Featured
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News & Views |
Map of the underworld
A chemically distinct region separates the Indian and Pacific mantle domains as revealed by isotope analyses on rare samples from the Australian–Antarctic Ridge.
- Pamela D. Kempton
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Article |
A 60-Myr record of continental back-arc differentiation through cyclic melting
Melting of sedimentary rocks in the continental back-arc is cyclical with peaks of magmatism every 10 to 15 million years, according to zircon ages from Paleozoic western Gondwana margin samples.
- Lauren C. Wolfram
- , Roberto F. Weinberg
- & Raul Becchio
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Article |
Evidence of supershear during the 2018 magnitude 7.5 Palu earthquake from space geodesy
The devastating 2018 magnitude 7.5 earthquake in Palu, Indonesia, ruptured at supershear speeds according to evidence from space geodesy.
- Anne Socquet
- , James Hollingsworth
- & Michel Bouchon
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News & Views |
The geology of earthquake swarms
Differences between earthquake sequences in the crust and adjacent uppermost mantle at oceanic transform faults are revealed by a seafloor seismic experiment at the Blanco Transform Fault.
- Jeffrey J. McGuire
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Article |
Mode of slip and crust–mantle interaction at oceanic transform faults
Earthquakes in the crust and mantle at transform faults are distinct yet coupled, with seismic swarms in the mantle apparently preceding large earthquakes, according to ocean-bottom seismic monitoring of the Blanco Transform Fault.
- Václav M. Kuna
- , John L. Nábělek
- & Jochen Braunmiller
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News & Views |
Data mining for seismic slip
Seismic data during the time interval between larger earthquakes could contain information about fault displacements and potential for future failure, suggest analyses of data from laboratory and real-world slow-slip earthquakes using machine-learning techniques.
- Kenneth C. Creager
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Article |
Continuous chatter of the Cascadia subduction zone revealed by machine learning
Continuous seismic signal, filtered out by machine-learning methods, could help infer fault displacement in the Cascadia subduction zone.
- Bertrand Rouet-Leduc
- , Claudia Hulbert
- & Paul A. Johnson
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News & Views |
Scraped by flat-slab subduction
During flat subduction, material is scraped off the base of the continental mantle lithosphere, building a migrating keel. This testable mechanism for flat subduction recreates features of the Laramide orogeny.
- Marc-André Gutscher
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Article |
Basal continental mantle lithosphere displaced by flat-slab subduction
Continental mantle lithosphere is scraped from the base of the overriding plate by the underlying oceanic slab during flat subduction, according to numerical thermal–mechanical models.
- Gary J. Axen
- , Jolante W. van Wijk
- & Claire A. Currie
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Editorial |
Treasures from the deep
Fifty years of international ocean drilling have brought enormous insights into the workings of our planet. Incorporating young investigators’ ideas, cooperating internationally and sharing data and samples have been key to this success.
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Article |
Rapid incision of the Mekong River in the middle Miocene linked to monsoonal precipitation
Incision of the Mekong River that occurred after the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau may have been driven by a period of high monsoon precipitation, as suggested by age data from river bedrock samples and stream profile modelling.
- Junsheng Nie
- , Gregory Ruetenik
- & Shanpin Liu
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Article |
True polar wander of Ceres due to heterogeneous crustal density
The dwarf planet Ceres may have reoriented in the past due to a heterogeneously dense crust, a scenario consistent with gravity and topographic data and the distribution of crustal fractures.
- P. Tricarico
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Article |
Deep embrittlement and complete rupture of the lithosphere during the Mw 8.2 Tehuantepec earthquake
Geophysical observations of the 2017 Tehuantepec earthquake suggest that oceanic lithosphere can sustain brittle behaviour and rupture in an earthquake at greater depths than previously assumed.
- Diego Melgar
- , Angel Ruiz-Angulo
- & Leonardo Ramirez-Guzmán
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Article |
Locking on a megathrust as a cause of distributed faulting and fault-jumping earthquakes
Earthquakes that jump from fault to fault in subduction zones can be explained by locking on the plate interface, according to GPS data from New Zealand where the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake produced a complex array of crustal ruptures.
- Simon Lamb
- , Richard Arnold
- & James D. P. Moore
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Article |
Crustal inheritance and a top-down control on arc magmatism at Mount St Helens
Crustal structures are as important as deep mantle melting in controlling magma ascent and the composition and distribution of erupted material, according to 3D resistivity modelling, geophysical data and the distribution of Quaternary volcanism.
- Paul A. Bedrosian
- , Jared R. Peacock
- & Graham J. Hill
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Article |
Forced subduction initiation recorded in the sole and crust of the Semail Ophiolite of Oman
The subduction system recorded by the Semail Ophiolite of Oman was initiated by far-field events, according to a comparison of the ages of the upper and lower plate material.
- Carl Guilmette
- , Matthijs A. Smit
- & Dany Savard
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Article |
Carbon export from mountain forests enhanced by earthquake-triggered landslides over millennia
Large earthquakes export significant carbon from mountain forests over millennia, according to analyses of sediments mobilized by earthquake-triggered landslides in New Zealand.
- Nicole V. Frith
- , Robert G. Hilton
- & Alexander L. Densmore
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Article |
Rapid transition from continental breakup to igneous oceanic crust in the South China Sea
The onset of seafloor spreading in the northern South China Sea was marked by the rapid onset of magmatism and mantle upwelling, suggests an analysis of International Ocean Discovery Program core material.
- H. C. Larsen
- , G. Mohn
- & L. Zhong
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Article |
Extremely early recurrence of intraplate fault rupture following the Tohoku-Oki earthquake
A pair of closely spaced intraplate earthquakes in Japan can be explained by postseismic deformation associated with the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake.
- Yo Fukushima
- , Shinji Toda
- & Kenji Tachibana
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News & Views |
A deep-earthquake puzzle resolved
Strong anisotropy within the source region of deep earthquakes explains their apparent non-pure shear faulting mechanism.
- Barbara Romanowicz
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Article |
Continental break-up of the South China Sea stalled by far-field compression
Tectonic loading in the direction of propagation exerts an important control on the propagation of continental break-up, according to three-dimensional simulations of the South China Sea.
- Laetitia Le Pourhiet
- , Nicolas Chamot-Rooke
- & Manuel Pubellier
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Article |
Episodic creep events on the San Andreas Fault caused by pore pressure variations
Slow-slip events on the central San Andreas Fault are localized creep bursts that aseismically rupture isolated fault compartments, according to analyses of satellite deformation data.
- Mostafa Khoshmanesh
- & Manoochehr Shirzaei
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News & Views |
Unsettled earthquake nucleation
Detailed analyses of the source characteristics of two earthquake sequences lead to seemingly contradictory interpretations: one study concludes that each earthquake triggers subsequent ones, while the other favours a slow-slip trigger.
- Joan Gomberg
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Article |
Archaean continental spreading inferred from seismic images of the Yilgarn Craton
Seismic images of giant crustal-collapse structures preserved in the Yilgarn Craton, Australia, reveal that these structures may have formed over 2.5 billion years ago when the cores of continents were hot and weak.
- Andrew J. Calvert
- & Michael P. Doublier
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Article |
Nucleation of the 1999 Izmit earthquake by a triggered cascade of foreshocks
The magnitude 7.6 Izmit earthquake that struck Turkey in 1999 was nucleated by an eastward-migrating cascade of foreshocks, according to high-resolution analyses of seismic data.
- William L. Ellsworth
- & Fatih Bulut
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Article |
Reactivation of ancient Antarctic rift zones by intraplate seismicity
Earthquake activity in East Antarctica is similar to that of other stable cratons, according to analyses of seismic data. Thus, the weight of the overlying Antarctic polar ice sheet does not suppress seismicity, as was previously thought.
- Amanda C. Lough
- , Douglas A. Wiens
- & Andrew Nyblade
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Article |
Earthquake nucleation and fault slip complexity in the lower crust of central Alaska
A strike-slip fault zone in central Alaska exhibits a range of earthquake slip processes, including very-low-frequency earthquakes, some of which transition into regular, fast earthquakes.
- Carl Tape
- , Stephen Holtkamp
- & Michael E. West
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Article |
Thermal effects of pyroxenites on mantle melting below mid-ocean ridges
Pyroxenite—recycled, subducted material—beneath mid-ocean ridges cools the mantle, suppressing melt extraction and crust formation, according to geochemical analyses of samples taken from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
- Daniele Brunelli
- , Anna Cipriani
- & Enrico Bonatti
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Article |
Cambrian Sauk transgression in the Grand Canyon region redefined by detrital zircons
Extensive flooding of the North American continent during the Cambrian occurred more recently and more rapidly than previously thought, according to analyses of detrital zircons sampled from the Grand Canyon region.
- Karl Karlstrom
- , James Hagadorn
- & Laura Crossey
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News & Views |
Yellowstone debate erupts again
The heat driving Yellowstone’s volcanism originates from a depth of at least 700 km, according to images of the mantle created using novel seismic methods.
- Karin Sigloch
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Article |
An updated stress map of the continental United States reveals heterogeneous intraplate stress
Crustal stress in the interior of the United States is spatially variable and largely controlled by local forces, rather than those transmitted from tectonic plate boundaries, according to a map of the continental stress field.
- Will Levandowski
- , Robert B. Herrmann
- & Ryan Gold
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Article |
Episodic magmatism and serpentinized mantle exhumation at an ultraslow-spreading centre
Lithosphere at ultraslow-spreading mid-ocean ridges can form via a combination of serpentinized mantle exhumation and magmatism, according to analyses of seismic surveys from the Cayman Trough.
- Ingo Grevemeyer
- , Nicholas W. Hayman
- & Cord Papenberg
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Article |
Indian Ocean floor deformation induced by the Reunion plume rather than the Tibetan Plateau
Deformation of the Indian Ocean floor over the past 8 million years was caused by a change in plate motions linked to flow of the Reunion mantle plume, according to analyses of forces upon plates.
- G. Iaffaldano
- , D. R. Davies
- & C. DeMets
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Article |
Earth's oldest stable crust in the Pilbara Craton formed by cyclic gravitational overturns
The oldest stable crust on Earth may have formed during pulsed growth cycles, according to geochemical analyses of rocks preserved in the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia.
- Daniel Wiemer
- , Christoph E. Schrank
- & Charlotte M. Allen
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Article |
Migrating pattern of deformation prior to the Tohoku-Oki earthquake revealed by GRACE data
Deformation migrated from depth towards the surface in the months leading up to the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake, according to analyses of satellite gravity data.
- Isabelle Panet
- , Sylvain Bonvalot
- & Jean-Michel Lemoine
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Article |
Repeated drainage from megathrusts during episodic slow slip
Slow slip events may cause fluids to drain from the plate boundary into the overlying plate at subduction zones, according to seismic analyses of events recorded in Kanto, Japan.
- Junichi Nakajima
- & Naoki Uchida
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Chilean megathrust earthquake recurrence linked to frictional contrast at depth
The recurrence time of megathrust earthquakes in Chile may be controlled by frictional contrasts at depth, according to analyses of stress build-up and release related to the December 2016 southern Chile earthquake.
- M. Moreno
- , S. Li
- & O. Oncken
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Article |
Accretion mode of oceanic ridges governed by axial mechanical strength
The shape of mid-ocean ridges is influenced by lithospheric mechanical strength, according to laboratory simulations of diverging plates. The results imply that large tectonic plates probably could not have formed on a younger, hotter Earth.
- A. L. R. Sibrant
- , E. Mittelstaedt
- & R. Pidoux
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News & Views |
When plumes tickle continents
Continental stability may be linked to a shallow, buoyant mantle layer, and the deepest craton roots can be destabilized and removed by mantle plumes.
- Eric Debayle
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Article |
Modification of the Western Gondwana craton by plume–lithosphere interaction
South American and African cratons may have been substantially modified by mantle plumes, according to analyses of seismic images and tectonic records. The results imply that cratons may not be as stable as once thought.
- Jiashun Hu
- , Lijun Liu
- & Craig Lundstrom
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Article |
Puzzling features of western Mediterranean tectonics explained by slab dragging
Complex patterns of crustal deformation in the western Mediterranean region may be attributable to movements of the African Plate that drag the subducted Gibraltar slab through the mantle, according to numerical simulations.
- Wim Spakman
- , Maria V. Chertova
- & Douwe J. J. van Hinsbergen
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Article |
Corrugated megathrust revealed offshore from Costa Rica
Mature parts of the shallow megathrust beneath Costa Rica are characterized by striking corrugations that may channel fluids, according to seismic images. Nascent sections of the subduction zone plate boundary appear only weakly corrugated.
- Joel H. Edwards
- , Jared W. Kluesner
- & Kristina Okamoto
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News & Views |
An Archaean mushy mantle
Experimental data reveal that Earth’s mantle melts more readily than previously thought, and may have remained mushy until two to three billion years ago.
- Stephen Parman
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Article |
Deep and persistent melt layer in the Archaean mantle
A persistent melt layer may have existed in the Archaean upper mantle, according to experimental analyses. The melt layer could have decoupled the mantle from the overlying lithosphere, hindering plate tectonics.
- Denis Andrault
- , Giacomo Pesce
- & Louis Hennet
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News & Views |
From orogenies to oxygen
Tectonic controls on atmospheric oxygenation are frequently invoked — but whether geochemical records support these ties is an unsettled question.
- Noah Planavsky
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Article |
Water-rich sublithospheric melt channel in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean
A water-rich layer of partial melt marks the base of the lithosphere in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean, according to analyses of seismic data.
- Fares Mehouachi
- & Satish C. Singh
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Article |
Western US volcanism due to intruding oceanic mantle driven by ancient Farallon slabs
Volcanism in the western US may result from warm oceanic mantle beneath the Pacific Ocean being drawn eastwards by mantle flow induced by the sinking of Farallon slabs, according to numerical model simulations.
- Quan Zhou
- , Lijun Liu
- & Jiashun Hu