Light-colored Gale crater rocks could have formed from intraplate volcanoes, not continental crust, new study finds.
Plate tectonics
Linking Mantle Plumes to Volcanoes and Hot Spot Tracks
Study bolsters hypothesis that volcanoes on China’s Hainan Island were formed by a hot spot.
Magma Flow in a Major Icelandic Eruption
Mechanical modeling suggests that previous, undetected eruptions released tectonic stress near the ice-covered Bárðarbunga volcano.
New Insights into Continental Deformation in Northwestern Tibet
A new surface velocity map shows strain localized along major strike-slip features, suggesting the central Tibetan Plateau is not deforming as a fluid in response to gravitational collapse.
Evidence for Gravity Tectonics After the Great Sumatra Quake
A new method that applies structural geology principles to aftershock analyses suggests that gravity-driven motion may occur during part of the seismic cycle.
New Model Simulates Faults and Folds Shaping Each Other
A new model simulates how faulting and folding deep in Earth’s crust shape the way rocks fold and cause earthquakes.
Modeling Megathrust Zones
A recent paper in Review of Geophysics built a unifying model to predict the surface characteristics of large earthquakes.
Scientists Create Catalog of Altotiberina Fault in Italy
More than 37,000 small earthquakes paint a picture of the fault’s behavior and seismic potential.
Analog Modeling Recreates Millions of Years in a Few Hours
Second Workshop on Analog Modeling of Tectonic Processes; Austin, Texas, 17–19 May 2017
Seafloor Activity Sheds Light on Plate Tectonics
Scientists in Japan study stress released by oceanic earthquakes in newborn sections of seafloor.
