Tectonics and Structural Geology

Minds over Methods: Dating deformation with U-Pb carbonate geochronology

EGU Guest blogger August 16, 2019

Cathodoluminescence image of calcite vein in background, with 100 micron laser ablation spots overlain top right and U-Pb isochron overlain left. Image credit: Nick Roberts

For this edition of Minds over Methods, we have invited Nick Roberts, a research scientist at the British Geological Survey, working within the Geochronology and Tracers Facility (GTF) running a LA-ICP-MS laboratory. Nick has a background in ‘hard-rock’ geology, incorporating geochemistry, geochronology, and magmatic and metamorphic petrology across a wide range of tectonic settings, and is now in ...[Read More]

Minds over Methods: Virtual Microscopy for Geosciences

Liene Spruženiece July 23, 2019

Information that can be extracted from a thin-section scan using the Virtual Microscope. All micrographs represent the same area within the thin section. From the upper left side: plain polarized light, crossed polarizers rotated by 0°, crossed polarizers rotated by 45°; from the lower left side: colour intensity map, colour saturation map, phase map. Credit: Liene Spruženiece

The next “Minds over Methods” blogpost is a group effort of Liene Spruženiece (left) – postdoctoral researcher at RWTH Aachen and her colleagues Joyce Schmatz, Simon Virgo and Janos L. Urai. The Virtual Microscope is a collaborative project between RWTH Aachen University and Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology (Schmatz et al., 2010; Virgo et al., 2016). In the ...[Read More]

From Mountains to Modernists: the geological foundations and inspirations of Barcelona

Hanneke Heida July 17, 2019

Sunset view from Barcelona harbour over the city with the Collserola mountains in the backdrop. Credit: Aleksandar Pasaric via Pexels

Barcelona is a vibrant city on the Mediterranean coast, nested snugly between the sea and the Collserola Ridge of the Catalan Coastal ranges. The story of Barcelona starts around 2000 years ago as an Iberian settlement, owing to its strategic location on the coastal route connecting Iberia and Europe. The combination of easily defendable ground and the fertile soils of the Besos and Llobregat delt ...[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]

Meeting Plate Tectonics – Barbara Romanowicz

David Fernández-Blanco June 25, 2019

Credit: Grotzinger, J. and Jordan, T. (2014). Understanding Earth. [Plate boundaries by Peter Bird, UCLA]

These blogposts present interviews with outstanding scientists that bloomed and shape the theory that revolutionised Earth Sciences — Plate Tectonics. Get to know them, learn from their experience, discover the pieces of advice they share and find out where the newest challenges lie! Meeting Barbara Romanowicz Barbara Romanowicz studied mathematics and applied physics and did two PhDs, one in astr ...[Read More]

The Netherlands: In search of the oldest rocks of a muddy country

Anne Pluymakers June 17, 2019

The flat countryside of the Netherlands. Credit: Anne Pluymakers

Technically speaking, the Netherlands isn’t really a city, even though it is the most densely populated country in the European Union and one of the most densely populated countries in the world, with 488 people/km2. It is a delta, and for many people geology is not the first thing that springs to mind when thinking about the flat countryside. Large parts of the country have been more often below ...[Read More]

Introducing our new blog team!

Elenora van Rijsingen June 14, 2019

After three succesful first years of the Tectonics and Structural Geology blog, it is time to bring our platform to the next level! To provide you more frequent content over a wide range of topics, we invited some new people to join our team. We are still always on the lookout for new guest authors and/or team members, so let us know if you want to contribute! So, what will you be reading on our b ...[Read More]

Meeting Plate Tectonics – Jean-Philippe Avouac

David Fernández-Blanco June 11, 2019

Credit: Grotzinger, J. and Jordan, T. (2014). Understanding Earth. [Plate boundaries by Peter Bird, UCLA]

These blogposts present interviews with outstanding scientists that bloomed and shape the theory that revolutionised Earth Sciences — Plate Tectonics. Get to know them, learn from their experience, discover the pieces of advice they share and find out where the newest challenges lie! Meeting Jean-Philippe Avouac Prof. Jean-Philippe Avouac initially studied mathematics and physics during his underg ...[Read More]

Minds over Methods: The faults of a rift

Åke Fagereng June 5, 2019

Looking south along the Malawi rift, with escarpment to the right and Chilwa Intrusions in the valley floor. Credit: Åke Fagereng

Do ancient structures control present earthquakes in the East African Rift? Åke Fagereng, Reader in Structural Geology, School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University For this edition of Minds over Methods, we have invited Åke Fagereng, reader in Structural Geology at the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University. Åke writes about faults in the Malawi rift, and the seismic ha ...[Read More]

Meeting Plate Tectonics – Nicolas Coltice

David Fernández-Blanco May 28, 2019

Credit: Grotzinger, J. and Jordan, T. (2014). Understanding Earth. [Plate boundaries by Peter Bird, UCLA]

These blogposts present interviews with outstanding scientists that bloomed and shape the theory that revolutionised Earth Sciences — Plate Tectonics. Get to know them, learn from their experience, discover the pieces of advice they share and find out where the newest challenges lie! Meeting Nicolas Coltice Nicolas Coltice graduated with a PhD from the École Normale Supérieure of Lyon, France. He ...[Read More]