The longstanding enigma of how tectonic plates can break Earth’s rock-hard shell may have been solved by a recent graduate student at The University of Texas at Austin who caught the Earth in the act of starting a new tectonic conveyor belt off the coast of New Zealand. The world’s tectonic conveyor belts – called… Continue Reading UT Graduate Student Research Solves Plate Tectonics Mystery
Big Data Imaging Shows Rock’s Big Role in Channeling Earthquakes in Japan
Thanks to 20 years of seismic data processed through one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers, scientists have created the first complete, 3D visualization of a mountain-size rock called the Kumano Pluton buried miles beneath the coast of southern Japan. They can now see the rock could be acting like a lightning rod for the… Continue Reading Big Data Imaging Shows Rock’s Big Role in Channeling Earthquakes in Japan
Are Deep Fluids Behind the Largest Earthquakes? ‘Not So Fast!’ Says UT Graduate Student
Sandwiched between tectonic plates are layers of material that show up as thin shadows on seismic tomography, a kind of CT scan of the Earth. For years, scientists assumed the anomalies were signs of highly pressurized water squeezed into densely packed rock and that the fluid acted as a kind of hair-trigger on earthquake faults.… Continue Reading Are Deep Fluids Behind the Largest Earthquakes? ‘Not So Fast!’ Says UT Graduate Student
Fate of Sinking Tectonic Plates is Revealed
Our world’s surface is a jumble of jostling tectonic plates, with new ones emerging as others are pulled under. The ongoing cycle keeps our continents in motion and drives life on Earth. But what happens when a plate disappears into the planet’s interior? The question has long puzzled scientists because conventional wisdom said that sinking… Continue Reading Fate of Sinking Tectonic Plates is Revealed
Dispatch from the Solomon Islands
Research Associate Jake Walter writes home about his field work. Continue Reading Dispatch from the Solomon Islands