How climate controls tropical cyclone variability has critical implications for modern human society but is not well understood due to the short length of observational records. To probe this knowledge gap, we present a synthesis of intense typhoon activity from the northwestern Pacific over the past 2000 years, which is supported by a new, well-resolved tidal flat sedimentary record from the Jiangsu

High-pressure felsic granulites in association with pelitic granulites are widely distributed in the Qianlishan Complex of the Khondalite Belt, North China Craton. A link between “inter-layered” felsic and pelitic granulites was established based on comprehensive metamorphic analysis, revealing that they record similar metamorphic stages: peak pressure (M1), post-peak decompression (M2), and late retrograde

The long-conceived idea of the glacial origin of Blaini diamictite of Lesser Himalayan Neoproterozoic succession reached its maxima when the diamictites and capping pink limestone were attributed to the Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth event and its aftermath, respectively. Occurrences of diamictite-limestone association in two different levels have also been correlated with the Sturtian and Marinoan

The intricate interplay between subglacial topography and ice-sheet dynamics is key to the evolution of large ice sheets, but in Greenland as elsewhere the effects of long-term glacial history on landscape evolution remain poorly constrained. Here we measure abundances of cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al in bedrock and transported boulders to unveil the glaciation and erosion history of Dove Bugt, northeast

The evolution of the South China continental crust and its linkage to the assembly and rifting of eastern Gondwana are key issues in the understanding of the early Paleozoic evolution of eastern Asia. We report U-Pb zircon ages and geochemical and Lu-Hf isotopic data for the South Fufang and Yingshang granitoids and the Mayuan diabases from the Wuyishan of eastern South China. The zircons yielded U-Pb

The formation of the Kelso Dunes in the eastern Mojave Desert, California, was a landscape-changing event triggered by an increase in sediment supply that followed the incision of Afton Canyon by the Mojave River ca. 25 ka. Eastward migration of sand dunes occurred along a well-defined eolian transport corridor. Dunes temporarily blocked washes resulting in substantial aggradation of eolian and fluvial

Abundant zoned olivine xenocrysts from Early Cretaceous basalts of the Yixian Formation in western Liaoning Province, China, contain critical information about the nature and evolution of the lithospheric mantle of the northern North China Craton. These olivine xenocrysts are large (600–1600 µm), usually rounded and embayed, with well-developed cracks. Their cores have high and uniform forsterite (Fo)

Much of the global picture of crustal evolution has been constructed using zircon. While this has revealed a rich and complex history, this view is necessarily incomplete because of the lithology-specific affinity of zircon and the high temperatures needed to reset the U-Pb and Lu-Hf systems inherent within it. Here we use a five mineral, multi-isotope system approach to compare the record of crustal

Intense magmatism in the form of widespread volcanoes and lava flows is identified in high-resolution 3-D seismic data over a post-rift sequence of the northern South China Sea (SCS). Such a magmatism post-dates the end of seafloor spreading in the SCS by at least 6.8 m.y. A detachment (boundary) fault propagating into a deep-seated magma chamber provided the main vertical pathway for magma migration

Submarine landslides have affected the mid-Norwegian margin since the Last Glacial Maximum. However, the role of tectonic movements, and most especially fault reactivation, in generating landslides offshore Norway is largely unconstrained. This study uses high-quality three-dimensional seismic and borehole data to understand how landslide development is controlled by faults propagating within the uplifted

The supercontinent Rodinia existed as a coherent large landmass from 900 to 750 Ma and is now dispersed over all current major continents. Controversy has long surrounded the reconstructions of the East Asian blocks in Rodinia, especially the South China craton and nearby microcontinents. The Central Qilian block is a Precambrian microcontinent in the early Paleozoic Qilian orogenic belt, which is

Interactions between volcanic and tectonic processes affect the distribution, morphology, and volume of eruptive products in space and time. The Queréndaro area in the eastern Michoacán-Guanajuato Volcanic Field affords an exceptional opportunity to understand these relationships. Here, a Pleistocene lava plateau and 20 monogenetic volcanoes are vented from an active ENE-striking segment of the Morelia-Acambay

Along with intensification of global warming, severe desertification has already impaired human sustainable development. In a near-future greenhouse world, the total area of desert will increase, and new types of desert may emerge. During the “greenhouse” Cretaceous, conventional large paleo-ergs developed in broad topographic basins, and many possible ergs developed in small-scale intermountain basins

Subsidence history and sandstone provenance of the Bisbee basin of southwestern New Mexico, southern Arizona, and northern Sonora, Mexico, demonstrate basin evolution from an array of Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous rift basins to a partitioned middle Cretaceous retroarc foreland basin. The foreland basin contained persistent depocenters that were inherited from the rift basin array and determined patterns

Cenozoic magmatism occurs throughout West Sulawesi, Indonesia, yet its detailed evolution remains enigmatic due mainly to the scarcity of precise dating. Here, we report new whole-rock geochemical and zircon U-Pb-Hf isotopic data of plutonic/volcanic rocks and river sediments from West Sulawesi to constrain the petrogenesis and magmatic tempo. The magmatic rocks are intermediate to felsic (SiO2 = 58

The Central Asian Orogenic Belt, as the largest accretionary orogen on Earth, is an ideal candidate to study the geodynamics of convergent plate boundaries through a prolonged period. The evolution of this orogen has been explained by different tectonic models, which incorporated one, or a combination, of the following mechanisms: lateral stacking of arc systems along major shear zones, arc amalgamation

A systematic study of floodplains, terraces, and alluvial fans in the Republican River valley of south-central Nebraska provided a well-dated, detailed reconstruction of late Quaternary landscape evolution and resolved outstanding issues related to previously proposed Holocene terrace sequences. Stable carbon isotope (δ13C) values determined on soil organic matter from buried soils in alluvial landforms

In rift basins with superposed strike-slip deformation, the structural style of wrench elements and the roles they play in synrift architecture and evolution are important, poorly understood issues for basin analysis and hydrocarbon exploration. The NE-SW–striking Tan-Lu fault zone, located in eastern China, runs through the Liaodong Bay subbasin within the Cenozoic Bohai Bay Basin and experienced

Platform carbonates are among the most voluminous of Cretaceous deposits. The production of carbonate platforms fluctuated through time. Yet, the reasons for these fluctuations are not well understood, and the underlying mechanisms remain largely unconstrained. Here we document the long-term trend in Cretaceous carbonate platform preservation based on a new data compilation and use a climate-carbon

Deciphering the formation and geodynamic evolution of high-pressure (HP) granulites in a collisional orogeny can provide crucial constraints on the geodynamic evolution of subduction-exhumation. To fully exploit the geodynamic potential of metamorphic rocks, it is necessary to constrain the metamorphic ages, although it is difficult to link zircon and monazite ages to metamorphic evolution. A good

The sedimentary architecture and provenance of the early Mesozoic incipient northern Gulf of Mexico basin remains controversial due to both lack of outcrop exposure and sample scarcity across the southern United States with subcrop depths approaching 6 km. The Eagle Mills Formation and coeval deposition across the northern Gulf of Mexico provides both a stratigraphic foundation for some ∼15-km-thick

Interactions between lava flows and surface water are not always considered in hazard assessments, despite abundant historical and geological evidence that they can create significant secondary hazards (e.g., floods and steam explosions). We combine contemporary accounts of the 1783–1784 Laki fissure eruption in southern Iceland with morphological analysis of the geological deposits to reconstruct

During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and subsequent deglaciation, the Great Basin in the southwestern United States was covered by numerous extensive closed-basin lakes, in stark contrast with the predominately arid climate observed today. This transition from lakes in the Late Pleistocene to modern aridity implies large changes in the regional water balance. Whether these changes were driven by increased

The lower Green River episodically narrowed between the mid-1930s and present day through deposition of new floodplains within a wider channel that had been established and/or maintained during the early twentieth century pluvial period. Comparison of air photos spanning a 74-yr period (1940–2014) and covering a 61 km study area shows that the channel narrowed by 12% from 138 ± 3.4 m to 122 ± 2.1 m

Recent studies have indicated that an Andean-type orogen (Lhasaplano) developed on the Lhasa block in the Cretaceous during northward subduction of Neo-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere. When and how uplift of the Lhasaplano began, however, has remained controversial. This article integrates stratigraphic, sedimentological, tectonic, and provenance data from the latest marine to nonmarine strata in the Linzhou

Phase equilibria modeling of sodic-calcic amphibole-epidote assemblages in greenstones in the northern Appalachians, USA, is compatible with relatively shallow subduction of the early Paleozoic Laurentian margin along the Laurentia-Gondwana suture zone during closure of a portion of the Iapetus Ocean basin. Pseudosection and isopleth calculations demonstrate that peak metamorphic conditions ranged

Multiple climate proxies indicate episodic changes in moisture levels within an ∼1 Ma duration (early–mid Pliocene) interval. Limestones within the Opache Formation, Calama Basin, Atacama Desert region, Chile, contain evidence for wetter and drier periods on short time scales. Proxies include carbonate lithological changes, paleontology (stromatolites, oncolites, gastropods, ostracods and diatoms)

Many low-angle normal faults (dip ≤30°) accommodate tens of kilometers of crustal extension, but their mechanics remain contentious. Most models for low-angle normal fault slip assume vertical maximum principal stress σ1, leading many authors to conclude that low-angle normal faults are poorly oriented in the stress field (≥60° from σ1) and weak (low friction). In contrast, models for low-angle normal

U-Pb geochronology on baddeleyite is a powerful technique that can be applied effectively to chronostratigraphy. In southern Africa, the Kaapvaal Craton hosts a well-preserved Mesoarchean to Paleoproterozoic geological record, including the Neoarchean Ventersdorp Supergroup. It overlies the Witwatersrand Supergroup and its world-class gold deposits. The Ventersdorp Supergroup comprises the Klipriviersberg

The way that far-field stresses and deformation propagated eastward in response to the growth and extrusion of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau remains a crucial scientific issue. This paper focuses on the Bailongjiang and Hanan faults, which are the easternmost part of the East Kunlun fault in northeast Tibet. Based on new field geological investigations, structural data, satellite imagery interpretation

Identification of subduction to post-collisional tectonic transitions is critical to the study of orogenic belts. To characterize such a transition in the Tianshan Orogenic Belt, a systematic study was conducted on the late Carboniferous (305–301 Ma) Hongshankou dolerite and Dikan’er basalt of Eastern Tianshan. The Hongshankou dolerites have relatively high Ti and Nb contents, akin to Nb-enriched arc

Deposits of the ca. 110 ka Halarauður eruption of Krafla caldera (reconstructed volume = 7 ± 6 km3 dense rock equivalent) include the only spatter-rich ignimbrite known in Iceland, and an exceptionally rare lava-like basaltic ignimbrite. We present a revised stratigraphy and new whole-rock major-element data set for products of this unusual event, one of only three Quaternary ignimbrite eruptions identified

An intermediate-composition hydroclastic breccia deposit is exposed in the upper reaches of a deep glacial valley at Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand, indicating an ancient accumulation of water existed near the current summit area. Lobate intrusions within the deposit have variably fluidal and brecciated margins, and are inferred to have been intruded while the deposit was wet and unconsolidated. The

Steam-driven eruptions are caused by explosive vaporization of water within the pores and cracks of a host rock, mainly within geothermal or volcanic terrains. Ground or surface water can be heated and pressurized rapidly from below (phreatic explosions), or already hot and pressurized fluids in hydrothermal systems may decompress when host rocks or seals fail (hydrothermal eruptions). Deposit characteristics

Periodic variations in Earth’s orbital parameters force climate on local and global scales, with global responses particularly sensitive to the presence of ice sheets and their associated feedbacks. Therefore, determining whether orbital forcings influenced sedimentary records of the past, and if so, which had such an effect, can shed light on Earth’s climate sensitivity and global ice volume. To this

A clear insight of the Indo-Burma amalgamation is required for an understanding of the complex processes of the Indo-Asian collision. Where and when the northeastern part of the Indian subcontinent amalgamated with the Burma plate has not yet been well defined. In order to better understand the tectonic affiliations and evolution of the Indo-Burma Ranges (IBR), we report new detrital zircon U-Pb and

The initiation and peak magmatic periods of the Emeishan Large Igneous Province (LIP) are well constrained by both biostratigraphic and radioisotopic dating methods; however, the age of cessation of volcanism is poorly constrained and continues to be debated. Marine carbonates interbedded with volcanic ashes across the Guadalupian–Lopingian boundary (GLB) are widespread in south China, and these ashes

Detrital zircon provenance studies of Mesoproterozoic basement and overlying Old Red Sandstone strata in northwestern Svalbard, Arctic Norway, were conducted to test competing models for Caledonian paleogeography and tectonics and constrain the magnitude of orogen-parallel, Silurian to Devonian strike-slip faulting following the Laurentia-Baltica collision. Mesoproterozoic basement strata, cut by earliest

The chemical composition of river waters gives a measure of the atmospheric CO2 fixed by chemical weathering processes. Since the dominating factors controlling these processes are lithology and runoff, as well as uplift and erosion, we introduce a new simplified geo-lithological map of the Alps (Alpine-Geo-LiM) that adopted a lithological classification compliant with the methods most used in literature

The evolution of overriding-plate deformation, and the mechanisms responsible for this deformation, are debated. One area where these processes can be investigated is the eastern North China Craton (NCC) in China, which was situated in an overriding-plate position relative to the subducting Paleo-Pacific Plate during the Jurassic and Cretaceous. Here we constrain the structural evolution of the Jurassic

The Devonian Period experienced significant fluctuations of atmospheric oxygen (O2) levels (∼25–13%), for which the extent and timing are debated. Also characteristic of the Devonian Period, at the Frasnian–Famennian (F–F) boundary, is one of the “big five” mass extinction events of the Phanerozoic. Fossilized charcoal (inertinite) provides a record of wildfire events, which in turn can provide insight

Chalcophile elements are enriched in the Cretaceous–Paleogene (KPg) boundary clays from Stevns Klint, Denmark. As the concentrations of Cu, Ag, and Pb among several chalcophile elements such as Cu, Zn, Ga, As, Ag, and Pb are correlated with those of Ir, we suggest that these elements were supplied to the oceans by processes related to the end-Cretaceous asteroid impact. Synchrotron X-ray fluorescence

Hainan Island may have lain at the boundary between the Tethyan and Pacific domains since the late Paleozoic. Permo–Triassic granitoids outcropped on the island provide insight into Mesozoic tectonic evolution and potential dynamics. Based on analyses of zircon U-Pb geochronological and Hf-O isotopic data, along with whole-rock elemental and Sr-Nd isotopic data, the Permo–Triassic granitoids are divided

The moment magnitude 7.2 El Mayor–Cucapah (EMC) earthquake of 2010 in northern Baja California, Mexico produced a cascading rupture that propagated through a geometrically diverse network of intersecting faults. These faults have been exhumed from depths of 6–10 km since the late Miocene based on low-temperature thermochronology, synkinematic alteration, and deformational fabrics. Coseismic slip of

Reconstructing the tectonic evolution of the southern Appalachian metamorphic internides is hampered by the relative paucity of accurate geochronologic constraints and the apparent rarity or absence of Paleozoic cover sequences. At the orogen’s greatest width, near the junction of Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, the western Blue Ridge is a composite metamorphic allochthon of three major thrust

Fundamental geodynamic changes from vertical tectonics to lateral subduction occurred during the Neoarchean, yet detailed processes related to this transition and initiation of modern-style subduction remain enigmatic. Successive Neoarchean magmatic rocks including both plume-derived komatiites and subduction-related supracrustal and intrusive rocks appeared and preserved key information on the late

Statherian through Tonian strata of the Langshan–Zha’ertai–Bayan Obo–Huade rift zone (LZBH) at the northern margin of the North China Craton provide an excellent record of changes in sediment provenance related to the supercontinent dispersal and amalgamation. During the late Paleoproterozoic to early Neoproterozoic, the LZBH developed over the Yinshan Block and was flanked by the Khondalite Belt to

The lower Paleocene Ojo Alamo Sandstone and Nacimiento Formation from the San Juan Basin (SJB) in northwestern New Mexico preserve arguably the best early Paleocene mammalian record in North America and is the type location for the Puercan (Pu) and Torrejonian (To) North American land mammal ages (NALMA). However, the lack of precise depositional age constraints for the Ojo Alamo Sandstone and lower

Recognition of accretionary tectonics in ancient orogenic collages is important for reconstructing the long-term subduction, accretion, and erosional history of fossil convergent margins, and for understanding crustal growth and supercontinent assembly. The North Qilian orogenic belt (NQOB), located between the Alxa block and the Central Qilian–Qaidam block in northeastern Tibet, is a typical Phanerozoic

The Meso-Tethys was a late Paleozoic to Mesozoic ocean basin between the Cimmerian continent and Gondwana. Part of its relicts is exposed in the Bangong–Nujiang suture zone, in the north-central Tibetan Plateau, that played a key role in the evolution of the Tibetan plateau before the India-Asia collision. A Penrose-type ophiolitic sequence was newly discovered in the Ren Co area in the middle of the

The west Kunlun orogenic belt, located on the northwest margin of the Tibetan Plateau, represents a crucial tectonic junction between the central Asia and Tethys domains. Its evolution was closely related to the Paleozoic subduction and closure of the Proto-Tethys Ocean, which was formed by the breakup of the Rodinia supercontinent following the Neoproterozoic. However, the early evolution of Proto-Tethys

Although continental crust is characterized by the widespread occurrence of granitoids, the causal relationship between continental crust growth and granitic magmatism still remains enigmatic. While fractional crystallization of basaltic magmas (with or without crustal contamination) and partial melting of mafic lower crust are two feasible mechanisms for the production of granitoids in continental

Halite precipitates in the Dead Sea during winter but re-dissolves above the thermocline upon summer warming, “focusing” halite deposition below the thermocline (Sirota et al., 2016, 2017, 2018). Here we develop an “evaporite focusing” model for evaporites (nahcolite + halite) preserved in a restricted area of the Eocene Green River Formation in the Piceance Creek Basin of Colorado, USA. Nahcolite

Harrat Rahat, one of several large, basalt-dominated volcanic fields in western Saudi Arabia, is a prime example of continental, intraplate volcanism. Excellent exposure makes this an outstanding site to investigate changing volcanic flux and composition through time. We present 93 40Ar/39Ar ages and six 36Cl surface-exposure ages for volcanic deposits throughout northern Harrat Rahat that, when integrated

New age data for the Baoban Complex, South China establishes that it lay outboard of western Laurentia in the early Mesoproterozoic but was not part of the Cathaysia Block, with which it is traditional linked, until the mid-Paleozoic. Our geochronology data for detrital zircon and authigenic monazite grains from metasedimentary rocks indicate accumulation between ca. 1.55 Ga and 1.45 Ga for the Gezhencun

Global gold deposit classes are enigmatic in relation to first-order tectonic scale, leading to controversial genetic models and exploration strategies. Traditionally, hydrothermal gold deposits that formed through transport and deposition from auriferous ore fluids are grouped into specific deposit types such as porphyry, skarn, high- and low-sulfidation–type epithermal, gold-rich volcanogenic massive

Magma-poor ocean-continent transitions at distal rifted margins record complex stratigraphic interactions engendered by extreme crustal thinning and mantle exhumation. The Tasna ocean-continent transition, exposed in the Middle Penninic Tasna nappe in eastern Switzerland, is so far the only known example where the lateral transition from continental crust to exhumed serpentinized mantle lithosphere

Deposits of calcite coating the lower passages of Wind Cave in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota were precipitated under phreatic conditions. Data from samples associated with a new cave survey and hydrologic studies indicate that past water tables within Wind Cave reached a maximum height of 45 m above modern levels but were mostly confined to 25 m or less. Uranium-series ages for basal layers

In contrast to the widespread occurrence of mafic arc magmatism during oceanic subduction, there is a general lack of such magmatism during continental subduction. This paradigm is challenged by the discovery of Early-Middle Triassic mafic igneous rocks from the southeastern margin of the North China Block (NCB), which was subducted by the South China Block (SCB) during the Triassic. Zircon U-Pb dating

The collapse of late Permian (Lopingian) Gondwanan floras, characterized by the extinction of glossopterid gymnosperms, heralded the end of one of the most enduring and extensive biomes in Earth’s history. The Sydney Basin, Australia, hosts a near-continuous, age-constrained succession of high southern paleolatitude (∼65–75°S) terrestrial strata spanning the end-Permian extinction (EPE) interval. Sedimentological