Tectonics and Structural Geology

Mind your Head: An introduction to Workplace Bullying in Academia

Simone Pieber, Elenora van Rijsingen, Derya Gürer and Anouk Beniest March 24, 2021

Credit: Dan Meyers. Distributed via Unsplash

Understanding workplace aggression is a complex matter, and many questions arise when trying to tackle the issue. For instance, which acts and behaviours classify as workplace aggression, and when does something become workplace bullying or mobbing? How can you recognize if you or a co-worker/friend are the target of workplace aggression? How can you protect yourself and/or support others? What ca ...[Read More]

TS Must-Read – Davis et al. (1983) Mechanics of Fold-and-Thrust Belts and Accretionary Wedges

The Must-read team March 12, 2021

The establishment of plate tectonics in the 1960s triggered a reappraisal of the development of mountain belts and facilitated the physics-based understanding of mountain building processes. Many models for mountain building were, however, mostly conceptual, and there was no appropriate theory that described the first-order mechanics of mountain belts. In 1983, this gap was – at least partially – ...[Read More]

TS Must-Read – Tapponnier et al. (1982) Propagating extrusion tectonics in Asia: New insights from simple experiments with plasticine

The Must-read team February 15, 2021

In “Propagating extrusion tectonics in Asia: New insights from simple experiments with plasticine”, Tapponnier and co-authors (1982) describe one of the most famous analogue experiments in the history of Earth Sciences. The experiment was performed in the laboratories of Rennes (France), at the beginning of the ‘80s. The article aims to shed light onto the large-scale effects caused by the India- ...[Read More]

TS Must-Read – Boyer & Elliot (1982) Thrust systems

The Must-read team February 1, 2021

The now-classic paper of Boyer & Elliott (1982) presented a novel and general geometric framework to study thrust systems. The framework describes thrust surfaces by lines of contact between thrusts, or branch lines, and lines of thrust termination, or tip lines, and examines how they join into imbricate fans or duplexes. The framework allows accurate and succinct descriptions of the geometry ...[Read More]

Janet Vida Watson (1 September 1923 – 29 March 1985): The woman who could translate the story of Precambrian rocks into a crystal-clear message

Anouk Beniest January 29, 2021

An artists illustration of Janet Watson (credit: Annique van der Boon)

On a late summer day in September 1923, Janet Vida Watson was born. With a father working in palaeontology and a mother who did research in embryology until her marriage, Janet grew up with science all around her. She went to South Hampstead High School, known for its science teaching and continued her education in General Science at Reading University. She graduated in biology and geology in 1943 ...[Read More]

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]

TS Must-Read – Ramsay (1980) Shear zone geometry: a review

The Must-read team January 21, 2021

Ramsay’s 1980 important contribution is a practical and theoretical handbook about shear zones, where the reader can find a detailed classification of shear zones, their description, and mathematical explanation. A definition of the concept of shear zones opens the article, followed by the shear zones classification into three types, namely brittle (e.g., Fig. 1a), brittle-ductile (e.g., Fig ...[Read More]

TS Must-Read – Brace and Kohlstedt (1980) Limits on Lithospheric Stress Imposed by Laboratory Experiments

The Must-read team January 19, 2021

In 1980 Brace and Kohlstedt published a short paper that constrains the strength of continental lithosphere by extrapolating laboratory measurements of rock strength to geological conditions. Their approach follows earlier work by Goetze and Evans (1979) and relies on two key considerations. First, the brittle strength is given by the frictional strength of rocks following Byerlee’s law (Bye ...[Read More]

#OnTheRocks – Because Earth is just beautiful!

Silvia Brizzi January 15, 2021

The El Gordo Megabed from the Tabernas basin in Almeria, Spain. El Gordo which directly translates to the Fat Megabed is a fitting name for this huge sedimentary structure. The photo was taken on the morning after St.Patricks day on a field camp for Irish students. The photographer's previously thought to be incurable hangover was most certainly cured by the site. Credits: Grace Fitzgerald

From the time the first Kodak camera in 1888 went on sale we can say with confidence a geologist somewhere was trying to capture field photographs. We love to capture the beauty of the field and every geologist has a story to tell. The EGU would like to connect these stories globally in our new #OnTheRocks series. #OnTheRocks will produce a compilation of geological photographs on different scales ...[Read More]

TS Must-Read – Mckenzie (1978) On the development of Sedimentary basins

The Must-read team January 8, 2021

Continental extension strongly affects the topography of continents by shaping elongated rift valleys, referred to as rift basins in the geological record. A strong implication of the formation of these basins is a two-step subsidence history: an initial rapid subsidence during extension, and a second, slower subsidence once active extension has ceased. Although this observation was made already l ...[Read More]