Geobulletin alpha

How did plate tectonics begin? 

David Bercovici, Department of Geology & Geophysics, Yale University Impatient person’s summary: To understand how plate tectonics began we have to first figure out why we have plate tectonics at all, and how to identify a plate tectonic planet if it were passing by. The uniqueness of plate tectonic is mostly tied up in its odd boundaries,… Read More How did plate

Walter Pitman and the Smoking Gun of Plate Tectonics 

“We had this magic key, this magic magnetic profile,” Pitman said. “We were able to date it and eventually use it not only as a tool that proved continental drift but a tool by which we could actually reconstruct the pattern of drift, that is the relative position of the continents, and the actual timing of the separation of the

Mars Rocks – introducing a citizen science project 

GeoLog followers will remember our previous report on Citizen Geoscience: the exciting possibilities it presents for the acquisition of data, whilst cautioning against the exploitation of volunteered labour. This blog presents a Citizen Science platform that goes beyond data collection to analysis, specifically for geological changes in remote sensing imagery of Mars. Jessica Wardlaw, a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Web GIS, at the Nottingham Geospatial Institute, introduces ‘iMars’ [...]

Geoscience hot topics – the future of Earth, ocean and planetary science research – Part I 

What are the most interesting, cutting-edge and compelling research topics within the scientific areas represented in the EGU divisions? Ground-breaking and innovative research features yearly at our annual General Assembly, but what are the overarching ideas and big research questions that still remain unanswered? We spoke to some of our division presidents and canvased their thoughts on what the current Earth, ocean and planetary hot topics will be. There are too many to fit in a single post [...]

Climate Change -- Lives of billions hang on a thread 

This is the real climate change, not the soda pop fizzers.  Due to geology and plate tectonics our northern lives hang on a thread.  This news might stop immigrants.  :) You have to click on the large version.  This is the week's ocean current map (find it yourself!).  It's a great video that leaves my Linux chuffing with heat.  In it you can see a strong lunge of El Nino, which, if

Gulf Stream becomes confused 

The main thing that keeps us Northern people warm are the giant oceanic plumes like the Gulf Stream. We are lucky by plate tectonics that there is a perfect ramp with South America deflecting the warm water up to Britain.  We, in Canada, mainly benefit from the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific plumes.  For some reason, the Gulf Stream plume is confused and may not be working at full capacity.

Rolling in the deep: Mantle flow stress best indicator of US intermountain seismicity 

phys.org Much of what we understand about earthquakes is based on plate tectonics. But for residents of Utah’s seismically restless Wasatch Front, a 120-mile-long metropolitan region anchored by Salt Lake City and bounded by the steep Wasatch Mountains and Great Salt Lake, such theory has fundamental limitations. READ

Beyond plate tectonics 

Plate tectonics is the core unifying concept that has underpinned our understanding of the solid earth for over 50 years. To describe your research as moving “beyond plate tectonics” is quite a claim, but Trond Torsvik and the group he leads … Continue reading

Physics - The Very Large Carbon Cycle - Part 5 

It's about this far in when my interest starts to fade.  Have you even started to read a novel series, and after number 4 or 5, you say "This guy is pushing it".   That's the way I feel, but I soldier on. So, we had an incredible amount of carbon salted away.  How do the continents get this heat under them, and how does it hold up the Rocky Mountains?  Again, Plate Tectonics has

J Tuzo Wilson's Hawaiian Dream 

Again via Twitter I came across this collection of essays on eminent geologists titled Rock Stars, produced by The Geological Society of America History of Geology Division. I haven't gone through all of them yet, but there is a lovely piece on J. Tuzo Wilson, the geophysicist most famous for his work on the then incipient field of moving continents and oceanic crust aka plate tectonics.

Hotspots; modelling the movement of a plate across the globe 

Today's new Earthlearningidea is 'Hotspots; modelling the movement of a plate across the globe'. Use a candle and a piece of card to model the evidence of the movement of a tectonic plate over a fixed heat source in the Earth’s mantle. This activity can be used in any lesson in a science or geography class dealing with plate tectonics. There are many more ideas for teaching this topic on

Telling Time with the Earth's Magnetic Field 

Paleomagnetism is the study of the Earth’s ancient magnetic field. Such studies have helped lead to important discoveries like seafloor spreading and plate tectonics. Here on the JOIDES Resolution during Expedition 354, one of the main uses of this tool is to find out the age of sediments from the Bengal submarine fan. So how do we actually do that? read

Ice Ages - What happened in the tropics? 

In the North, we all know about the Ice Age.  We generally agree that about 2 million years ago we started the Pleistocene Epoch.  I'm not totally convinced that the day before this was all sunshine and roses, since subsequent glaciations would have removed all evidence.  I'm fairly convinced this is tied in with Plate Tectonics and big earthquakes, since that is what I do.  :) So, at 60

Communicating Contested Geoscience 

We all know that volcanoes and earthquakes are geological phenomena, and many of us know of plate tectonics as the force behind many such natural hazards. But in a geologically quiet place such as the UK, most of us know … Continue reading

One of Geology's Little Mysteries Solved: The Sliding Stones of Racetrack Playa in Death Valley 

Bonnie Claire Playa in Nevada There are side shows that happen in the sciences. There are the big mysteries of the cosmos and earth history that take many years and the work of dozens or hundreds of the greatest minds to solve: atomic theory, quantum physics, plate tectonics, DNA sequencing and so on. In geology, there are the big picture mysteries of how the continents have moved through

May 20th Rifting in Africa - Seismological views from Afar 

Rifting in Africa - Seismological views from AfarProfessor Mike Kendall, University of BristolThe Western Regional Group is pleased to invite you to an evening presentation on rifting in Africa. The rifting of continents and eventual formation of ocean basins is a fundamental component of plate tectonics, yet the mechanism for break-up is poorly understood. Rifting of the continents leading to plate rupture occurs by a combination of mechanical deformation and magma intrusion, but the [...]

The magnetic personalities of seamounts 

The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument encompasses a vast area larger than all U.S. national parks combined. As I mentioned last time, We came here on the R/V Falkor to map the seafloor around the islands, atolls, reefs, and seamounts that comprise the Northwestern Hawaiian Island chain within the monument. Ultimately, we want to gain a better understanding of the geological processes that helped shape this part of the world. As the ship cruises along at around 10 knots, we operate [...]

Well done geologists at Wells Cathedral School! 

The National Schools Geology Challenge & Early Career Award 2014On Thursday 8 May, the Geological Society held its third National Schools Geology Challenge and Early Careers Finals at Burlington House.It was a very close final between the schools; Reading Blue Coat, Gower College and Wells Cathedral. Each school was judged on a poster about their chosen topic, then the students gave a 5 minute presentation, (followed by some probing questions from the judges!) and the final part was a [...]

A world without subduction 

The greatest achievement of the generation of Earth Scientists now retiring is the concept of plate tectonics. The insight that the earth’s surface is made up of rigid plates that move has shed light on all aspects of Earth Science, … Continue reading

Reconstructing ocean spreading when half your record is now in the mantle (or: a plug for my new paper) 

If you’re studying the last 100 million years or so of plate tectonics, the history of sea-floor spreading recorded by the magnetic stripes that parallel and extend away from the Earth’s ocean ridges is a key source of information. Each … Continue reading