Faults form due to stresses caused by crustal processes. As faults influence the stress field locally, fault interaction leads to local variations in the stress field, but this is difficult to observe directly. We describe an outcrop of one fault abuting into another one. By careful measurement of structures in the overlapping deformation zones and separating them using published relative age data, we show a rotation in the local stress field resulting from the faults growing to each other

The metamorphism of the Pulo do Lobo unit (SW Iberian Massif) is described in this paper. To this end, three different and complementary methodologies have been applied. The new results reported here contribute to the knowledge of the metamorphic conditions of the Pulo do Lobo unit in relation to its deformation. Furthermore, the results are compared in order to assess the reliability of the different methods applied.

This study investigates Cenozoic deformation during cooling and exhumation of the Tauern metamorphic and structural dome, Eastern Alps, through Th–Pb dating of fissure monazite-(Ce). Fissure (or hydrothermal) monazite-(Ce) typically crystallizes in a temperature range of 400–200 °C. Three major episodes of monazite growth occurred at approximately 21, 17, and 12 Ma, corroborating previous crystallization and cooling ages.

We propose a methodology for the identification of rock types using geophysical and geological information. It relies on an algorithm used in machine learning called self-organizing maps, to which we add plausibility filters to ensure that the results respect base geological rules and geophysical measurements. Application in the Yerrida Basin (Western Australia) reveals that the thinning of prospective greenstone belts at depth could be due to deep structures not seen from surface.

Here we discuss the validity of so-called “break-up” markers along the Newfoundland margin, challenging their perceived suitability for plate kinematic reconstructions of the southern North Atlantic. We do this on the basis of newly available seismic transects across the Southern Newfoundland Basin. Our new data contradicts current interpretations of the extent of oceanic lithosphere and illustrates the need for a differently constraining the plate kinematics of the Iberian plate pre M0 times.

The Barents Sea and Fennoscandia were home to large ice sheets around 20 000 years ago. After the melting of these ice sheets, the land slowly rebounded. The rebound speed is determined by the viscosity of the deep Earth. The rebound is ongoing and causes small changes in the Earth’s gravity field, which can be measured by the GRACE satellite mission. We use these measurements to obtain the viscosity of the upper mantle and find that it is 2 times higher in Fennoscandia than in the Barents Sea.

The Patos-Marinza oil field in Central Albania (40.71° N, 19.61° E) is one of the largest onshore oil fields in Europe. More than 7 million oil barrels are extracted per year from sandstone formations in western Albania. The regional seismicity culminated in December 2016, when a seismic sequence developed in the oil field, triggering the opening of a public inquiry. We take advantage of the Sentinel-1 radar images to show that a strong subsidence, probably induced, is taking place in the field.

Time-domain electromagnetic (TEM) geophysics data originally collected for mining purposes were reprocessed and inverted. The new inversions were used to construct a 3D model of the subsurface geology to facilitate hydrogeological investigations within a DANIDA-funded project. Improved resolutions from the TEM enabled the identification of possible paleovalleys of glacial origin, suggesting the need for a reevaluation of the current lithostratigraphy of the Voltaian sedimentary basin.

We present a first application of seismic attributes, a well-known technique in the oil and gas industry, to vintage seismic reflection profiles in a seismotectonic study. Our results improve data interpretability, allowing us to detect peculiar geophysical signatures of faulting and a regional seismogenic layer. We suggest a new tool for both seismotectonic research and assessments of the seismic hazard, not only in the central Apennines (Italy), but also in seismically active areas abroad.

This study presents an approach that combines equilibrium thermodynamic modelling with oxygen isotope fractionation modelling for investigating fluid–rock interaction in metamorphic systems. An application to subduction zones shows that chemical and isotopic zoning in minerals can be used to determine feasible fluid sources and the conditions of interaction. Slab-derived fluids can cause oxygen isotope variations in the mantle wedge that may result in anomalous isotopic signatures of arc lavas.

In this paper, we investigate the physical mechanisms of tectonic nappe formation by high-resolution numerical modeling. Tectonic nappes are key structural features of many mountain chains which are packets of rocks displaced, sometimes even up to 100 km, from their original position. However, the physical mechanisms involved are not fully understood. We solve numerical equations of fluid and solid dynamics to improve our knowledge. The results are compared with data from the Helvetic Alps.

Rock-forming minerals behave elastically, a property that controls their ability to support stress and strain, controls the transmission of seismic waves, and influences subsequent permanent deformation. Minerals are intrinsically anisotropic in their elastic properties; that is, they have directional variations that are related to the crystal lattice. We explore this directionality and present new ways of visualising it. We hope this will enable further advances in understanding deformation.

We aim to better understand the challenging areas that are the intraplate regions using one example: the southern French Massif Central and its numerous hundreds of meters deep valleys. We apply a multidisciplinary approach there using geomorphology, geochronology, and numerical modeling. Our dating results show that the canyon incisions are part of the Plio-Quaternary evolution with incision rate of ~ 80 m Ma⁻¹. We propose then that this incision is possible due to an active regional uplift.

In this study, we present a 1-D visco-elasto-plastic model in a spherical coordinate system to study the residual pressure preserved in mineral inclusions. This allows one to study how much residual pressure can be preserved after viscous relaxation. An example of quartz inclusion in garnet host is studied and it is found that above 600–700 °C, substantial viscous relaxation will occur. If one uses the relaxed residual quartz pressure for barometry, erroneous results will be obtained.

Metamorphic domes are areas in a mountain chain that were unburied and where deeper parts of the crust rose to the surface. The Lepontine Dome in the Swiss and Italian Alps is such a place, and it is additionally bordered on two sides by shear zones where crustal blocks moved past each other. To determine when these tectonic movements happened, we measured the ages of monazite crystals that form in fluid-filled pockets inside the rocks during these movements of exhumation and deformation.

Changes in the Earth's elastic strength at increasing timescales of deformation affect predictions of its response to the shifting weight of the oceans caused by tides. We show that these changes are detectable using GPS and must be accounted for but that 3-D or locally-tuned models of the Earth's behaviour around the East China Sea provide only slightly better predictions than a simpler model which varies only with depth. Use of this model worldwide will improve precise positioning by GPS.