tectonics Archives

Graphic showing the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Ridge (red line) and how melting ice from Greenland caused changes in the motion of Earth's crust (purple arrows). -- University of Colorado at Boulder

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Icy Worlds, Press Release

Melting Glaciers May Have Sped Up Continental Drift and Fueled Volcanic Eruptions

by Keith CowingApril 24, 2025April 24, 2025

Around 10,000 years ago as the last Ice Age drew to a close, the drifting of the continent of North America, and spreading in the Atlantic Ocean, may have temporarily […]

a）Element mapping of the syntheic pyrope garnet at high-pressure and high-temperature（b）Variation of the water content of pyrope garnets with pressure and temperature in the present and previous studies. -- Credit ©Science China Press

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Hydrated Pyrope Garnet Helps Understand Water Transport In Earth’s Mantle

by Keith CowingApril 24, 2025April 24, 2025

Water plays an important role in the Earth’s evolution and dynamics, and it can be stored and delivered into the Earth’s interior by subducting slabs from the lithosphere.

Summary of the geodynamic, topographic, climatological, and biogeographical evolution of the system. Regional paleogeography with profiles showing mantle density anomalies from Straume, et al. 68 -- Nature .

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Tethys

How Earth’s Mantle Activity Drove Humans And Animals Into Asia And Africa

by Keith CowingApril 22, 2025October 7, 2025

What roils beneath the Earth’s surface may feel a world away, but the activity can help forge land masses that dictate ocean circulation, climate patterns, and even animal activity and […]

Continental clues: Modern continental rocks carry chemical signatures from the very start of our planet’s history, challenging current theories about plate tectonics.Credit - Morris McLennan, Macquarie University

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release

Early Earth’s First Crust Composition Discovery Rewrites Geological Timeline

by Keith CowingApril 2, 2025

Researchers have made a new discovery that changes our understanding of Earth’s early geological history, challenging beliefs about how our continents formed and when plate tectonics began.

The new bathymetric map of the volcanic chain south-southeast of Rarotonga Note the data is shown here before processing, which will improve the quality further. -- Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority

Analog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Water Planet Surveys: Discovering Underwater Volcanoes

by Keith CowingMarch 30, 2025March 30, 2025

The Seabed Minerals Authority (SBMA), in collaboration with other partners such as the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), University of California Santa Barbara, and Kiva Marine, recently […]

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report, Venus

The Punctuated Evolution of the Venusian Atmosphere From a Transition in Mantle Convective Style and Volcanic Outgassing

by Keith CowingJanuary 22, 2025January 22, 2025

A key question in the planetary sciences centers on the divergence between the sibling planets, Venus and Earth. Venus currently does not operate with plate tectonics, and its thick atmosphere […]

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ignan Earths: Habitability of Terrestrial Planets With Extreme Internal Heating

by Keith CowingJanuary 10, 2025

Is it possible for a rocky planet to have too much internal heating to maintain a habitable surface environment? In the Solar System, the best example of a world with […]

Composite age model constructed from the NKT section and comparison to other estimates for the age and duration of OAE1a. Two youngest dated tuffs SAB-046 and SAB-054 correlated from the nearby SAB section. Shaded distributions in color denote the summed probability distribution of 206Pb/238U dates for each tuff, as likelihood inputs into Bayesian modeling. Posterior distributions are superimposed in black on original likelihoods. The black solid line indicates the median, and the 95% HDI indicated by light gray shading represents the model uncertainty for all interpolated points between tuffs. The right panel illustrates estimates for the age of onset and termination of OAE1a at other sites compared to our results from Hokkaido. Note that, as described in the text, OAE1a is not consistently defined. Hk, Hokkaido; Cs, Cismon; Pb, Piobbico; Pg, Poggio le Guaine; Sb, Svalbard; Sd, Shandong. Only symbols with an error bar represent dates with an uncertainty value; otherwise, no uncertainty is provided. -- Science Advances

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Prehistoric Rock In Japan Reveals Clues To A Major Ocean Anoxic Event

by Keith CowingDecember 18, 2024December 19, 2024

By studying prehistoric rocks and fossils emerging from the side of Mount Ashibetsu in Japan, researchers have precisely refined the timing and duration of Ocean Anoxic Event 1a (OAE 1a), […]

Schematic deposit model showing formation of hydrothermal Fe- and Mn-oxide deposits at depth along faults during the Neogene (∼8.5–4.8 Ma) from ascending hydrothermal fluids driven by frictional heating and other fault-related processes; the deposits may have experienced minor uplift along faults during the Neogene and Quaternary, and variably exposed as seafloor outcrops predominantly by sediment slumping, rock falls, and other gravity-driven processes. Hydrogenetic Fe-Mn crusts formed at the seabed on all rock outcrops predominantly from dissolved and colloidal phases in ambient bottom seawater characterized by elements such as Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, REY, Sc, and others; the Fe-Mn crusts and sediments also acquired minor contributions from distal hydrothermal fluids characterized by Hg, As, and others, mostly volatile elements, which were incorporated into the crusts by sorption process on the framework Fe and Mn oxides and in the sediments by organic matter and Fe and Mn oxides—these low-temperature fluids have continued through the Quaternary. It is unknown whether the deep-seated hydrothermal deposits continued to form post-Neogene, which could be determined by additional dating. The base map cross-section is from Nikishin et al. (2021). larger image. -- USGS

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return

Marine Mineral Formations in the Arctic Ocean Challenge Existing Geologic Theories

by Keith CowingNovember 13, 2024November 13, 2024

A new study from USGS describes a previously unknown process of marine mineral formation in the Arctic Ocean, driven by frictional heating along tectonic faults rather than by hydrothermal activity.