Geodynamics articles within Nature Geoscience

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  • Letter |

    Africa’s topography is characterized by large-scale uplifted domes and subsided basins. Numerical simulations of mantle flow suggest that high topography along Africa’s eastern margin formed as a result of the northward migration of the tectonic plate over the African superplume during the past 30 million years.

    • Robert Moucha
    •  & Alessandro M. Forte

  • Letter |

    Stretching of the continental crust can double its surface area, but it is unknown whether similar amounts of extension occur at depth. Seismic results from the central Basin and Range province, western USA, reveal a thick root of lithospheric mantle that has not been extended and indicates that crustal stretching is decoupled from extension at depth.

    • Vera Schulte-Pelkum
    • , Glenn Biasi
    •  & Craig Jones

  • Article |

    The Longmen Shan Mountains rise up 6,000 m over a distance of just 100 km, but the mechanisms driving formation of this striking topography are debated. Analyses of crustal movements during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake suggest that fault-induced uplift plays a role in building the high topography.

    • Wang Qi
    • , Qiao Xuejun
    •  & Chen Gang

  • Letter |

    During continental breakup, the onset of seafloor spreading is thought to be marked by the first occurrence of a magnetic anomaly. Analysis of seismic and magnetic data from the Iberia–Newfoundland continental-rift system suggests that the first magnetic anomaly observed here instead represents a magmatic event that pre-dates seafloor spreading.

    • Adrien Bronner
    • , Daniel Sauter
    •  & Marc Munschy

  • News & Views |

    Dynamic motions in Earth's mantle can be expressed at the surface. Rocks and landscapes beneath the North Atlantic Ocean record surface uplift driven by pulses of hot material upwelling in a mantle plume beneath Iceland.

    • Philip A. Allen

  • Letter |

    Fragments of ancient continental lithosphere, entrained in the shallow oceanic mantle, have been found in a number of locations in the Southern Hemisphere. Isotopic analyses of material from Quaternary volcanic centres in Hispaniola indicate that the lavas are derived from an ancient lithospheric fragment with affinities to the supercontinent Gondwana.

    • George D. Kamenov
    • , Michael R. Perfit
    •  & Robert D. Shuster

  • Letter |

    Variations in the volume, geochemistry and location of volcanism in Hawaii cannot be explained as the simple consequence of an underlying mantle plume. A numerical model of the Hawaiian plume suggests that small-scale convection in the mantle erodes the base of the overlying tectonic plate and may help generate the anomalous volcanism.

    • Maxim D. Ballmer
    • , Garrett Ito
    •  & Paul J. Tackley

  • Letter |

    Sediments accumulated in a subduction trench are usually unconsolidated and impede the updip propagation of fault rupture during an earthquake. Seismic images of the southern Sumatra–Andaman trench reveal blocks of consolidated sediment that may have enabled fault rupture in 2004 to propagate up fault dip, thus further seaward, increasing the tsunami magnitude.

    • Sean P. S. Gulick
    • , James A. Austin Jr
    •  & Haryadi Permana

  • Letter |

    The seismic hazard associated with individual faults can be assessed from the distribution of slip and the recurrence time of earthquakes. Analysis of the offsets of stream channels and terraces caused during five historical earthquakes on the Fuyun fault, China, reveals characteristic fault slip of about six metres for each event.

    • Y. Klinger
    • , M. Etchebes
    •  & C. Narteau

  • Letter |

    Radiating seismic waves can generate tremor on faults that are far away from the original earthquake source. Analysis of seismic wave data from the San Andreas fault reveals episodes of tremor, triggered by far-off earthquakes, which record a prolonged creeping of the fault that could potentially trigger another earthquake.

    • David R. Shelly
    • , Zhigang Peng
    •  & Chastity Aiken

  • Letter |

    The western margin of the Andes Mountains often experiences large earthquakes, but the potential size of earthquakes along the eastern margin is unknown. Analysis of GPS data shows that a substantial section of the eastern margin is locked and could rupture in an earthquake with a magnitude of up to 8.9.

    • Benjamin A. Brooks
    • , Michael Bevis
    •  & Robert J. Smalley Jr

  • News & Views |

    Why broad fields of volcanism are found in the interior of tectonic plates is hard to explain. Spatial correlations between sheared mantle flow and volcanism suggest that differential motion between surface plates and the mantle generates upwelling and melt.

    • Scott D. King

  • News & Views |

    Mountain-forming systems on Earth occur at present either at the edge of continental plates or in their centre. Isotopic signatures from orogenic rocks worldwide indicate that these two distinct systems have existed for at least 550 million years.

    • Heinrich Bahlburg

  • Article |

    Two types of mountain-forming systems exist on Earth — external orogens form during oceanic–continental plate collisions and internal orogens form where continental plates collide. Hafnium isotope data from orogens worldwide show that each has produced a distinctive signature over the past 550 Myr, reflecting the contrasting subduction geometry in each setting.

    • William J. Collins
    • , Elena A. Belousova
    •  & J. Brendan Murphy

  • Letter |

    The geochemistry of lavas erupted at locations where mantle plumes interact with mid-ocean ridges reflects the mixing between the two sources. Analysis of lavas erupted above the Foundation hotspot, near the Pacific–Antarctic Ridge, reveal a geochemical signature indicative of both a primitive mantle plume source and a recycled oceanic lithosphere source.

    • N. A. Stroncik
    •  & C. W. Devey

  • News & Views |

    Motion along faults can occur in sudden earthquakes or through steady, aseismic creep. Rock samples retrieved by drilling deep into a creeping section of the San Andreas Fault show that clay minerals in fault rock promote creep behaviour.

    • Ben van der Pluijm

  • Letter |

    Volcanism observed far from plate boundaries, in the interior of oceanic and continental plates, may result from flow in the underlying mantle. Comparison between a numerical model of mantle flow and the spatial distribution of intraplate volcanism indicates that rapid shear motion in the mantle may drive melting that causes intraplate eruptions.

    • Clinton P. Conrad
    • , Todd A. Bianco
    •  & Paul Wessel

  • Letter |

    The timing and style of magmatism and extension during the final stages of continental breakup are uncertain. Analysis of ongoing rifting processes in Ethiopia reveals that after a protracted period of extension by magma intrusion, late-stage breakup is characterized by a final phase of plate stretching and voluminous basalt extrusion.

    • Ian D. Bastow
    •  & Derek Keir

  • Letter |

    Earth’s solid inner core is separated into two distinct hemispheres and is thought to rotate faster than the Earth. An analysis of seismic travel time data allows quantification of the displacement of the hemisphere boundary with time, and results in an estimated super-rotation several orders of magnitude smaller than previously reported.

    • Lauren Waszek
    • , Jessica Irving
    •  & Arwen Deuss

  • Article |

    Continental lithosphere can undergo pervasive internal deformation, but patterns of flow within the lithosphere are difficult to observe. Determination of seismic Rayleigh-wave anisotropy in the crust and mantle of the Aegean region reveal matching orientations of regional-scale anisotropic fabric and the directions of extension during the last significant episodes of deformation.

    • Brigitte Endrun
    • , Sergei Lebedev
    •  & Wolfgang Friederich

  • Letter |

    The amount of fluid delivered to subduction zones by the oceanic crust and penetrating sea water is not matched by that leaving through volcanic emissions or transfer to the deep mantle. Electromagnetic images of the Costa Rican subduction zone reveal an extra reservoir in the crust that may account for some of the missing fluid.

    • Tamara Worzewski
    • , Marion Jegen
    •  & Waldo Taylor Castillo

  • Letter |

    Deformation in the crust and mantle — measured using seismic anisotropy — is poorly constrained in the western United States because of inconsistencies in the existing data. A three-dimensional model that reconciles these discrepancies reveals that seismic anisotropy in the crust correlates with different geological provinces, but is unrelated to anisotropy in the underlying mantle.

    • Fan-Chi Lin
    • , Michael H. Ritzwoller
    •  & Matthew J. Fouch

  • Review Article |

    Earth's topography is attributed to the interactions of the tectonic plates, but flow within the mantle also contributes to surface uplift and subsidence. An overview of recent research indicates that mantle-induced dynamic topography can be reconstructed by integrating the geological record with models of mantle flow.

    • Jean Braun

  • Letter |

    Northern South America experienced significant changes in drainage patterns during the opening of the South Atlantic. Numerical modelling of the influence of mantle processes on the South American continent indicates that mantle convection was partly responsible for the formation of the Amazon River, the largest river on Earth.

    • G. E. Shephard
    • , R. D. Müller
    •  & M. Gurnis

  • Letter |

    The 12 January 2010 Mw 7.0 Haiti earthquake exhibited primarily strike-slip motion but unusually generated a tsunami. An extensive field survey reveals that coastal strike-slip fault systems produce relief conducive to rapid sedimentation, erosion and slope failure, so that even modest predominantly strike-slip earthquakes can cause potentially catastrophic slide-generated tsunamis.

    • Matthew J. Hornbach
    • , Nicole Braudy
    •  & John Templeton

  • News & Views |

    Passive margins were thought to be tectonically inactive. Documentation of a volcanic dyke intrusion along the eastern flank of the Red Sea rift proves this plate tectonic tenet wrong, however, with implications for hazard assessments in these regions.

    • Cynthia Ebinger
    •  & Manahloh Belachew

  • Letter |

    Some faults slip at high angles to the greatest principal compressive stress. The discovery of shear veins formed at angles of about 80 degrees relative to the greatest principal compressive stress in the Chrystalls Beach complex, New Zealand, suggests that slip can be facilitated by a pre-existing rock fabric under high fluid pressure.

    • Åke Fagereng
    • , Francesca Remitti
    •  & Richard H. Sibson

  • Letter |

    The global geoid is characterized by a semi-continuous belt of minima that surround the Pacific Ocean. Simulations with mantle flow models suggest that these geoid lows are correlated with high-velocity anomalies near the base of the mantle and low-velocity anomalies in the mid-to-upper mantle.

    • Sonja Spasojevic
    • , Michael Gurnis
    •  & Rupert Sutherland

  • Article |

    Seismotectonic studies seek to provide ways of assessing the timing, magnitude and spatial extent of future earthquakes. Numerical simulations of seismic and aseismic fault slip in a fully dynamical numerical model open the possibility of predicting a fault system’s seismic rupture patterns from observations of its slip properties.

    • Yoshihiro Kaneko
    • , Jean-Philippe Avouac
    •  & Nadia Lapusta

  • News & Views |

    The fragmentation of continents at convergent plate boundaries is thought to be influenced by the subducting lithosphere. Numerical modelling suggests that instead, the forces exerted by the underlying mantle can drive the formation of continental microplates.

    • Christine Siddoway

  • Letter |

    The cause of the Laramide phase of mountain building remains uncertain. Modelling and plate reconstructions show that Laramide events coincide with subduction of the Shatsky oceanic plateau, implicating surface rebound after removal of the subducting plateau in Laramide uplift.

    • Lijun Liu
    • , Michael Gurnis
    •  & Jennifer M. Jackson

  • Article |

    Mid-ocean ridges grow through tectonic and volcanic processes. Uranium-series dating of volcanic rocks at the ultraslow-spreading Southwest Indian Ridge reveals widely dispersed, young, off-axis volcanism that is spatially coincident with fault surfaces. Faults may therefore provide a mechanism for the wide dispersal of magma at ultraslow-spreading ridges.

    • Jared J. Standish
    •  & Kenneth W. W. Sims

  • Letter |

    Jupiter’s large moons Ganymede and Callisto are similar in size and composition, but different in surface and interior characteristics. Simulations with geophysical models of core formation indicate that the difference in impact energy received by the two satellites during the period of late heavy bombardment can explain the dichotomy.

    • Amy C. Barr
    •  & Robin M. Canup

  • Letter |

    The slip rate along a fault controls the accumulation of strain that is eventually released during an earthquake. Estimates from a three-dimensional geomechanical model of the slip rate on the main Marmara fault near Istanbul, Turkey reconcile geodetic and geological observations and indicate smaller values and higher variability than previously thought.

    • Tobias Hergert
    •  & Oliver Heidbach

  • News & Views |

    The sequence of events during the collision between India and Eurasia has long been contested. Numerical simulations imply that the key to the puzzle could lie in the subduction of continental lithosphere.

    • R. Dietmar Müller

  • Letter |

    The most spectacular example of plate convergence on Earth was the motion of the Indian plate towards Eurasia, and the subsequent collision. Density estimates of the Greater Indian continent, after its upper crust is scraped off at the Himalayan front, suggest that this continental plate is readily subductable, potentially explaining why the convergence did not halt on collision.

    • F. A. Capitanio
    • , G. Morra
    •  & L. Moresi

  • News & Views |

    Where the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates collide under the South Island of New Zealand large quantities of aqueous fluid are produced. But how does this happen? Geophysical and petrological data indicate that it may not be as we thought.

    • Philip E. Wannamaker

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