EGU Geodynamics Division

Fault characteristics, how close is close enough? Have you ever wondered what common thing connects fault surfaces and their characteristics with your… squeezy sneakers on a wet surface or the required frequent change of your car tyres? Well, the ans...

What do slippery sneakers, worn car tyres and earthquakes have in common? Stress and friction. This week, Sofia Michail explores how these everyday forces also control how faults slip underground — shaping the way earthquakes occur.

blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd...

The courage to be disliked: reflections on peer-review processes Although often daunting and discouraging, every academic must navigate the inevitable process of peer review. In this week’s post, Jean-Baptiste Koehl, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Osl...

This week's blog reflects on the peer-review process in academia, and speculates how the future of peer-review can be improved!

blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd...

The Sassy scientist – How I became 10x efficient with this simple trick? Snowy days are here! Between two slides and snow ball (kind and consented) fights with colleagues, let’s see what’s in my mailbox… Well, this one is pretty topical, let’s go! Dear Sassy scientist, I t...

New year and already feeling burnout? This week we have the Sassy scientist with some advice to solve the problem!

blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd...

Understanding geodynamic modelling results through maps of neural networks The huge amount of data produced in Geosciences is increasing exponentially, and numerical modelling has become a key tool for understanding tectonic evolution over time, which also increases the volu...

Drowning in gigabytes of geodynamic results? Modelling can be a complex task, but neural networks can help you! Think week, João Bueno is showing how he is applying Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) to investigate relationships in large and complex datasets.

blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd...

Mathematical closed-form solutions in Geodynamics: insightful or detrimental? Mathematics is certainly not every scientist’s cup of tea. Despite the latter, they are, for the most part, very important, since most problems, regardless of their complexity, start and end with a ma...

In midst of the domination of numerical codes and analyses, do analytical closed-form solutuions still have a viable place in the constantly evolving field of Geodynamics? Dimitrios Papadomarkakis tackles and discusses the matter on this week's Geodynamics 101 blog post.
blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd...

Building the Earth in a sandbox Building the Earth in a sandbox   The Main Ethiopian Rift stretches for hundreds of kilometers through Ethiopia, a massive fracture where Africa is slowly tearing apart to birth a new ocean. However, ...

In this week's blog, Conor Farrell, a PhD student at University of Florence and from the @talents-dn.bsky.social reveals how analogue models help us understand the mechanics behind one of Earth’s most dramatic geological processes.
blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd...

Cratons: building blocks of continents and their economic importance The 4.5 billion years of geologic evolution has shaped the tectonic processes in Earth we see today. Over the span of time, Earth has changed from being a magma ocean to a tectonically active planet, ...

Cratonic lithosphere is always silent over Earth’s geological history. This blog introduces processes that contribute to formation, stability and destruction of the cratonic lithosphere, and how they contribute to cratons being hotspots of critical mineral deposits.
blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd...

Image description: An audience watching a screen in a large hall. With text reading:" GeoCinema at the EGU26 General Assembly, Applications are now open! Submit your short film NOW! 5 December 2025."

#GeoCinema is back for #EGU26!

Whether you have filmed fantastic spectacles in the field or produced an educational feature on the Earth, planetary, or space sciences - it's time to submit your short film 🎞️!
📅Submission deadline: 5 December 2025
👀 Application details: egu.eu/13NFE9

Image description: A collage of book covers and scientific posters related to various geosciences topics. With text reading: "GeoRoundup".

Wondering about what brilliant science we have published during November with the #EGUjournals? Check out the latest GeoRoundup, with all the #OpenAccess highlights on the #EGUblogs!

👉Discover more here: egu.eu/3JF707

Human civilization must survive on geological times: Why and How? In this new blog, Prof. Taras Gerya and Prof. Robert Stern synthesize recent advances in planetary geodynamics, the evolution of complex life, and the future of human civilization. They explore why co...

This week, Prof. Taras Gerya and Prof. Robert Stern present a new vision of humanity’s place in the galaxy, explaining how continents and plate tectonics may determine the long-term survival of civilization and the habitability of other planets. blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd...

EGU Geodynamics Division (@egu_geodynamics) • Instagram photos and videos 0 Followers, 8 Following, 0 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from EGU Geodynamics Division (@egu_geodynamics)

The EGU Geodynamics Division is now on Instagram 🎉
Follow us for updates on GD sessions, ECS activities, GA news, and research highlights.

👉 www.instagram.com/egu_geodynam...

#egugeodynamics

Growing geological Christmas trees: salt ‘Christmas-tree’ structures explained As geoscientists, we tend to see geology everywhere. Around Christmas, many people stare at decorated fir trees and twinkling lights; salt tectonicists stare at seismic lines and outcrops and see… tre...

It’s beginning to look like Christmas… tree structures! This week Manel and Francina lead us to explore how vertically stacked salt bodies and minibasins grow into tree like architectures, and what these salty “Christmas trees” reveal about basin dynamics and salt flow.
blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd...

Destruction of the North China Craton and its global impact Cratons are forever, until they are not. These long-lived portions of lithosphere are known for being remarkably stable. However, if the conditions are right, even cratons can be ripped apart by geolo...

Cratons are forever… until they aren’t.
This week, Jyotirmoy Paul @geophyjo.bsky.social explores how the North China Craton, once Earth’s stable core, fell apart through numerical simulations.

blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd/2025/11/12/destruction-of-the-north-china-craton-and-its-global-impact/

GeoMOD 2025 – Lisbon edition The GeoMOD meeting is a bi-annual conference that gathers Earth Science researchers from all over the world working on analogue and numerical modelling in Geosciences. Showcasing the most recent advan...

This week’s blog: GeoMOD 2025 – Lisbon edition!
A glimpse into the science, stories & surprises behind this year’s global geo-modelling meeting.

Read here 👇
blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd/2025/11/05/geomod-2025-lisbon-edition/

#GeoMOD2025 #geodynamics #egu #egugeodynamics

Dislocation Creep and the Development of Deformation Fabrics Assume you are under stress. What do you do? Take a walk in the park, order your favorite takeout, have a breakdown, or internally slip along preferred slip systems and develop a fabric? The response ...

In this week's blog Rajani Shrestha discusses about dislocation creep, and how crystal defects move around to accommodate stress and develop lattice-preferred orientation.

blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd...

#egu #egugeodynamics

Image description: An audience watching a screen in a large hall. With text reading:" GeoCinema at the EGU26 General Assembly, Applications are now open! Submit your short film NOW! 5 December 2025."

#GeoCinema is back for #EGU26!

Whether you have filmed fantastic spectacles in the field or produced an educational feature on the Earth, planetary, or space sciences - it's time to submit your short film 🎞️!
📅Submission deadline: 5 December 2025
👀 Application details: egu.eu/13NFE9

Bored by the Lower Mantle? Think Again! Is the lower mantle boring? For a long time, the lower mantle was thought to be relatively featureless and uniform compared to the more dynamic upper mantle. But recent seismic observations are challe...

New blog alert! This week Poulami Roy attempts to change our minds about the lower mantle - what if it is not *that* boring after all?

blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd...

#egu #egugeodynamics

From Mountains to Oceans: How the memory of ancient orogens guides the rupture of continents In this new blog, Dr. Kai Li (GFZ Potsdam) talk about his PhD work, where he used accordion numerical models to explore the tectonic history of the South China Sea. His PhD research focuses on the imp...

In this week's blog, Dr. Kai Li shares his PhD work, where he used accordion numerical models to explore the impact of orogenic inheritance on rifts and rifted margins, and then to understand the tectonic history of the South China Sea.

blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd...

🌍 Geodynamics community update!

Pre-registration for Ada Lovelace Workshop 2026 (ALW26) is now open! 🎉
🗓️ 21–26 June 2026
📍 Hotel Jezerka, Lake Seč, Czech Republic

🔗 Pre-register here: geo.mff.cuni.cz/alw2026/

🔑 Password: Jezerka_Sec_2026
⏰ Deadline: 31 Oct 2025

Journey Towards the Centre of the Earth: The Secret Behind the Long-Term Survival of Large Low-Velocity Provinces Geophysicists have long been intrigued by the enigmatic “blobs” residing deep within Earth’s lower mantle — the Large Low-Velocity Provinces (LLVPs). Ever wondered what keeps these gigantic thermochem...

This week's blog takes us on a journey to the centre of the Earth - the post on the formation of Large Low-Velocity Provinces written by Prachi Kar is out now!

blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd...

Kamchatka Megathrust Earthquake: What lies in the Pacific Ring of Fire From the very early years on this Planet, earthquakes have always captivated people’s attention. The feeling of admiration and fear always lies within us, especially drawing on the most recent megathr...

This week’s blog takes you on a journey to the remote Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia — uncovering the secrets behind its recent mega-earthquake and revealing why this dramatic region, perched on the Pacific’s Ring of Fire, is one of the most active places on Earth.

blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd...

The Sassy Scientist – Gone but not forgotten: a tribute Between protests and strikes, I finally found some time to answer some questions. In case you are not aware – idk how that’s possible… do you live on Neptune? – everything is on fire, has been for a l...

There is a common confusion that some people feel they neither belong in academia nor industry. Have you ever felt the same? This week's post is from the Sassy Scientist and finding your place in academia or industry: blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd...

The hidden effects of academic excellence: workaholism in Academia Years have passed since I started my academic career, and I have come to realise that, in a cademia, excellence appears to come with a price tag . Stress and pressure have become commonplace for acade...

In academia, excellence appears to come with a price tag. Stresses often normalise certain behaviours such as workaholism. In this week's blog, Katherine Villavicencio writes about the effects of workaholism in academic life, and suggests us: forget the price tag! blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd...

From Rocks to Models: Reconciling Field Geology with Geodynamic Simulations When reading a scientific paper or a text explaining the physical workings of the Earth, one of the most striking aspects is the methodological approach—sometimes involving numerical models, other tim...

Have you ever been a bit confused about how many geodynamics approaches exist? Or how can we validate our models? In this week's blog, Sara S. Santos shares some of her thoughts and journey between the fieldwork and computer worlds.
blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd...

How do rocks fail and flow: A beginners guide to rock rheology The field of rock rheology may seem a bit ‘odd’ at first glance to those geoscientists who are vaguely familiarized with the topic of geodynamics. Often, rocks are considered massive and competent geo...

Rock rheology is key for modern geodynamicists. In this week's Geodynamics 101 blog post, Dimitrios Papadomarkakis breaks down the basics of this interdisciplinary field.

blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd...

#egu #egugeodynamics

Join EGU Geodynamics Division!

We’re looking for volunteers to help shape our community:

🔹 Blog Editor(s) – Lead our weekly blog
🔹 Social Media Handler – Manage LinkedIn, Bluesky & more
🔹 ECS Rep – Represent early career scientists

📅 Deadline: 10 Sept 2025
📩 Apply: ecs-gd@egu.eu (write to us)

Applying for a PhD in Geoscience: To do or not to do Fresh out of your bachelor’s degree, or more commonly these days, your master’s degree, it can be tempting to pursue your PhD as quickly as possible. While there are compelling reasons to dive straigh...

Thinking about applying for a PhD? In this week’s post, Conor Farrell shares practical tips to help you make informed decisions about going for a PhD and strengthen your application.

blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd...

#egugeodynamics #PhD

Phase transitions control plume layering during Earth’s secular cooling Earth’s structure and dynamics have evolved quite a lot since its formation, and so has mantle dynamics and convection patterns changed along with it. It turns out that phase transition in certain man...

🌍 Earth’s mantle flow has changed over time.
Mineral phase shifts can stall plumes and reshape convection.

Read more in today’s EGU Geodynamics blog by Ranpeng Li (GEOMAR, Kiel): blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd...

#EGU #egugeodynamics #mantleplume

One Ring to Rule Them All: The Geology of Middle-earth Few fantasy worlds have captured the imagination of readers and viewers like J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. Whether you first encountered it through The Lord of the Rings or the sweeping visuals of Pe...

One Ring to rule them all… and one tectonic plate to forge them🔥
From Mordor’s fiery peaks to the Misty Mountains, Middle-earth’s landscapes come alive through real geodynamics — no wizardry required.

Read today’s blog by @manelrams.bsky.social

blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd...

Resisting self-guilt as a PhD student Self-guilt is a common feeling among PhD students. It often leads us to devalue ourselves more harshly than is fair and to form unrealistic expectations. It is important to understand how it shows up ...

Self-guilt is a common feeling among PhD students. It is important to understand how it shows up in our daily work, what fuels it, and how we can resist it — because over time, it can quietly undermine both our well-being and our work.

blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gd...
#egu #egugeodynamics