The Must-Read paper by Bond et al. (2007) is a truly original piece of work, focusing on the conceptual uncertainty that occurs when earth scientists carry out a geological interpretation on data with limited resolution and/or spatial coverage. In this example it is about an interpretation of seismic reflection data (Fig. 1), but it can …[Read More]
Geomythology. Devils tower: born from hell? Following the previous two posts (Giant’s Causeway – the mythical stone way; Columnar Basalts and why Hexagons are nature’s favourite shape) it is clear how columnar joints are quite common around the globe, and they create such a marvelous natural environment that inspired amazing myths and legends: the Devils …[Read More]
As many will know, on Sunday, 28 May 2023, one of the most prominent, energetic and valued members of the Tectonics and Structural Geology community, Emeritus Professor Janos Urai, was lost in a tragic climbing accident in Belgium. Here we remember Janos for the amazing scientist that he was and for the huge legacy that …[Read More]
Subduction zones are areas where one tectonic plate dives beneath another one and sinks into the Earth’s mantle, creating powerful earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Understanding the intricate details of subduction zones can be a daunting task, and retrieving the necessary data often feels like an uphill battle. But fear not! The Geosciences Montpellier Laboratory in …[Read More]
What does an insect eye, Saturn’s North pole, beeswax, and a rock formation called columnar basalts all have in common? They are all hexagonal in shape. Why is this the case? Hexagons are the most efficient way to fill a space with the least amount of material The science of bubbles and bubble sculptures is …[Read More]
The EGU Tectonics and Structural geology Early Career Scientist representative team continues to grow, and as it grows, the activities it conducts during and between GAs also grows. In the lead up to EGU 23 here we show some of those activities. We are also looking for the next member of the ECS representative team! …[Read More]
Ireland is famous for retaining a rich heritage of folk tales, which are thousands of years old. They tell stories about great heroes, wars and loves, fantastic creatures such as leprechauns, fairies, banshees, giants and so on. Among them, there is a Middle Earth time myth, concerning a “small” giant, named Finn McCool, who built …[Read More]
For the first time in 2006 Cannat and co-workers described a smooth seafloor type in the mid-ocean ridge located in the SW Indian Ocean (SWIR). The 660-km-long off-axis bathymetry, gravity, and magnetic dataset presented in the study lies near the Rodrigues triple junction (RTJ in Fig. 1). The must read paper expanded the previous conceptual …[Read More]
Cowie et al. (2005) is an exciting “must-read” for any geologist interested in rift systems. It examines strain accumulation and extension within a rift basin and scrutinizes model predictions with field observations. The authors highlight two sets of models, the first set of models uses brittle deformation to explain extension (e.g., King et al., 1988; …[Read More]
The must read paper Wortel & Spakman (2000) uses seismic tomography models showing the three-dimensional upper mantle velocity structure of the Mediterranean-Carpathian region to hypothesize lithospheric processes related to slab detachment, and particularly, the lateral migration of the detachment along plate boundaries (Fig. 1). The paper defends that this process is a key control in …[Read More]
