This study constrains the post-glacial rebound signal in Scandinavia and northern Europe via the combined inversion of prior forward model information with GPS-measured vertical land motion data and GRACE gravity data. The best-fit model for vertical motion rates has a χ² value of ~ 1 and a maximum uncertainty of 0.3–0.4 mm yr⁻¹. An advantage of inverse models relative to forward models is their ability to estimate formal uncertainties associated with the post-glacial rebound process. Hide

The thermal state of the Earth's crust determines how it reacts to tectonic forces and to fluid flow responsible for ore formation. We hypothesize that the angle between plate motion and convergent boundaries determines the thermal regime of subduction zones (where a plate goes under another one). Computer models and a geological reconstruction of Turkey were used to validate this hypothesis. This research was done to validate a hypothesis made on the basis of nonquantitative field data. Hide

Physical aspects and knowledge of soil erosion in six rural communities in Chiapas, Mexico, were assessed. Average erosion rates estimated using the RUSLE model ranged from 200 to 1200 ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. Most erosion rates were relatively high due to steep slopes, sandy soils, and bare land cover. The results of a knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) survey showed that some communities with high erosion rates also had less knowledge of and more negative attitudes towards soil erosion management. Hide

The speed of land use changes is much higher than in the past, which led to many changes in the environment and ecological processes. These changes cause some changes in the climate, the amount of pollution and biodiversity. Monitoring and modeling historical situation of the region can be used to anticipate the negative effects of these changes in order to protect resources. Agriculture class will be faced with a huge reduction of carbon sequestration because of expansion of residential areas. Hide

The occurrence of boninite in the northern Zambales ophiolite is reported. Boninite is a relatively rare high-magnesium andesite that is intimately associated with early arc volcanism and the initiation of subduction zones. Taken as a whole, the geological and geochemical characteristics of Zambales and Izu-Ogasawara–Mariana forearc volcanic sequences enables a refined geodynamic reconstruction of subduction initiation. Hide

Sediments containing hydrates dispersed in the pore space show a characteristic seismic anomaly: a high attenuation along with increasing seismic velocities. Recent major findings from synchrotron experiments revealed the systematic presence of thin water films between quartz and gas hydrate. Our numerical studies support earlier speculation that squirt flow causes high attenuation at seismic frequencies but are based on a conceptual model different to those previously considered. Hide

We measured the elastic and fluid flow properties in a ductile-brittle shear zone. The results suggest that although brittle deformation has persisted in the recent fault evolution, precursory ductile microstructure continues to control the petrophysical properties outside the fault core. The results are a glimpse into the evolutionary path of a shear zone during the ductile to brittle transition and are insightful for geothermal energy and geologic waste disposal exploitation and usage. Hide

The Earth's surface is characterized by numerous geological processes, formed throughout the Earth's history to present day. The interior (mantle), on which plates rest, undergoes convection motion, generating stresses in the lithosphere plate and also causing the plate motion. This study shows that shallow density heterogeneities in the upper 300 km have a limited influence on the modeled horizontal stress field as opposed to the resulting topography, giving the importance depth sampling. Hide

We examine the Himalayan Mountains of Bhutan by integrating balanced geologic cross sections with cooling ages from a suite of mineral systems. Interpretations of cooling ages are intrinsically linked to both the motion along faults as well as the location and magnitude of erosion. In this study, we use flexural and thermal kinematic models to understand the sensitivity of predicted cooling ages to changes in fault kinematics, geometry, and topography. Hide

Banded iron formations (BIFs) are chemical sediments last seen in the marine sedimentary record ca. 600 million years ago. Here, we report on the formation mechanisms of a modern BIF analog in the Cape Vani sedimentary basin (CVSB) on Milos Island, Greece, demonstrating that rare environmental redox conditions, coupled to submarine hydrothermal activity and microbial processes, are required for these types of rocks to form in the modern marine biosphere. Hide

Modelling has been used in the study of volcanic systems for more than 100 years, building upon the approach first described by Sir James Hall in 1815. Models are informed by observations of volcanic processes in nature, including eye-witness accounts of eruptions, monitoring of active volcanoes, and analysis of ancient deposits. To push the frontiers in volcanology we must adopt a multidisciplinary approach, with more interaction between analogue and numerical modelling communities. Hide

The paper describes microstructures in granitic rocks located 50 m away from the Nojima fault in Japan. Although macroscopically undeformed, the sample displays evidence for intense dynamic damage at the microscopic scale. Elastic strain and high residual stresses stored in quartz grains suggest that they were produced by propagating rupture fronts associated with M6 to M7 earthquakes and contributed to the widening of the damaged fault zone along the Nojima fault during the Paleocene. Hide

By analyzing frequency constituents of declination secular variation at inter-decadal and sub-centennial timescales from geomagnetic observatories with data longer than 1 century and several historical data sets, we suggest that the geomagnetic jerk concept should be considered as a more general notion, namely the evolution of the secular variation as a result of the superposition of two (or more) constituents describing the effects of processes in the Earth’s core at two (or more) timescales. Hide

We present new data on the orientation of fractures, their fill, and their density around the Alpine Fault, a plate boundary fault on the South Island of New Zealand. Fractures < 160 m of the fault are filled and show a range of orientations, whilst fractures at greater distances (< 500 m) are open and parallel to the rock's mechanical weakness. We interpret the latter fracture set to reflect near-surface processes, whilst the latter are potentially linked to deep-seated Alpine Fault seismicity. Hide