Tectonics articles from across Nature Portfolio

Modelling of the evolution of the Kosi drainage basin near Chomolungma suggests that a river capture event occurred approximately 89 ka ago. Isostatic rebound due to this capture event could contribute 10–50% of the total rock uplift rate in the Chomolungma region and might partly explain Chomolungma’s renewed uplift rate and anomalous elevation.

Partially molten middle and underplated lower crust may control isostatic plateau uplift, with uplift duration corelated to middle crustal thickness, which determines the height and crustal thickness of the Anatolian, Tibetan and Andean plateaux

When mantle plumes are coupled to spreading ridges, they can act as an anchor and impede spreading ridge migration but if the plume weakens, it can de-anchor from the ridge and facilitate rapid ridge migration.

Analysis of earthquakes from the last two millennia indicate two potential supercycles along the East Anatolian Fault. Within each supercycle, seismic ruptures originated in the northeast and progressively spread southwestward with an increasing number of earthquakes.

De-localized deformation transitions towards ever greater strain localization before the onset of stick-slip behavior in single-direct-shear friction experiments on Carrara marble, which suggests strain localization may be a precursor to large earthquakes

Five major explosive volcanic pulses in the Main Ethiopian Rift took place in the last four million years with intensity and magnitude declining over time, based on stratigraphic and geochronology data of volcanic units.

Modelling of the evolution of the Kosi drainage basin near Chomolungma suggests that a river capture event occurred approximately 89 ka ago. Isostatic rebound due to this capture event could contribute 10–50% of the total rock uplift rate in the Chomolungma region and might partly explain Chomolungma’s renewed uplift rate and anomalous elevation.

The processes that control the deformation and eventual destruction of Earth’s oldest continental crust are unclear. Mantle flow models suggest subduction played a role in the deformation of the North China Craton.

High-resolution numerical simulations show that subduction of the Indian plate peeled off the mantle lithosphere from the Tibetan Plateau. This process successfully explains first-order observations of the stepwise growth of the plateau, the migration of magmatism in the region and its seismic properties.

The fate of water carried by subducted slabs to the deep Earth remains unclear. Experiments suggest that water is unlikely to escape the slabs when they reach the core–mantle boundary despite high pressures and temperatures.

In a part of the Apennines, where the Earth’s crust is thin and heat flow is high, production of CO₂ from deep below the mountains dominates over near-surface weathering processes that consume this greenhouse gas. Ultimately, the magnitude of deep CO₂ release tips the balance towards a landscape that is a net carbon emitter.