Ore systems are located in zones of enhanced and focused heat and fluids flux within the lithosphere. In order to target deep ore deposits under cover, a better understanding of lithospheric architecture is essential, especially in relation to magmatism and fluids. Here we attempt an integrated approach using zircon LuHf isotopic mapping (455 samples with 5049 zircon analyses, including 1021 new data)

Based on more than 4,500 km of new and re-processed multichannel seismic lines, high-resolution seafloor bathymetry, available well data, and basement dredge samples, we have re-evaluated the entire stratigraphy and the tectonic evolution of the Alboran and western Algerian basins. We have correlated the sediment units deposited since the beginning of the formation of the different sub-basins, and

An increasing demand for resources, coupled with technological advances which make remote exploration possible and economically viable, have led to a human push into previously inaccessible areas, including peatlands. In spite of the unsuitable nature of peat as a substrate for engineering projects there has been a growth of vehicular access networks on peatlands. However, there is a lack of understanding

The relationship between intraplate earthquakes and intraplate deformation is one of the great conundrums faced by plate tectonics theory. In particular, large earthquakes are more common in Eurasia than in other continents around the world. Formed by the Neoproterozoic collision of the Cathaysia Block and the Yangtze Craton along the Jiangnan Orogenic Belt, the South China Block is well known for

Recent studies on seismic imaging of the Northwest Pacific and East Asian region are reviewed. High-resolution tomographic images reveal significant lateral heterogeneities in the crust and upper mantle, which shed new light on interplate and intraplate volcanism, earthquake mechanism, and mantle dynamics. Significant recent advances in seismic imaging are tomographic inversions for 3-D distribution

This paper reviews achievements and findings from studies associated with numerical modeling of tsunami since the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, and addresses challenges for future advances. The topics cover improvements in tsunami numerical modeling including multi-physics simulations, applications to source modeling, hazard assessment and real-time forecasting and warning. During the last 10 years, tsunami

Over many areas, light rainfalls, those delivering small daily amounts (typically, < 10 mm d−1), and low-intensity rainfalls (typically, < 1 mm h−1), contribute a large proportion of raining time and an important proportion of the annual precipitation. However, light rain is understudied relative to heavy and intense rainfalls whose occurrence and effects are more readily seen and that can result in

Original vertical joints (OVJs), which are highly correlated with loess anisotropy, have been considered a non-tectonic source of extensive erosion, gully development, and landform fragmentation in loess regions such as the Chinese Loess Plateau. The existing literature discussing the origin of OVJs lacks a systematic overview of the current theories related to OVJ genetic mechanisms, development patterns

Extreme droughts have serious impacts on the pools, fluxes and processes of terrestrial carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles. A deep understanding is necessary to explore the impacts of this extreme climate change events. To investigate how soil C and N pools and fluxes respond to drought and explore their mechanisms we conducted a meta-analysis synthesizing the responses of soil C and N cycles to droughts

The recent discovery of numerous large porphyry Cu deposits in the southern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau shows that porphyry Cu deposits can be hosted in magmatic suites in collisional settings. However, in contrast, only a few small porphyry Cu deposits have so far been discovered in association with collision-related granitoids in the northern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. This raises questions about the origin

The Alps are amongst the best subduction archives in the world, with abundant blueschists and eclogites preserving fragments of mantle, gabbros, thinned continental margin and pelagic sediments partly within their pre-collisional architecture. But to what extent is the Alpine record representative of the subduction of oceanic lithosphere worldwide? What is its significance, merits and limits for understanding

The emergence and diversification of early animals is commonly thought to have coincided with atmosphere and ocean oxygenation across the terminal Neoproterozoic and early Paleozoic, during which oxygen levels on Earth’s surface were sufficient to support the metabolism of early multicellular metazoans in the ocean. Although surface oxygen levels are likely to have broadly risen through the Paleozoic

Normal faults are often complex three-dimensional structures comprising multiple sub-parallel segments separated by intact or breached relay zones. Relay zones are classified according to whether they step in the strike or dip direction and whether the relay zone-bounding fault segments are unconnected in 3D or bifurcate from a single surface. Complex fault surface geometry is described in terms of

The East Asian continental margin straddles the boundary between the Pacific Plate subduction Domain to the east and the Indo-Eurasian collision Domain to the west. The spatial and temporal interaction between these two dynamic domains induced dextral trans-tensional stress field, which resulted in generating nearly 75% of the globe's marginal seas and continental margin rifts during the Cenozoic.

This study provides a comprehensive and quantitative estimate of how global temperatures have changed during the last 540 million years. It combines paleotemperature measurements determined from oxygen isotopes with broader insights obtained from the changing distribution of lithologic indicators of climate, such as coals, evaporites, calcretes, reefs, and bauxite deposits. The waxing and waning of

Paleogeographic maps are essential tools for understanding Earth system dynamics. They provide boundary conditions for climate and geodynamic modelling, for analysing surface processes and biotic interactions. However, the temporal and spatial distribution of key features such as seaways and mountain belts that govern climate changes and biotic interchange differ between various paleogeographies that

The qualitative and quantitative investigation of non-carbonate minerals—such as clay minerals—in ancient limestones and dolostones is a widely applied tool in palaeoenvironmental analysis. In order to exploit clay minerals as palaeoenvironmental proxies, these must be extracted from their host carbonate prior to analysis. Over the last decades, efforts to optimize experimental procedures for the extraction

Flushing flows are deliberate high-flow releases designed to mimic effects of floods in removing fine sediment from downstream aquatic habitats. A special case of environmental flows, flushing flows are intended to act on geomorphic processes to mitigate ecological effects of dams. We review definitions advanced for these flows, and then propose a new term, morphogenic releases, for high flows designed

Studies of alkaline lakes have critical biological–environmental–economic properties, but deep-time alkaline lakes are challenging to investigate. Lipid biomarkers can provide valuable insights into such lakes and their biogeochemical significance. This paper reviews and compares typical examples of ancient alkaline lakes across the world. Lipid biomarker evidences, including C30-steranes, Pr/Ph, Pr/n-C17-Ph/n-C18

Inland water carbon (C) sequestration rates play a potentially important role in the balance between C supplies from the atmosphere and associated watersheds and the net demand of primary producers. This study conducts a comprehensive analysis of influencing factors associated with inland water C cycling processes as well as their C sequestration potential and gross primary productivity (GPP). Additionally

Paleoenvironmental reconstructions on a (supra-)regional scale have gained attention in Quaternary sciences during the last decades. In terrestrial realms, loess deposits and especially intercalations of loess and buried soils, so called loess-paleosol sequences (LPS) are important archives to unravel the terrestrial response to e.g. climatic fluctuations and reconstruct paleoenvironments during the

Recent progress in plate tectonic reconstructions has seen models move beyond the classical idea of continental drift by attempting to reconstruct the full evolving configuration of tectonic plates and plate boundaries. A particular problem for the Neoproterozoic and Cambrian is that many existing interpretations of geological and palaeomagnetic data have remained disconnected from younger, better-constrained

Sea levels shape the face of the Earth, define processes of sedimentation, and influence the evolution of life via the distribution of habitats. Ancient topographies can be reconstructed using the history and understanding of tectonic processes, lithological evidence, and present-day topographies. Paleogeographic reconstructions must accommodate ever newer sources of geological data, so we can refine

Early Paleozoic sandstones deposited along the northern margin of Gondwana are commonly interpreted to represent a vast, well-mixed, and far-travelled blanket of sand sourced from Neoproterozoic orogenic belts in the interior of the landmass. However, the broadly similar timing of magmatism recorded in the interior orogens of Gondwana has hindered previous attempts to identify specific sediment source

In highly evolved F-rich felsic igneous rocks, topaz Al2SiO4(F,OH)2 forms in different genetic stages: orthomagmatic, pegmatitic, transitional magmatic-hydrothermal, and hydrothermal. The present study, considers some of the problems involved in deciphering the origin of OH–F variations in topaz. We conclude that topaz compositions in magmatic and post-magmatic hydrothermal stages range from pure fluor-topaz

With a depositional history spanning the early Aptian to early Albian (~19 mys), the Lower Cretaceous Xinminpu Group in Jiuquan, NW China provides detailed record of an inland ecosystem responding to global climatic and environmental changes. The Xinminpu Group exhibits the most typical elements of the Jehol Biota found outside NE China, a highly diverse avifauna and a mid-Cretaceous angiosperm flora

Eastern China provides a precious opportunity to explore how subduction drives evolution of the overlying continental lithosphere and to understand the fate of subducted plates. In this study, a synthesis of geochronological, whole-rock geochemical and zircon Hf isotopic data is used to examine temporal and spatial variations in distribution, composition and generation of Mesozoic magmas in the northern

Ants are abundant in most of the world's terrestrial environments. They are energetic, strong for their size, numerous, and socially cooperative. They play many geomorphologically important roles. In particular, they construct mounds and subterranean galleries, create patterned ground, play a role in bioturbation, affect vegetation cover and soil properties (such as infiltration rate) and influence

Arclogites are eclogite-like rocks formed magmatically as ultramafic residues and cumulates in the roots of thick arcs (Ducea et al., 2020a, Ducea et al., 2020b companion paper). They are inferred to be volumetrically important assemblages to complement subduction-related magmatic rocks at depth, in areas where the upper plate crust is thick. At the surface and in the shallow crust, these arcs form

Surface deformation in continental interiors is typically coupled to processes at depth. However, in the Sichuan basin, east of the Tibetan Plateau, recent seismic data detect Neoproterozoic subduction and rifts, indicating long-term tectonic quiescence of the basement. The Sichuan basin is characterized by two episodes of weak extension and compression which influenced the architecture of the marine

The Fezouata Biota in Morocco is the only Lower Ordovician Lagerstätte yielding a biologically diverse assemblage in a fully marine environment, whilst also containing organisms typical of Cambrian Burgess Shale-type (BST) ecosystems. Fossils from the Fezouata Shale share the same mode of preservation as Cambrian BST biotas defined by carbonaceous compressions and accessory authigenic mineralization

The Ediacaran–Cambrian transition marks one of the most important geobiological revolutions in Earth History, including multiple waves of evolutionary radiation and successive episodes of apparent mass extinction. Among the proposed drivers of these events (in particular the extinction of the latest Neoproterozoic ‘Ediacara biota’) is the emergence of complex metazoans and their associated behaviors

The Songliao Basin in northeast China in the eastern part of the Central Asia Orogenic Belt is the largest accretionary orogen belt in the world. However, to date, previous studies have not extensively examined the dynamic mechanism of its formation and evolution, especially the pre-Cretaceous. In this study, the Mesozoic–Cenozoic tectonic style, stratigraphic records, sedimentary time, magmatic activity

Two pulses of faunal mortality occurred during the Late Ordovician mass extinction (ca. 445 Ma). This biocrisis is recorded in Hirnantian strata of South China as a stepwise extinction of graptolites in both the hydrologically semi-restricted inner and open outer Yangtze Sea. Although expanded marine euxinia is widely regarded as the main cause of the biocrisis, the spatial-temporal pattern and driving

Human activities have extensively altered landscapes throughout the world and further changes are expected in the future. Anthropogenic impacts such as land use change, groundwater extraction and dam construction, along with the effects of climate change, interact with natural factors including soil weathering and erosion. Together, these processes create a constantly shifting, dynamic terrestrial

Both Cretaceous arc-type and intraplate rocks are widely distributed in SE China, in association with subduction of the paleo-Pacific Plate. However, it remains unclear whether there exists a genetic link between the intraplate and subduction-related magmatism. Here we conduct a comprehensive geochemical data compilation, sorting and processing of the Cretaceous mafic igneous rocks from SE China, in

Rock weathering is a key component of the rock cycle that transforms rocks in sediments, soils and/or dissolves minerals to ions, and plays an important role in landforms development and landscape evolution. The quantification of weathering is often challenging due to the impact of measuring techniques on the rock itself and/or the assumptions required to perform the calculations. Among different methods

This paper reviews the evidence for onshore sedimentary imprints of tsunami inundation known from the geological record of the Atlantic basin. The central aim of the paper is to offer a broad overview on the main deposits and key localities that have been documented along the Atlantic coastlines, and which attest to the local or regional impact of tsunamis during historical, pre-historical and recent

In freshwater systems (rivers and lakes), historical and recent tsunamis have been documented and their traces have been found in the geological record, but studies of paleotsunamis (prehistorical tsunamis) in such environments are still underrepresented. This contribution reviews paleotsunami studies with a focus on the post −2011 period and uses historical events to highlight some areas of research

The Neoproterozoic provides an important record of glacial–postglacial paleoenvironments, organic carbon cycling, and hydrocarbon accumulation. Here, to better understand the environmental, sedimentary, and petroleum geological potential of the Neoproterozoic, we summarize and review research on paleoenvironment and hydrocarbon prospectivity during the era for regions worldwide and also present a case

The abundance, diversity and extinction of non-marine algae are controlled by changes in the physical and chemical environment and community structure of continental ecosystems. We review a range of non-marine algae commonly found within the Permian and Triassic strata of Gondwana and highlight and discuss the non-marine algal abundance anomalies recorded in the immediate aftermath of the end-Permian

Tortuosity is widely used as a critical parameter to predict transport properties of porous media, such as rocks and soils. But unlike other standard microstructural properties, the concept of tortuosity is vague with multiple definitions and various evaluation methods introduced in different contexts. Hydraulic, electrical, diffusional, and thermal tortuosities are defined to describe different transport

The Budyko models provide a transparent framework for analyzing climate-catchment interactions and therefore have been widely used to quantify the role of vegetation influencing the partitioning of precipitation (P) into evapotranspiration (ET) and runoff (R) at watershed to regional scales under a changing environment. This study provides a thorough review of the use of Budyko models for answering

The end-Triassic mass extinction (ETME) is thought to have been caused by voluminous, pulsed volcanic activity of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP). Over the last decades, various geochemical signals and proxy records, including δ13C, pCO2, iridium and other platinum-group elements, mercury, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), charcoal and SO2, have been directly or indirectly attributed

Although the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake and tsunami were devastating to coastal environments, many of their effects have not lasted: over several years they have generally recovered naturally and artificially. Some environments have not fully recovered or have become stable with some different status. By contrast to the short-lasting tsunami impact, long-lasting crustal movement and reconstruction

This paper presents a review of Late Quaternary climatic changes and glacier variability in the Himalaya and East Africa, focusing on the role of Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM), East African monsoon, and Westerlies monsoons. Multi-proxy studies which are based on five different archives (lakes, peat bogs, speleothems, marine sediments, and ice cores) including sixty-six records from India and nearby regions

It is unclear whether the Holocene climatic optimum (HCO) occurred synchronously throughout the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) region, and if it did, whether it occurred in the early Holocene (EH, 11.7–8.0 ka, ka = 1000 years before present, where the “present” is defined as the year CE 1950), or in the middle Holocene (MH, 8.0–4.0 ka). This is because the definition of the HCO in previous paleoclimatic

The Bay of Biscay-Pyrenean rift system is a world-class example of an inverted hyperextended rift. However, tectonic questions such as the linkage of the extensional system, the magnitude of crustal extension, the interpretation of the syn-rift sequences and the amount of shortening during tectonic inversion remain controversial. This paper presents a sequentially restored crustal-scale transect across

The Steptoean Positive Isotopic Carbon Excursion (SPICE) is a prominent chemostratigraphic feature in the Lower Paleozoic. It has been used to correlate Upper Cambrian carbonate strata globally, and is cited as intimately linked to the Crepicephalus-Aphelaspis trilobite extinction event and the Sauk II-Sauk III megasequence transition. Despite the global nature of the SPICE event, regional/local conditions

The thorough interpretation of the South Atlantic long offset seismic lines provides a new view of the magmatic and crustal architecture and of the evolution of the conjugate volcanic passive margins (VPM) along the austral segment of the South Atlantic Ocean. In this study, we make the synthesis of previously published and unpublished seismic profiles that are reinterpreted consistently, and, for

Seismic anisotropy, as a ubiquitous feature in the Earth’s interior, could record the past lithospheric deformation and map directly mantle flow within our planet, and thus becomes a bridge to understand the interaction between the crust and subcrustal mantle or between different tectonic blocks. Plenty of high quality shear-wave splitting (SWS) measurements have been performed in Mainland China. In

The latest Permian-Triassic volcanism that created the Siberian traps, including the products of the explosion and interaction of the magmas with regional volcanic and sedimentary rocks, is now considered to be the main driving forces of the end-Permian mass extinction - the greatest global extinction in the Earth history. As proposed, the trap magmatism induced metamorphism of the sedimentary succession

Humankind began with extra-planetary expeditions in the 1960s. To date, more than fifty manned and unmanned lunar missions have taken place. Maybe, the most iconic image of these campaigns is the bootprint left and photographed by the astronaut Edwin Aldrin. Nevertheless, there is also other evidence of human activities on the Moon, such as rover trails, drill holes, vehicles, and rubbish. For some