Latest Tectonics Stories

Reassessment of the role of water in plate tectonics Water in the Earth's crust and upper mantle may not play such an important role as a lubricant of plate tectonics as previously assumed. This is a result geoscientists present in the current issue of the scientific journal Nature (13/06/2013) after the examination of water in the mineral olivine. Laboratory experiments over the past three decades have suggested the presence of water greatly weakens the mechanical strength of the...

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online Scientists from the University of California, San Diego’s (UCSD) Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) have discovered a liquefied layer of molten rock in the planet’s mantle – a substance which could be acting as a lubricant of the sliding motions of the Earth’s tectonic plates. The magma layer was discovered at the Middle America trench offshore Nicaragua during a 2010 expedition aboard the US Navy-owned research...

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online Despite the absence of any recent tectonic activity in the area, one region of the Appalachian Mountains looks vastly different from its surroundings, leading a team of US researchers to conclude that the location had undergone a transformation they refer to as a “geological facelift.” Sean Gallen, a graduate student in marine, earth and atmospheric sciences at North Carolina State University, and Karl Wegmann, an assistant...

A new look at the science of plate tectonics Saint Cloud, Fla. (PRWEB) December 17, 2012 “When plate tectonics is viewed as a cycle, it can be imagined to start and restart with eruptions at the earth’s ride and rise system,” explains author and professor John H. Carman. To help explain to readers this geological occurrence, Carman pens his new book, “How the Earth's Plate Tectonic Cycle Works: CMB Reaction” In his new book, Carman offers a new thesis in the field of plate...

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online Scientists at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco this week reported that the Himalayas and Pacific Northwest could experience major earthquakes. Researchers have begun studying the complexity of the Himalayan range in greater detail, particularly the fault that separates the two plates known as the Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT). Previous observations indicated a fault that dipped a few degrees to the...

Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online UPDATE : 08-27-2012 10:00 a.m. (EST) Latest reports on the swarm of Southern California earthquakes puts the number at somewhere around 300, according to the USGS. The continuing series of temblors produced only minor damage, knocking trailers off their foundations and breaking windows. A few reports of cosmetic damage has also been reported on some older buildings. Most of the quakes were in the range of magnitude of 3.0,...

[ Video 1 ] | [ Video 2 ] Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online For decades, scientists thought the only place in our solar system that consisted of plate tectonics was right here on Earth. But a UCLA scientist has discovered, analyzing data from two instruments, that the Red Planet has also shown evidence of tectonic plate movement. The science of plate tectonics revolves around the idea that huge crustal plates beneath a planet’s surface are constantly moving,...

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Meadow Bay Gold Corporation ("Meadow Bay Gold") (TSXV:MAY) (OTCQX:MAYGF) is pleased to report assay results from four core drill holes at its drilling program at the Atlanta Gold Mine, Lincoln County, Nevada. Two of drill holes complete the confirmatory drilling program on the Atlanta Fault deposit. The purpose of this program is to test for thickness and grade of gold and silver mineralization adjacent to the past producing...

Scientists have found a link between intensifying climate events and tectonic plate movements in findings that could provide a valuable insight into why huge tremors take place. Understanding why plates change direction and speed is key to unlocking huge seismic events like last month's Japan earthquake, which shifted Earth's axis by several inches. The researchers from France and Germany found that the strengthening Indian monsoon had accelerated movement of the Indian plate over the past 10...

SOUTHAMPTON, Pa., March 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Environmental Tectonics Corporation (Pink Sheets: ETCC) ("ETC" or the "Company") today issued the following statement: "Environmental Tectonics Corporation would like to express our heartfelt concern for the victims of the catastrophic events which have occurred in Japan. Our thoughts remain with our friends, colleagues, and the entire Country of Japan as they continue to recover from this unprecedented event. ETC Simulation, a business...