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Solid Earth sciences encompass the study of the crust, mantle and core of the Earth and other rocky planetary bodies. Earth sciences include petrology, mineralogy, seismology, core studies, mantle dynamics, tectonics, volcanology, metamorphism, sedimentology, geomagnetism, palaeomagnetism, hydrogeology, and geomorphology. Sedimentary rocks are also used to study palaeontology and palaeoclimate.
Accounting for the rheology of Earth’s mantle calls for a re-evaluation of the seismic and tsunami hazard posed by subduction zones, especially in the Lesser Antilles.
Earthquakes at Italy’s Campi Flegrei caldera show unusually low seismic radiation efficiency, with most energy dissipated through off-fault damage and frictional processes, according to a time-domain-based analysis of seismic catalogue data.
Seismic data from the Turkana Depression in East Africa show that areas of thinned lithosphere are not necessarily persistent weak zones where extension and magmatic provinces will develop.
Turbidity currents are driven by surge dynamics within their frontal cell, with fast surges from behind providing momentum, sustaining flow fronts for <1,000 km, as revealed by ocean-bottom seismometer data documenting their internal speed and structure.
A global analysis of Martian remote sensing data identifies a decrease in sediment accumulation rate and layer thickness with age, suggesting a diachronous transition in sedimentation and a migratory sedimentary rock cycle despite a lack of tectonics
Graphite, a mineral made of carbon atoms arranged in layers, was long overlooked. Augusto Nobre explores how isolating these layers to create graphene sparked a wave of innovation, reviving interest in graphite across the geosciences.
Accounting for the rheology of Earth’s mantle calls for a re-evaluation of the seismic and tsunami hazard posed by subduction zones, especially in the Lesser Antilles.
Geophysical observations and computer simulations suggest that a tectonic plate segment is delaminating in the area that generated a large earthquake that destroyed Lisbon in 1755. This rare oceanic delamination might be a precursor of subduction initiation, which could explain the cause of several large earthquakes in the Atlantic Ocean.
