Category Archives: tectonics

AGU Dispatches: Superchrons and subduction

I started the day with my paleomagician’s hat on, sitting in on a session looking at the long term behaviour of the Earth’s dynamo. Changes in the strength and reversal frequency of the Earth’s magnetic field give a unique insight … Continue reading

Categories: conferences, palaeomagic, tectonics

Hotspot volcanism on Hawaii: textbook vs reality

Just like an iceberg, the parts of the Hawaiian Islands that you see above the ocean surface are dwarfed in volume by the stuff below the waves. For a start, any volcano that forms in the middle of the Pacific … Continue reading

Categories: geology, outcrops, photos, tectonics, volcanoes

Friday Focal Mechanisms: South Australian shaking keeps Chris guessing

A Friday focal mechanism…without a focal mechanism! Can the seismic past be the key to the present? Continue reading

Categories: earthquakes, focal mechanisms, tectonics

A mountain (meta)geologist

As you might have noticed, my blogging has been a little thin on the ground recently, which means I have been remiss in pointing you to some sterling posts from fellow All-geo blogger Simon Wellings, who is writing a whole … Continue reading

Categories: geology, links, structures, tectonics

The humbling legacy of the Tohoku earthquake

A year ago on Sunday, one of the biggest earthquakes ever recorded ruptured the subduction megathrust that dips beneath the east coast of Japan. The rupture displaced the seafloor by tens of metres and generated tsunami waves up to 20 … Continue reading

Categories: earthquakes, geohazards, tectonics