Michael J. Stock, Madeleine C. S. Humphreys, Victoria C. Smith, Roberto Isaia & David M. Pyle
doi:10.1038/ngeo2639
Magma reservoirs typically accumulate over hundreds to thousands of years. Yet, geochemical analyses of volcanic rocks from Campi Flegrei suggest activity there was triggered by injections of volatile-rich magma only days before the eruption.
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (661 KB) | Supplementary information
Henk Kooi
doi:10.1038/ngeo2642
Groundwater flow redistributes heat in the Earth’s crust. Numerical simulations of groundwater flow show net cooling of groundwater basins, as well as cooling of the underlying lithosphere in areas where groundwater flows over large distances.
First Paragraph | Full Text | PDF (485 KB) | Supplementary information
Peter B. Kelemen & Mark D. Behn
doi:10.1038/ngeo2662
The formation of Earth's continents is unclear. A review of the geochemical composition of crust formed above subduction zones across the globe suggests that subduction and relamination of buoyant magmatic rocks play an important role.
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (440 KB) | Supplementary information
J. R. Elliott, R. Jolivet, P. J. González, J.-P. Avouac, J. Hollingsworth, M. P. Searle & V. L. Stevens
doi:10.1038/ngeo2623
How Himalayan topography is built is unclear. Analysis of surface displacement during the 2015 Gorkha earthquake suggests that large earthquakes may lower the high Himalayan mountains, and topography may grow during the interseismic phase.
Abstract- | Full Text | PDF (2,691 KB) | Supplementary information
J. C. Villegas-Lanza, J.-M. Nocquet, F. Rolandone, M. Vallée, H. Tavera, F. Bondoux, T. Tran, X. Martin & M. Chlieh
doi:10.1038/ngeo2620
Subduction zone earthquakes can be followed by aseismic slip. Analysis of fault slip in northern Peru reveals transient aseismic slip that lasted for seven months and released more than 1,000% of the energy expelled by the quake that preceded it.
First Paragraph- | Full Text | PDF (853 KB) | Supplementary information
Richard M. Palin & Richard W. White
doi:10.1038/ngeo2605
An absence in the ancient geological record of blueschist metamorphic rocks has been taken as evidence against early subduction. Thermodynamic calculations now suggest that blueschist rocks could not have formed on a younger, hotter Earth.
First Paragraph- | Full Text | PDF (510 KB) | Supplementary information
See also: News and Views by Korenaga
Caroline M. Eakin, Maureen D. Long, Alissa Scire, Susan L. Beck, Lara S. Wagner, George Zandt & Hernando Tavera
doi:10.1038/ngeo2592
Subducting oceanic plates are often considered as cold, rigid slabs. Analysis of seismic anisotropy in the subducted Nazca Plate beneath Peru suggests that the plate has deformed internally during subduction.
First Paragraph- | Full Text | PDF (1,476 KB) | Supplementary information
Mantle flow geometry from ridge to trench beneath the Gorda–Juan de Fuca plate system -pp965 - 968
Robert Martin-Short, Richard M. Allen, Ian D. Bastow, Eoghan Totten & Mark A. Richards
doi:10.1038/ngeo2569
Shallow mantle flow could be induced by the motions of overriding tectonic plates or by deeper mantle convection. Analysis of mantle flow patterns in the Pacific Northwest shows that flow aligns with the motions of the largest oceanic plates.
First Paragraph- | Full Text | PDF (911 KB) | Supplementary information
See also: News and Views by Currie
Donna J. Shillington, Anne Bécel, Mladen R. Nedimović, Harold Kuehn, Spahr C. Webb, Geoffrey A. Abers, Katie M. Keranen, Jiyao Li, Matthias Delescluse & Gabriel A. Mattei-Salicrup
doi:10.1038/ngeo2586
Subduction carries water into the Earth where it can influence seismicity. Analysis of the structure of the Alaskan subduction zone suggests fluid delivery is influenced by faults in the oceanic plate that formed at the mid-ocean ridge.
First Paragraph- | Full Text | PDF (4,086 KB) | Supplementary information
Stephen P. Hicks & Andreas Rietbrock
doi:10.1038/ngeo2585
Slip during subduction zone earthquakes is often assumed to occur on a single fault. Analysis of a 2011 Chilean earthquake shows that the event was composed of two quakes, with megathrust rupture triggering slip in the overriding plate.
First Paragraph- | Full Text | PDF (1,744 KB) | Supplementary information
Robert C. Viesca & Dmitry I. Garagash
doi:10.1038/ngeo2554
Faults weaken during earthquakes. Analysis of the amount of energy released during earthquakes globally suggests that heat-induced pressurization of pore fluids can weaken faults during earthquakes of all sizes.
First Paragraph- | Full Text | PDF (644 KB) | Supplementary information
Matt J. Ikari, Yoshihiro Ito, Kohtaro Ujiie & Achim J. Kopf
doi:10.1038/ngeo2547
The Tohoku earthquake ruptured a fault that also generates slow slip events. Laboratory experiments on rock samples from the fault show that this spectrum of slip behaviours is a natural consequence of shearing at slow plate-convergence rates.
First Paragraph- | Full Text | PDF (912 KB) | Supplementary information
See also: News and Views by Savage
Mikhail K. Kaban, Walter D. Mooney & Alexey G. Petrunin
doi:10.1038/ngeo2525
Continental cores, or cratons, are thought to have been stable for billions of years. Analysis of seismic images, however, suggests that the craton root deep beneath North America may have been shifted by mantle flow.
First Paragraph- | Full Text | PDF (2,571 KB) | Supplementary information
Richard J. Arculus, Osamu Ishizuka, Kara A. Bogus, Michael Gurnis, Rosemary Hickey-Vargas, Mohammed H. Aljahdali, Alexandre N. Bandini-Maeder, Andrew P. Barth, Philipp A. Brandl, Laureen Drab, Rodrigo do Monte Guerra, Morihisa Hamada, Fuqing Jiang, Kyoko Kanayama, Sev Kender, Yuki Kusano, He Li, Lorne C. Loudin, Marco Maffione, Kathleen M. Marsaglia, Anders McCarthy, Sebastién Meffre, Antony Morris, Martin Neuhaus, Ivan P. Savov, Clara Sena, Frank J. Tepley III, Cees van der Land, Gene M. Yogodzinski & Zhaohui Zhang
doi:10.1038/ngeo2515
How plate tectonic subduction is initiated is unclear. Analysis of sediments and rock cores taken from the Izu–Bonin–Mariana subduction zone trench suggests subduction started spontaneously in this region around 50 million years ago.
Abstract- | Full Text | PDF (1,485 KB) | Supplementary information
Jean-Philippe Avouac, Lingsen Meng, Shengji Wei, Teng Wang & Jean-Paul Ampuero
doi:10.1038/ngeo2518
Faults are unlocked by earthquakes. Analysis of seismic data from the 2015 Nepal earthquake shows that only part of the Main Himalayan Thrust fault was unzipped by the quake, leaving much of the fault locked and ready to slip in a future event.
First Paragraph- | Full Text | PDF (1,475 KB) | Supplementary information
Robert G. Green, Tim Greenfield & Robert S. White
doi:10.1038/ngeo2491
The role of static versus dynamic stresses in earthquake clusters is unclear. Analysis of earthquakes triggered by a dyke intrusion at an Icelandic volcano unambiguously demonstrates that static stresses are important for earthquake clustering.
First Paragraph- | Full Text | PDF (1,228 KB) | Supplementary information
J. M. Whittaker, J. C. Afonso, S. Masterton, R. D. Müller, P. Wessel, S. E. Williams & M. Seton
doi:10.1038/ngeo2437
Tectonic plate and lower-mantle motions are often considered independent. Plate tectonic reconstructions reveal long-lived interactions between mantle plumes and mid-ocean ridges that imply feedback between plate boundaries and the deep mantle.
First Paragraph- | Full Text | PDF (954 KB) | Supplementary information
Robert Herrendörfer, Ylona van Dinther, Taras Gerya & Luis Angel Dalguer
doi:10.1038/ngeo2427
Some subduction zones experience earthquake supercycles. Numerical simulations show that successive megathrust earthquakes may load neighbouring parts of the fault, causing it to eventually fail in a giant earthquake that completes a supercycle.
First Paragraph- | Full Text | PDF (670 KB) | Supplementary information
Heidi Houston
doi:10.1038/ngeo2419
At subduction zones, deep parts of the fault can slip slowly, generating tremor. Analysis of tremor in Cascadia reveals increasing sensitivity of slip to tidal stresses over several days, implying that the fault is weak, and weakens as it slips.
Abstract- | Full Text | PDF (769 KB) | Supplementary information
See also: News and Views by Bürgmann
K. J. Walowski, P. J. Wallace, E. H. Hauri, I. Wada & M. A. Clynne
doi:10.1038/ngeo2417
Fluid transport in subduction zones is complex. Geochemical analysis of lavas from the Cascade Arc shows that dehydration of the deep slab interior can trigger melting in the outer part of the subducting slab in young, hot subduction zones.
Abstract- | Full Text | PDF (879 KB) | Supplementary information
Esteban Gazel, Jorden L. Hayes, Kaj Hoernle, Peter Kelemen, Erik Everson, W. Steven Holbrook, Folkmar Hauff, Paul van den Bogaard, Eric A. Vance, Shuyu Chu, Andrew J. Calvert, Michael J. Carr & Gene M. Yogodzinski
doi:10.1038/ngeo2392
The origin of continental crust is unclear. Geochemical and geophysical analyses of the Central American land bridge show that continental crust began to form there when enriched oceanic crust created above the Galápagos plume was subducted.
Abstract- | Full Text | PDF (855 KB) | Supplementary information
Hauke Marquardt & Lowell Miyagi
doi:10.1038/ngeo2393
Subducting slabs can stagnate in the lower mantle. High-pressure laboratory experiments show that the viscosity of a dominant mantle phase increases dramatically at shallow lower-mantle depths, which could cause the slabs to halt their descent.
First Paragraph- | Full Text | PDF (578 KB) | Supplementary information
See also: News and Views by Cordier
Thessa Tormann, Bogdan Enescu, Jochen Woessner & Stefan Wiemer
doi:10.1038/ngeo2343
The 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake released stress within a subduction zone. Analysis of seismic data shows that stresses returned to pre-quake levels within a few years, implying that large quakes could occur more often than previously thought.
Abstract- | Full Text | PDF (1,920 KB) | Supplementary information
David R. Shelly
doi:10.1038/ngeo2335
Seismic tremors can be used to distinguish plate boundaries. Analysis of tremors occurring deep beneath the San Andreas Fault may identify the boundary between the North American Plate and the preserved remnant of a subducted slab.
Abstract- | Full Text | PDF (2,794 KB) | Supplementary information
Richard Styron, Michael Taylor & Kurt Sundell
doi:10.1038/ngeo2336
The Tibetan Plateau is extending. Numerical simulations suggest that regional-scale extension is caused by gravitational collapse of the plateau, whereas rapid extension in the south is caused by underthrusting of the Indian slab.
First Paragraph- | Full Text | PDF (3,078 KB) | Supplementary information
Martha G. Pamato, Robert Myhill, Tiziana Boffa Ballaran, Daniel J. Frost, Florian Heidelbach & Nobuyoshi Miyajima
doi:10.1038/ngeo2306
Plumes are thought to transport water-rich material from the deep mantle to Earth’s surface. High-pressure experiments identify a hydrous mineral phase that is stable under lower-mantle conditions and could provide a source for this water.
Abstract- | Full Text | PDF (1,086 KB) | Supplementary information
See also: News and Views by Nishi
Henry J. B. Dick & Huaiyang Zhou
doi:10.1038/ngeo2318
The composition of mid-ocean ridge basalts varies with the properties of the mantle that feeds the ridges. Thermodynamic calculations of melt evolution suggest that most of the mantle melting occurs by an overlooked mechanism, focused melting.
Abstract- | Full Text | PDF (1,303 KB)
October 2014, Volume 7 No 10 pp689-776
Earthquakes: Hydrogeochemical precursors
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pp697 - 698
S. E. Ingebritsen & M. Manga
doi:10.1038/ngeo2261
Earthquake prediction is a long-sought goal. Changes in groundwater chemistry before earthquakes in Iceland highlight a potential hydrogeochemical precursor, but such signals must be evaluated in the context of long-term, multiparametric data sets.
Full Text | PDF (628 KB) See also: Letter by Skelton et al.
Changes in groundwater chemistry before two consecutive earthquakes in Iceland
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pp752 - 756
Alasdair Skelton, Margareta Andrén, Hrefna Kristmannsdóttir, Gabrielle Stockmann, Carl-Magnus Mörth, Árny Sveinbjörnsdóttir, Sigurjón Jónsson, Erik Sturkell, Helga Rakel Guðrúnardóttir, Hreinn Hjartarson, Heike Siegmund & Ingrid Kockum
doi:10.1038/ngeo2250
Precursor events to earthquakes are rarely reproduced. Measurement of groundwater chemistry in Iceland between 2008 and 2013 reveals distinct changes prior to two consecutive >M5 earthquakes.
First Paragraph | Full Text | PDF (1,835 KB) | Supplementary information
Seismic precursors linked to super-critical fluids at oceanic transform faults
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pp757 - 761
Louis Géli, Jean-Michel Piau, Robert Dziak, Vincent Maury, Delphine Fitzenz, Quentin Coutellier & Pierre Henry
doi:10.1038/ngeo2244
Earthquakes on oceanic transform faults are often preceded by foreshock swarms. A theoretical model suggests that circulating hydrothermal fluids, which compress as the fault rocks expand and deform, cause this precursor seismic activity.
First Paragraph | Full Text | PDF (1,318 KB) | Supplementary information
September 2014, Volume 7 No 9 pp613-688
Antarctic icequakes triggered by the 2010 Maule earthquake in Chile
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pp677 - 681
Zhigang Peng, Jacob I. Walter, Richard C. Aster, Andrew Nyblade, Douglas A. Wiens & Sridhar Anandakrishnan
doi:10.1038/ngeo2212
Large earthquakes can trigger seismicity in remote regions. Analysis of seismic data from Antarctica reveals ice quakes coincident with passing seismic waves from the 2010 Chile earthquake, suggesting that the ice sheet is sensitive to such triggers.
First Paragraph| Full Text| PDF (1,832 KB)| Supplementary information
River gorge eradication by downstream sweep erosion
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pp682 - 686
Kristen L. Cook, Jens M. Turowski & Niels Hovius
doi:10.1038/ngeo2224
Narrow river gorges are often short-lived features. Images of a bedrock gorge in Taiwan, which was carved after 1999, reveal rapid widening where the upstream floodplain meets the gorge, an erosional front that propagates downstream as the gorge is erased.
| Full Text | PDF (3,163 KB) | Supplementary information See also: News and Views by Sklar
August 2014, Volume 7 No 8 pp549-612
Strong tidal heating in an ultralow-viscosity zone at the core–mantle boundary of the Moon
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pp569 - 572
Yuji Harada, Sander Goossens, Koji Matsumoto, Jianguo Yan, Jinsong Ping, Hirotomo Noda & Junichi Haruyama
doi:10.1038/ngeo2211
Tidal dissipation in the Moon depends on the lunar tidal period. Numerical modelling of the Moon’s response to tidal forces suggests that tidal dissipation is localized in an ultralow-viscosity zone at the core–mantle boundary.
First Paragraph-| Full Text-| PDF (730 KB)-| Supplementary information
River basin flood potential inferred using GRACE gravity observations at several months lead time
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pp588 - 592
J. T. Reager, B. F. Thomas & J. S. Famiglietti
doi:10.1038/ngeo2203
Whether a precipitation event leads to flooding depends on the watershed’s wetness. A case study of the 2011 Missouri River floods demonstrates that the predisposition of a river basin to flooding can be inferred from satellite-based gravity data months in advance.
First Paragraph| Full Text| PDF (776 KB)| Supplementary information
Sandstone landforms shaped by negative feedback between stress and erosion
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pp597 - 601
Jiri Bruthans, Jan Soukup, Jana Vaculikova, Michal Filippi, Jana Schweigstillova, Alan L. Mayo, David Masin, Gunther Kletetschka & Jaroslav Rihosek
doi:10.1038/ngeo2209
The formation and preservation of sandstone landforms such as pillars and arches is enigmatic. Experiments and numerical modelling show that load-bearing material weathers more slowly, and thus the internal stress field can shape and stabilize sandstone landforms.
First Paragraph| Full Text| PDF (1,247 KB)| Supplementary information
See also: News and Views by Paola
July 2014, Volume 7 No 7 pp477-547
Rejuvenation of Appalachian topography caused by subsidence-induced differential erosion
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pp518 - 523
Lijun Liu
doi:10.1038/ngeo2187
Topographic relief continued to develop in the Appalachian Mountains, eastern USA, long after the tectonic forces that created the range had become inactive. Numerical modelling and reconstructions of sediment deposition in the Gulf of Mexico suggest that the topographic relief was rejuvenated by subsidence-induced differential erosion caused by sinking of the subducted Farallon slab in the underlying mantle.
First Paragraph| Full Text| PDF (2,582 KB)| Supplementary information
Topographic relief driven by variations in surface rock density
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pp534 - 540
Jean Braun, Thibaud Simon-Labric, Kendra E. Murray & Peter W. Reiners
doi:10.1038/ngeo2171
The high elevation in Earth’s topography of hard rocks, such as granites and basalts, was thought to be caused by their inherent resistance to erosion. Numerical modelling now demonstrates, counterintuitively, that erosion-induced isostatic rebound of rocks, which is density dependent, causes granites and basalts to occupy high elevations because they are more dense than surrounding rocks.
Abstract| Full Text| PDF (1,482 KB)| Supplementary information
See also: News and Views by Flowers
June 2014, Volume 7 No 6 pp389-E2
Volcanic drumbeat seismicity caused by stick-slip motion and magmatic frictional melting
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pp438 - 442
J. E. Kendrick, Y. Lavallée, T. Hirose, G. Di Toro, A. J. Hornby, S. De Angelis & D. B. Dingwell
doi:10.1038/ngeo2146
During volcanic eruptions, solidifying magma ascends through the volcanic conduit, often accompanied by repetitive, drum-beat seismicity. Laboratory experiments on magma samples from Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat, and Mount St Helens Volcano, USA, show that viscous melt formed at the surface between the rising magma and conduit walls can temporarily halt magma ascent, accentuating the cyclical seismicity.
First Paragraph| Full Text| PDF (3,261 KB)| Supplementary information
Changbaishan volcanism in northeast China linked to subduction-induced mantle upwelling
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pp470 - 475
Youcai Tang, Masayuki Obayashi, Fenglin Niu, Stephen P. Grand, Yongshun John Chen, Hitoshi Kawakatsu, Satoru Tanaka, Jieyuan Ning & James F. Ni
doi:10.1038/ngeo2166
The Changbaishan volcanic complex in China cannot be easily explained as the consequence of a mantle plume. Seismic images from the region identify buoyant mantle material that may have been entrained and dragged downwards by the subducting Pacific Plate, but is now escaping upwards through a gap in the plate and producing the intraplate volcanism.
Abstract| Full Text| PDF (1,979 KB)| Supplementary information
May 2014, Volume 7 No 5 pp321-388
Eastward expansion of the Tibetan Plateau by crustal flow and strain partitioning across faults
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pp361 - 365
Qi Yuan Liu, Robert D. van der Hilst, Yu Li, Hua Jian Yao, Jiu Hui Chen, Biao Guo, Shao Hua Qi, Jun Wang, Hui Huang & Shun Cheng Li
doi:10.1038/ngeo2130
The Tibetan Plateau is expanding eastwards, but the modes of deformation are poorly understood. High-resolution seismic images from the region identify localized zones of weak crustal rocks as well as deep faults, implying that deformation occurs through a combination of crustal flow and movement of rigid blocks of crust.
First Paragraph| Full Text| PDF (1,586 KB)| Supplementary information
Seismological evidence of mantle flow driving plate motions at a palaeo-spreading centre
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pp371 - 375
Shuichi Kodaira, Gou Fujie, Mikiya Yamashita, Takeshi Sato, Tsutomu Takahashi & Narumi Takahashi
doi:10.1038/ngeo2121
At oceanic spreading centres, it is unclear whether plate motions drag the underlying mantle, or mantle flow pulls the overlying plates. Seismic imaging of a former speading centre in the Pacific Plate reveals strong seismic anisotropy that was generated by mantle flowing at speeds greater than plate motions, implying that mantle flow pulled this part of the plate.
First Paragraph| Full Text| PDF (2,436 KB)| Supplementary information
April 2014, Volume 7 No 4 pp245-320
Motion of continental slivers and creeping subduction in the northern Andes
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pp287 - 291
J-M. Nocquet, J. C. Villegas-Lanza, M. Chlieh, P. A. Mothes, F. Rolandone, P. Jarrin, D. Cisneros, A. Alvarado, L. Audin, F. Bondoux, X. Martin, Y. Font, M. Régnier, M. Vallée, T. Tran, C. Beauval, J. M. Maguiña Mendoza, W. Martinez, H. Tavera & H. Yepes
doi:10.1038/ngeo2099
Regions of intense continental deformation, termed continental slivers, have been identified in Chile, Bolivia and Ecuador. Analyses of GPS data now identify another large sliver in Peru, the Inca Sliver, that is moving away from a neighbouring sliver in Ecuador—implying that moving continental slivers control the deformation of almost the entire Andean mountain range.
First Paragraph| Full Text| PDF (2,326 KB)| Supplementary information
Locking of the Chile subduction zone controlled by fluid pressure before the 2010 earthquake
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pp292 - 296
Marcos Moreno, Christian Haberland, Onno Oncken, Andreas Rietbrock, Samuel Angiboust & Oliver Heidbach
doi:10.1038/ngeo2102
Large subduction-zone earthquakes are thought to occur where the down-going and overriding tectonic plates are strongly locked. Analysis of geodetic and seismic data collected in the decade before the 2010 Chile earthquake shows that variations in pore-fluid pressure correlate with the degree of plate-interface locking, and may therefore control earthquake rupture.
First Paragraph| Full Text| PDF (1,327 KB)| Supplementary information
Off-rift volcanism in rift zones determined by crustal unloading
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pp297 - 300
Francesco Maccaferri, Eleonora Rivalta, Derek Keir & Valerio Acocella
doi:10.1038/ngeo2110
As continents are stretched apart, deep rift valleys form and volcanoes can erupt both inside and outside of the valley. Numerical modelling suggests that gravitational unloading, caused by thinning of the stretched crust, can deflect rising magma towards the edges of the rift valley, causing off-rift eruptions.
First Paragraph| Full Text| PDF (1,341 KB)| Supplementary information
February 2014, Volume 7 No 2 pp77-156
Nicoya earthquake rupture anticipated by geodetic measurement of the locked plate interface
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pp117 - 121
Marino Protti, Victor González, Andrew V. Newman, Timothy H. Dixon, Susan Y. Schwartz, Jeffrey S. Marshall, Lujia Feng, Jacob I. Walter, Rocco Malservisi & Susan E. Owen
doi:10.1038/ngeo2038
Part of the subduction zone plate interface beneath Costa Rica was previously locked, which allowed strain to accumulate. Analyses using GPS and geomorphic data show that almost the entire locked region ruptured during a megathrust quake in 2012, implying that plate-interface mapping towards the end of the earthquake cycle can aid seismic hazard assessments.
First Paragraph| Full Text| PDF (1,614 KB)| Supplementary information
Mapping the mass distribution of Earth’s mantle using satellite-derived gravity gradients
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pp131 - 135
Isabelle Panet, Gwendoline Pajot-Métivier, Marianne Greff-Lefftz, Laurent Métivier, Michel Diament & Mioara Mandea
doi:10.1038/ngeo2063
The dynamics of Earth’s mantle are difficult to constrain. Analysis of GOCE satellite gravity data can be used to identify gravity anomalies to mid-mantle depths and hence to identify regions of tectonic-plate subduction and plume upwelling in the mantle.
First Paragraph| Full Text| PDF (5,025 KB)| Supplementary information
Mantle flow and multistage melting beneath the Galápagos hotspot revealed by seismic imaging
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pp151 - 156
Darwin R. Villagómez, Douglas R. Toomey, Dennis J. Geist, Emilie E. E. Hooft & Sean C. Solomon
doi:10.1038/ngeo2062
Upwelling mantle plumes are thought to be sheared by the motions of the overlying tectonic plates. Seismic imaging of a hotspot beneath the Galápagos Islands, however, identifies a plume that is not deflected in the direction of plate motion and whose characteristics are instead controlled by multistage melting processes.
Abstract| Full Text| PDF (1,058 KB)| Supplementary information
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September 2013, Volume 6 No 9 pp673-800
The proportionality between relative plate velocity and seismicity in subduction zones
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pp780 - 784
Satoshi Ide
doi:10.1038/ngeo1901
The magnitude and rate of seismicity differ between subduction zones. Calculations of background seismicity rates, based on a global model of subduction zone seismicity, reveal a positive correlation between relative plate velocity and background seismicity, yet only the seismically quieter zones seem capable of generating magnitude 9 earthquakes.
| Full Text | PDF (2,383 KB)| Supplementary information
Structure of orogenic belts controlled by lithosphere age
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pp785 - 789
Frédéric Mouthereau, Anthony B. Watts & Evgueni Burov
doi:10.1038/ngeo1902
The influence of inherited tectonic-plate strength on the structure of mountain belts is debated. Analysis of geological data collected from mountain belts worldwide shows that the style and amount of deformation in a mountain range are strongly influenced by the age and strength of the colliding plates.
| Full Text | PDF (491 KB)| Supplementary information
August 2013, Volume 6 No 8 pp585-672
Focus: Shaken-crust
Subsidence at southern Andes volcanoes induced by the 2010 Maule, Chile earthquake
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pp632 - 636
M. E. Pritchard, J. A. Jay, F. Aron, S. T. Henderson & L. E. Lara
doi:10.1038/ngeo1855
Large earthquakes in subduction zones can affect nearby volcanoes. Analysis of ground deformation following the 2010 earthquake in Maule, Chile, shows that some volcanoes subsided by up to 15 cm, probably because of quake-triggered release of hydrothermal fluids.
| Full Text| PDF (1,803 KB)| Supplementary information
See also: Letter by Takada & Fukushima | News and Views by Jónsson
Focus: Shaken-crust
Volcanic subsidence triggered by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan
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pp637 - 641
Youichiro Takada & Yo Fukushima
doi:10.1038/ngeo1857
The 2011 Tohoku earthquake caused high levels of crustal deformation in Japan. Analysis of satellite radar and GPS data show that the earthquake caused nearby volcanic regions to subside instantaneously, creating elliptical depressions that are parallel to the direction of quake-induced crustal extension.
| Full Text| PDF (1,669 KB)| Supplementary information
See also: Letter by Pritchard et al. | News and Views by Jónsson
Focus: Shaken-crust
Lusi mud eruption triggered by geometric focusing of seismic waves
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pp642 - 646
M. Lupi, E. H. Saenger, F. Fuchs & S. A. Miller
doi:10.1038/ngeo1884
The Lusi mud eruption in Indonesia has been ongoing since 2006. Numerical simulations show that a parabolic-shaped layer in the rock surrounding the site of the Lusi eruption could have amplified and focussed incoming seismic energy from an earthquake, which then triggered the mud eruption.
| Full Text| PDF (1,007 KB)| Supplementary information
See also: News and Views by Davis
Frictional-faulting model for harmonic tremor before Redoubt Volcano eruptions
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pp652 - 656
Ksenia Dmitrieva, Alicia J. Hotovec-Ellis, Stephanie Prejean & Eric M. Dunham
doi:10.1038/ngeo1879
Volcanic tremor can be caused by small earthquakes occurring within the volcano. Mechanical modelling of volcanic tremor generated at Redoubt Volcano, Alaska, suggests that high-frequency tremor is the result of stick–slip motion in faults within the volcano conduit.
| Full Text| PDF (795 KB)| Supplementary information
July 2013, Volume 6 No 7 pp505-584
Barbados-based estimate of ice volume at Last Glacial Maximum affected by subducted plate
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pp553 - 557
Jacqueline Austermann, Jerry X. Mitrovica, Konstantin Latychev & Glenn A. Milne
doi:10.1038/ngeo1859
Coral records from the Barbados have been used to infer that, due to ice expansion, sea level was 120 m lower than today during the Last Glacial Maximum. A 3D simulation of the mantle in this region suggests these estimates were biased by the presence of a subducted slab, and indicates the sea-level difference was closer to 130 m.
| Full Text| PDF (847 KB)| Supplementary information
Episodic fault creep events in California controlled by shallow frictional heterogeneity
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pp566 - 570
Meng Wei, Yoshihiro Kaneko, Yajing Liu & Jeffrey J. McGuire
doi:10.1038/ngeo1835
Stable fault slip, or creep, is thought to occur in unconsolidated sediments that form shallow parts of continental strike-slip faults. Numerical simulations show that creep events observed on faults in California also require the presence of a shallow, unstable layer of rock, the thickness of which influences the duration of the creep event.
| Full Text| PDF (2,250 KB)| Supplementary information
June 2013, Volume 6 No 6 pp413-503
Andean structural control on interseismic coupling in the North Chile subduction zone
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pp462 - 467
Marta Béjar-Pizarro, Anne Socquet, Rolando Armijo, Daniel Carrizo, Jeff Genrich & Mark Simons
doi:10.1038/ngeo1802
Ridges on the down-going plate in a subduction zone can segment the seismogenic zone and influence earthquake occurrence, but the role of the overriding plate is unclear. InSAR and GPS satellite measurements indicate that segmentation of the subduction zone in northern Chile correlates with a 1-km-high coastal scarp, implying that overriding plate structure can influence seismicity.
| Full Text| PDF (2,766 KB)| Supplementary information
Subject terms: Seismology | Structural geology, tectonics and geodynamics
Slip weakening as a mechanism for slow earthquakes
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pp468 - 472
Matt J. Ikari, Chris Marone, Demian M. Saffer & Achim J. Kopf
doi:10.1038/ngeo1818
Slow earthquakes form part of a spectrum of fault behaviour between steady creep and fast rupture during a normal earthquake. Laboratory simulations of slow slip in rock samples taken from the Nankai subduction zone, Japan, reveal similar characteristics to fast earthquakes, implying that some slow slip events could be prematurely arrested earthquakes.
| Full Text| PDF (1,226 KB) Subject terms: Seismology | Structural geology, tectonics and geodynamics
Permanent deformation caused by subduction earthquakes in northern Chile
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pp492 - 496
A. Baker, R. W. Allmendinger, L. A. Owen & J. A. Rech
doi:10.1038/ngeo1789
Earth’s crust is thought to eventually rebound following an earthquake so that deformation is not permanent. Field analysis in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile, however, identifies numerous large cracks in the crust, implying that the crust here has been permanently deformed by thousands of earthquakes that have occurred over the past million years.
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Subject terms: Structural geology, tectonics and geodynamics | Seismology
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