New tools to model and visualize subduction zones in 3-D are providing researchers with insights into the gaps inherent in the theory of plate tectonics.
plate tectonics
Posted inNews
Podcast: Plate Tectonics, the Theory That Changed Earth Science
Third Pod from the Sun talks with pioneering geophysicist Xavier Le Pichon about what it was like to be a young scientist challenging deeply held theories.
![Figure 4 from paper by Preuss et al. [2019]](https://eos.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2019JB017324-Figure-4-sized.png)
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Can We Tell If Faults Grew During or Between Earthquakes?
Numerical simulations of earthquake cycle deformation reveal that co-seismic and interseismic fault propagation can produce distinct propagation angles that may be recorded in the crust.
Posted inAGU News
This Is How the World Moves
In October, we celebrate AGU’s Centennial by looking under our feet, where the relatively new study of plate tectonics is evolving rapidly.
Posted inNews
How Volcanic Mountains Cool the Climate
Though coastal plutons spew greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as they form, they also pull some of those gases back out of the atmosphere as they break down over time.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
New Volcanic Complex Found Below the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea
Researchers have identified a previously unknown volcanic-intrusive complex that originated through the melting of mantle material at the northern edge of the Ionian slab.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Déjà Vu: Understanding Subduction Zones’ Cycle of Seismicity
A unique geodetic data set from Japan’s Nankai subduction zone offers an unparalleled opportunity to study surface deformation spanning almost an entire seismic cycle.
Posted inScience Updates
Deciphering the Fate of Plunging Tectonic Plates in Borneo
What happens when subduction stops? A team of scientists installed a dense seismic network in Borneo to investigate causes and consequences of subduction termination.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Low-angle Normal Fault in Papua New Guinea is Rolling Along
Geologic and geomorphic observations of an active low-angle normal fault reveal a rolling-hinge mechanism accommodating the exhumation of a metamorphic core complex in Papua New Guinea.