Spencer.

For this first Minds over Methods of 2019, we invited Christopher Spencer, Senior Research Fellow at Curtin University in Australia, to tell us something about tectonochemistry. By applying geochemistry to tectonic processes, it is possible to get more insight into the different stages of the rock cycle. By combining fieldwork and geochemical analyses of the Oman/UAE ophiolite, Chris and his co-wo ...[Read More]

Minds over Methods: What controls the shape of oceanic ridges?

Aurore Sibrant November 27, 2018

Bathymetry of an oceanic ridge. Credit: Ryan et al., 2009

In this edition of Minds over Methods, Aurore Sibrant, postdoc at Bretagne Occidentale University (France) explains how she studies the shape of oceanic ridges, and which parameters are thought to control this shape. By using laboratory experiments combined with observations from nature, she gives new insights into how spreading rates and lithosphere thickness influence the development of oceanic ...[Read More]

Lisbon at the dawn of modern geosciences

João Duarte & Elenora van Rijsingen November 3, 2018

Lisbon today. Terreiro do Paço square, downtown area. Credit: Wikipedia

Here, where the land ends and the sea begins... Luís de Camões (Portuguese poet) Lisbon. Spilled over the silver Tagus River, it is known by its beautiful low light, incredible food and friendly people. Here, cultures met, and poets dreamed, as navigators gathered to plan their journeys to old and new worlds. Fustigated by one of the greatest disasters the world has ever witnessed, Lisbon is inter ...[Read More]

Minds over Methods: Linking microfossils to tectonics

Sarah Kachovich July 3, 2018

Sarah at a chert outcrop in the field. Credit: Sarah Kachovich

This edition of Minds over Methods article is written by Sarah Kachovich and discusses how tiny fossils can be used to address large scale tectonic questions. During her PhD at the University of Brisbane, Australia, she used radiolarian biostratigraphy to provide temporal constraints on the tectonic evolution of the Himalayan region – onshore and offshore on board IODP Expedition 362. Sarah ...[Read More]

Minds over Methods: Experimental seismotectonics

Michael Rudolf March 26, 2018

Figure 1 - The analogue modelling laboratory at the GFZ-Potsdam (HelTec). Credit: Michael Rudolf

For our next Minds over Methods, we go back into the laboratory, this time for modelling seismotectonics! Michael Rudolf, PhD student at GFZ in Potsdam (Germany), tells us about the different types of analogue models they perform, and how these models contribute to a better understanding of earthquakes along plate boundaries. Experimental seismotectonics – Seismic cycles and tectonic ...[Read More]

EGU – Realm and Maze? An interview with Susanne Buiter, the current chair of the EGU Programme Committee

Micha Dietze, Annegret Larsen & Anouk Beniest February 26, 2018

source: Imaggeo

Susanne Buiter is senior scientist and team leader at the Solid Earth Geology Team at the Geological Survey of Norway. She is also the chair of the EGU Programme Committee. This means that she leads the coordination of the scientific programme of the annual General Assembly. She assists the Division Presidents and Programme Group chairs when they build the session programme of their divisions, hel ...[Read More]

Paris: From quarry to catacombs

Anouk Beniest February 2, 2018

The Notre Dame, almost entirely built from Parisian Limestone, from the Lutetian Age. Credit: Anouk Beniest

Paris, 2000 ya. Claude is sweating all over. It’s mid-July and the sun is burning on his skin. With his hammer and shovel he is digging up grey and white stones. The faults and fractures in the rock help him to get the rocks out easily. But still, it’s hot and humid and his shift isn’t over yet. Luckily he can’t complain about the view. Lutetia, one of the new Roman settlements lies right in front ...[Read More]

Minds over Methods: Making ultramylonites

Andrew Cross September 8, 2017

The Large Volume Torsion apparatus - Credits: Andrew Cross

“Summer break is over, which means we will continue with our Minds over Methods blogs! For this edition we invited Andrew Cross to write about his experiments with a new rock deformation device – the Large Volume Torsion (LVT) apparatus. Andrew is currently working as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, USA. ...[Read More]