plate tectonics Archives - Page 9 of 25

View of a bay with buildings and vehicles in the foreground

Seismic Sources in the Aleutian Cradle of Tsunamis

by Rob Witter, Rich Briggs, Tina Dura, Simon Engelhart and Alan Nelson 26 September 202226 September 2022

Research over the past decade in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands has offered surprising insights into the pulses of great earthquakes that generate dangerous, often long-distance tsunamis.

Photograph of a Global Seismographic Network station with mountains in the background.

Editors' Vox

Global Seismic Networks: Recording the Heartbeat of the Earth

by Adam T. Ringler 9 September 20229 September 2022

Global broadband seismographic networks have provided the science community with 30 years of data which is being used to understand the Earth.

Photo of Cerro Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Americas

Editors' Vox

Old Igneous Rocks Hold the Key to Crustal Thickness Evolution

by Peter Luffi and Mihai Ducea 7 September 202229 September 2022

The chemical composition of orogenic igneous rocks and their zircons is sensitive to crustal thickness and can be used to quantify the evolution of Moho depths beneath continents back in time.

Three images showing the study area from different perspectives.

Editors' Highlights

Probing the Sedimentology of a Continental Megathrust

by Peter van der Beek 6 September 202222 December 2022

Detailed analysis of sediments covering the Main Frontal Thrust in Nepal show how climate-driven baselevel changes affect sedimentation and should be considered when inferring thrust activity.

A small coastal shipping town in Japan is devastated by an earthquake. In this photo taken from a plane, the wreckage of hundreds of buildings can be seen, and only a handful remain standing. In the center of the image, a small yacht is perched on top of one of the only remaining buildings. The town is surrounded by mountains and forests. One of the plane’s wheels is visible in the lower left corner of the image.

Research Spotlights

Months of Gravity Changes Preceded the Tōhoku Earthquake

by Sarah Derouin 1 September 202225 October 2022

Using GRACE satellite data, researchers discovered anomalous gravimetric signals that occurred before a seismic event that started deep within Earth.

Snow-covered peaks line the southern edge of the Tibetan plateau.

Research Spotlights

Uncovering the Formation of the Western Nepal Embayment

by Sarah Derouin 24 August 202219 October 2022

Using thermokinematics, researchers have found that crustal accretion along the megathrust at mid-lower crustal depths shapes plateau growth and regional drainage development.

Red hot magma flows from within Earth to the surface at Hawaii’s Kīlauea volcano.

News

Earth’s Lower Mantle Is Drier Than Previously Thought

by Saima May Sidik 11 August 20224 August 2023

Scientists have long known that the two layers of Earth’s mantle have different chemical compositions. Now, modeling shows that different water concentrations may keep them from mixing.

Photo of tubes of rock samples on a laboratory table with a microscope in the background.

News

Stretching Crust Explains Earth’s 170,000-Year-Long Heat Wave

by Jennifer Schmidt 27 July 202227 July 2022

During a brief period in Earth’s past, a massive emission of carbon abruptly raised global temperatures, acidified oceans, and stamped out species. New data may help explain how it happened.