Lecture: Deep sea sediments

Goldschmidt 2011, Earth, Life and Fire, Prague, Czech Republic

Themes and Sessions

The Science Committee, chaired by Bernard Marty and Bernard Bourdon, have organised the following themes and sessions for Goldschmidt2011, which incorporates many sessions submitted during the public "Call for Sessions".

• Theme 01: Cosmochemistry, planet formation
                     (Meenakshi Wadhwa, Marc Chaussidon)
• Theme 02: Primitive Earth : From core to atmosphere
                     (Stephen Mojzsis, James Kasting, Guillaume Caro)
• Theme 03: Evolution and Dynamics of the Deep Earth
                     (James Badro, Mike Walter)
• Theme 04: Mantle to Crust: Ocean Ridge and Intraplate Volcanism
                     (Janne Blichert-Toft, Jasper Konter)
• Theme 05: Continental Crust Formation and Evolution
                     (Cin-Ty Lee, James Day, Oliver Jagoutz)
• Theme 06: Recycling: Subduction, The Mantle Wedge and Arc Volcanism
                     (Terry Plank, Simon Turner)
• Theme 07: Evolution of Earth's environment
                     (Simon Poulton, Derek Vance)
• Theme 08: Interfaces and Interfacial Processes from the Nano- to Continental Scale
                     (Ruben Kretzschmar, Laurent Charlet)
• Theme 09: Geochemistry of volcanic systems and natural hazards
                     (David Pyle, Mark Reagan)
• Theme 10: Earth resources : Energy
                     (Steve Larter, Chris Ballentine)
• Theme 11: Earth's resources : Ores - under the patronage of SGA
                     (Jan Pasava, Keiko Hattori)
• Theme 12: Climate change
                     (Edouard Bard, Barbara Stenni)
• Theme 13: Sources, Sinks and Impact of Atmospheric Aerosols
                     (Gordon McFiggans, Surabi Menon)
• Theme 14: Weathering, climate, tectonics and surface processes
                     (C. France-Lanord, Lou Derry)
• Theme 15: Oceans atmosphere : Past and Present
                     (Ed Boyle, Jess Adkins)
• Theme 16: Geochemical impacts of human activity
                     (Steve Banwart, Dan Giammar)
• Theme 17: Biogeochemistry : From microbes to macro and cycles
                     (Martin Novak, Susan Trumbore, Jon Chorover)
• Theme 18: Frontiers in Analytical techniques
                     (Gerd Gleixner, Tim Elliott, Ed Young)
• Theme 19: Frontiers in Computational Geochemistry
                     (Lars Stixrude, James Rustad)
• Theme 20: Frontiers in Mineralogy and Mineral Physics
                     (Falko Langenhorst, Catherine McCammon)
• Theme 21: Hydrogeochemistry and Global Water Sustainability
                     (Chen Zhu, Rolf Kipfer)
• Theme 22: General Sessions
  
• Theme 23: Plenary Sessions

Further information here

Interesting articles - NatureGeoscience /May-Jun

Tectonics: Unexpected Andean earthquakes

• Nadine McQuarrie

Nature Geoscience 4, 357–358 (2011) doi:10.1038/ngeo1167

 

Published online 31 May 2011

 

 Great earthquakes along the western, subduction zone boundary of the Andes Mountains in South America are expected. Measurements of surface motion along the eastern boundary highlight the potential for equally large earthquakes in the east. 

 

Subject terms:

• Structural geology, tectonics and geodynamics 

Link to the paper 

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 Orogenic-wedge deformation and potential for great earthquakes in the central Andean backarc

• Benjamin A. Brooks, Michael Bevis, Kelin Whipple, J Ramon Arrowsmith, James Foster, Tomas  Zapata, Eric Kendrick, Estella Minaya, Arturo Echalar, Mauro Blanco, Pablo Euillades, Mario Sandoval & Robert J. Smalley Jr

• Affiliations Contributions Corresponding author
• Nature Geoscience 4, 380–383 (2011) doi:10.1038/ngeo1143

Published online08 May 2011

 

Subduction of the Nazca plate beneath South America has driven the growth of the Andes Mountains. Subduction has routinely generated earthquakes larger than magnitude 8.0 along the western margin of the mountain belt¹, but the potential size of less frequent earthquakes in the eastern, backarc margin is unknown. Continued support of the high Andean Plateau at the centre of the Andes can be explained only if deformation of the backarc margin is ongoing^{2, 3, 4}. Here we present GPS data that record surface motions in the Subandean ranges that are part of the backarc margin. We find that the velocity of surface movement decreases sharply from west to east across the Subandean ranges. We suggest that a subhorizontal fault underlying the ranges slips freely at depth in the west, but is locked for up to 100 km in shallower sections further east. Analysis of fault scarps formed where the subhorizontal fault intersects the surface indicates that the fault has generated repeated large earthquakes. We suggest that rupture of the entire locked section of the fault could generate an earthquake of magnitude 8.7–8.9. We attribute the large seismic potential to the unusual width of the Subandean ranges, and suggest that deformation of the Subandean ranges, at a rate unmatched by erosion, causes the mountain range to widen.

Subject terms:

• Structural geology, tectonics and geodynamics 

Link to the paper

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