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 France has come to the rescu ...[Read More]
Geology Bites Podcast
Podcast conversations about geology with researchers making key contributions to our understanding of the Earth and the Solar System I have always wanted to grasp the widest spatial and temporal context in which we find ourselves. After completing a physics degree at Cambridge University, this led me to cosmology, and a PhD on the structure of clusters of galaxies at Oxford University. I then join ...[Read More]
TS Must-Read – Armijo et al. (1986) Quaternary extension in southern Tibet: field observations and tectonic implications
This contribution is a very detailed field report of the Sino-French expedition in eastern Tibet that took place in 1980-1982. Armijo and coauthors accurately analyse the different tectonic styles present in the north and south of the Yarlung-Zangbo Suture Zone, frequently defined as the “chord” joining the eastern and western syntaxes of the Himalayan orogen (Fig. 1). North of the chord, strike-s ...[Read More]
Features From the Field: Pencil Cleavage
A selection of the author’s pencil shale collection, appropriately with a pencil for scale! Neoproterozoic Tapley Hill Formation from South Australia, Ordovician Liptrap Formation, Victoria, Balcanoona Formation shales from Mount Fitton, South Australia and a sample from an unknown location rescued from a departmental clean out (source: Sandra McLaren)
This edition of ‘Features from the field’ is brought to you by Sandra McLaren, a senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne. She will be talking about type of rock formation called “Pencil Cleavage” so called because it looks like pencils. Sandra even has a small collection of pencil/crayon shale which is the cover image of this post. I have seen quite a range of differ ...[Read More]
100 years of Marie Tharp – The woman who mapped the ocean floor and laid the foundations of modern geology
An artists illustration of Marie Tharp (credit: Annique van der Boon)
Marie Tharp (July 30, 1920 – August 23, 2006) would have turned 100 on this very day and she continues to live through her legacy of having mapped the world’s oceans. Similar to famous painters, some of whom only gain appreciation after their death, Marie Tharp is one of the most underappreciated scientists in the history of the earth sciences. Marie was born in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Due to h ...[Read More]
Features from the field: crenulation cleavage
Crenulation cleavage in schists from the Island of Elba (Italy). Note how the older foliation is folded and a new foliation developed. Photo © Samuele Papeschi
In one of the former episodes of the ‘Features from the field’ series we have talked about foliations, and how they develop when rocks are pushed together by the movement of tectonic plates. It is quite uncommon, however, that tectonic forces are active in the same direction for an unlimited period of time. The rule, rather than the exception, is that the orientation of tectonic forces ...[Read More]
Beyond Tectonics: How the tectonic events of 1783 were perceived by the population of Europe
A contemporary print of the first of the 1783 Calabrian earthquakes.
Image source: Wikipedia
This edition of “Beyond Tectonics” is brought to you by Katrin Kleemann. Katrin is a doctoral candidate at the Rachel Carson Center/LMU Munich in Germany, she studies environmental history and geology. Her doctoral project investigates the Icelandic Laki fissure eruption of 1783 and its impacts on the northern hemisphere. “A Violent Revolution of Planet Earth” – The C ...[Read More]
Introducing our new blog team!
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]