Geodynamics articles from across Nature Portfolio

Geodynamics refers to the processes by which mantle convection shapes and reshapes the Earth and other rocky planets. Its study includes plate tectonics, volcanism, the chemistry of lava and volcanic rocks, gravity and geomagnetic anomalies as well as seismic investigations into the structure of the mantle.

Featured

News & Views | 01 June 2023

Mantle driven mountains
- Gregory A. Ruetenik
Nature Geoscience, 1-2

Latest Research and Reviews

Research
07 June 2023 | Open Access

How transform fault shear influences where detachment faults form near mid-ocean ridges
- Jana C. Schierjott
- , Garrett Ito
- & Javier Escartín
Scientific Reports 13, 9259
Research
06 June 2023 | Open Access

Kimberlite eruptions driven by slab flux and subduction angle
- Ben R. Mather
- , R. Dietmar Müller
- & Nicky M. Wright
Scientific Reports 13, 9216
Research | 01 June 2023

Calabrian forearc uplift paced by slab–mantle interactions during subduction retreat

Interactions between subducting slabs and the 660-km mantle transition zone can influence mantle convection and forearc uplift, according to rock uplift histories of the Calabrian forearc spanning the past 30 million years.
- Sean F. Gallen
- , Nikki M. Seymour
- & Paul O’Sullivan
Nature Geoscience, 1-8
Research
31 May 2023 | Open Access

Gravity field changes reveal deep mass transfer before and after the 2013 Lushan earthquake

A transient increase in local gravity field about 2 years prior to the 2013 Lushan earthquake which then decreased after the mainshock is likely related to fluid diffusion around the epicentre of the earthquake, according to terrestrial hybrid gravity observations.
- Linhai Wang
- , Shi Chen
- & Weimin Xu
Communications Earth & Environment 4, 194
Research | 25 May 2023

Links between large igneous province volcanism and subducted iron formations

Correlation between large igneous province activity and iron formation ages suggests that subducted iron formations may have facilitated mantle plume upwelling in the Archaean and Proterozoic Earth.
- Duncan S. Keller
- , Santiago Tassara
- & Rajdeep Dasgupta
Nature Geoscience, 1-7
Research
22 May 2023 | Open Access

Experimental and numerical investigation of polymer pore-clogging in micromodels
- Antonia Sugar
- , Maged Serag
- & Hussein Hoteit
Scientific Reports 13, 8245

All Research & Reviews

News and Comment

News & Views | 01 June 2023

Mantle driven mountains

Deciphering the contribution of mantle convection to Earth’s surface elevation remains challenging, but it may have a dominant influence on mountain-building at subduction zones, according to a new study reconstructing the topographic evolution of Calabria.
- Gregory A. Ruetenik
Nature Geoscience, 1-2
Research Highlights | 06 April 2023

Asymmetric rift initiation

An article in Tectonics identified asymmetric rifting during the break-up of Gondwana from variations in a thermal lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary model for the South American and African passive margins.
- Erin Scott
Nature Reviews Earth & Environment 4, 217
News & Views | 20 March 2023

The mantle’s influence on the long-term behaviour of Earth’s magnetic field

Numerical simulations show that convection in the mantle shapes the long-term structure of Earth’s magnetic field. The mantle influences the magnetic field by imposing a pattern of cooling that controls the dynamics of fluid flow at the top of the outer core.

Nature Geoscience 16, 292-293
News & Views | 06 February 2023

A partially molten mantle

A global analysis of seismic waves has identified a widespread sharp velocity anomaly at the base of the low seismic velocity zone that is consistent with partial melting, closing a decades-long debate about the origin of this zone.
- Geeth Manthilake
Nature Geoscience 16, 110-111
News & Views | 23 December 2022

Estranged planetary twins

Venus and Earth have remarkably different surface conditions, yet the lithospheric thickness and heat flow on Venus may be Earth-like. This finding supports a tectonic regime with limited surface mobility and dominated by intrusive magmatism.
- Diogo L. Lourenço
Nature Geoscience 16, 2-3
News & Views | 05 December 2022

Marsquakes coming into focus

New analyses of data from NASA’s InSight mission show that the majority of marsquakes arise from warm rocks near a set of young volcanic fissures. This ongoing seismicity reveals that this region was recently volcanically active and may remain so today.
- Jeffrey C. Andrews-Hanna
Nature Astronomy 6, 1349-1350