Vent fluids collected from the Knipovich Ridge contain unexpectedly high concentrations of hydrogen, potentially produced by the degradation of organic matter.
plate tectonics
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Changes in Slab Dip Cause Rapid Changes in Plate Motion
Periods of slab shallowing in the South American subduction zone appear to cause decelerations in Nazca plate motion.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
The Language of the Crust: Investigating Fault-to-Fault Interactions
Faults don’t just form—they respond, resist, and reshape the crustal narrative.
Posted inNews
When Cascadia Gives Way, the San Andreas Sometimes Follows
Roughly half of the earthquakes that occurred along the southern Cascadia subduction zone over the past 3,000 years were temporally associated with earthquakes along the northern San Andreas fault.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
New Earthquake Model Goes Against the Grain
Subducting plates are stronger in certain directions than others, which may be a factor in how earthquakes occur and how seismic waves propagate.
Posted inNews
To Find Critical Minerals, Look to Plate Tectonics
A study of “weird” Australian rocks suggests stores of niobium rose to the surface during the breakup of the supercontinent Rodinia.
Posted inNews
Spiky Sand Features Can Reveal the Timing of Ancient Earthquakes
Icicle-shaped features known as sand dikes form during ground shaking. New work reveals how these features can be used to date long-ago earthquakes.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Lakeside Sandstones Hold Key to Ancient Continent’s Movement
Using paleomagnetic samples collected along the shores of Lake Superior, a new study illuminates the movement of a billion-year-old paleocontinent as it crept south toward a tectonic collision.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Trapped Charge Techniques Pinpoint Past Fault Slip
Scientists combine two novel dating techniques on fault gouge to better pinpoint the timing and nature of past fault activity in the Eastern Alps.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Finding the Gap: Seismology Offers Slab Window Insights
Studying slow tremors has helped researchers home in on the youngest part of the Chile Triple Junction’s gap between subducting plates, which offers a window to the mantle.