News tagged with plate tectonics

Related topics: earth

Killer earthquakes shake scientific thought

A sudden cluster of massive earthquakes which has shaken Asia-Pacific communities and likely left thousands dead has also jolted some scientists, who are starting to question conventional thought.

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Oct 11, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (16) | comments 14

Australian continent to blame for Samoa, Sumatra quakes

(PhysOrg.com) -- The recent earthquakes in the Pacific and Indonesia have one University of Queensland researcher questioning whether the two are related.

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Oct 08, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (6) | comments 0

Taiwan scientist develops earthquake alarm

A Taiwanese scientist has developed an earthquake alarm that could give people a crucial 15-second warning in case of a tremor, one of his team said Wednesday.

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Sep 16, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

First complete image created of Himalayan fault, subduction zone

An international team of researchers has created the most complete seismic image of the Earth's crust and upper mantle beneath the rugged Himalaya Mountains, in the process discovering some unusual geologic ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Sep 11, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (8) | comments 1

Asia-Pacific quakes herald a disaster? Experts say no

Powerful earthquakes that have jolted Asia recently do not presage a disaster, although it is only a matter of time before the next catastrophe befalls the quake-prone region, seismologists say.

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Aug 23, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Water in Earth's mantle may be associated with subduction

A team of scientists from Oregon State University has created the first global three-dimensional map of electrical conductivity in the Earth's mantle and their model suggests that that enhanced conductivity ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Aug 19, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (10) | comments 3

New data: Mega-quake could strike near Seattle

Using sophisticated seismometers and GPS devices, scientists have been able to track minute movements along two massive tectonic plates colliding 25 miles or so underneath Washington state's Puget Sound basin. Their early ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Aug 16, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (14) | comments 2

Shaking the Earth: How Water Helps Tectonic Plates Slide in New Zealand

(PhysOrg.com) -- New Zealand is the site of one of the world’s youngest subduction zones, where the Pacific Plate of Earth’s crust dives beneath the Australian Plate. Now, a University of Utah study shows ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Aug 05, 2009 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (7) | comments 1

Oxidized lava may help explain Earth's evolution

(AP) -- Material from volcanoes where the Earth's plates squeeze together is more oxidized than in regions where the seafloor splits apart, a finding that helps shed light on some of the basic processes in ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Jul 30, 2009 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (6) | comments 2

Jade sheds light on Guatemala's geologic history

The shifting of tectonic plates in Central America has been poorly understood -- until now. New research on jade found along fault lines in Guatemala is helping geologists piece the puzzle of the past 130 million years.

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Jul 27, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 1

New map hints at Venus's wet, volcanic past (w/ Video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- Venus Express has charted the first map of Venus's southern hemisphere at infrared wavelengths. The new map hints that our neighbouring world may once have been more Earth-like, with both, ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jul 14, 2009 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (9) | comments 0

Natural deep earth pump fuels earthquakes

For the first time scientists have discovered the presence of a natural deep earth pump that is a crucial element in the formation of ore deposits and earthquakes.

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Jun 18, 2009 | popularity 3.8 / 5 (8) | comments 1

New study closes in on geologic history of Earth's deep interior

By using a super-computer to virtually squeeze and heat iron-bearing minerals under conditions that would have existed when the Earth crystallized from an ocean of magma to its solid form 4.5 billion years ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Jun 15, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (7) | comments 0

Asteroid Attack 4 Billion Years Ago May Have Accelerated Life on Earth

(PhysOrg.com) -- The bombardment of Earth nearly 4 billion years ago by asteroids as large as Kansas would not have had the firepower to extinguish potential early life on the planet and may even have given ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created May 20, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (14) | comments 3

Fingerprinting slow earthquakes (w/Podcast)

(PhysOrg.com) -- The most powerful earthquakes happen at the junction of two converging tectonic plates, where one plate is sliding (or subducting) beneath the other. Now a team of researchers, led by Teh-Ru ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Apr 23, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (4) | comments 0