News

Here are all the latest EarthByte news posts. See News Archive for recent years.

EarthByte also publishes the ‘GPlates News‘ newsletter every quarter. The GPlates newsletter contains features such as the latest GPlates updates, tutorials and datasets, EarthByte news highlights and much more! Click here to view the latest and past editions of ‘GPlates News‘, or subscribe to receive the newsletters.

Scientists discover 36-million-year geological cycle that drives biodiversity

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11 July 2023 Tectonic changes alter sea levels that can create breeding grounds for life Movement in the Earth’s tectonic plates indirectly triggers bursts of biodiversity in 36-million-year cycles by forcing sea levels to rise and fall, new research has shown. Dinosaur Stampede exhibit at Dinosaur Canyon, located in Queensland’s Winton Formation which was formed … Read more…

PNAS: Earth’s interior dynamics drive marine fossil diversity cycles of tens of millions of years

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The fossil record reveals that biotic diversity has fluctuated quasi-cyclically through geological time. However, the causal mechanisms of biotic diversity cycles remain unexplained. Here, we highlight a common, correlatable 36 ± 1 Myr (million years) cycle in the diversity of marine genera as well as in tectonic, sea-level, and macrostratigraphic data over the past 250 … Read more…

EarthByte Seminar Series: Dr. Sinan Özaydın

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Join us on Wednesday, 24th May at 11:00 am AEDT for the next talk in the EarthByte Seminar Series. Sinan Özaydın will be presenting his talk titled “Understanding the compositional nature and architecture of the lithosphere using magnetotellurics.”

The seminar will be held at the following location: Madsen Building Room 449, School of Geosciences, University of Sydney. For those unable to attend in person, the talk will also be streamed live via Zoom. Please register here for Eventbrite Link

Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your knowledge on the magnetotelluric method and its implications for understanding the Earth’s composition and architecture. We look forward to your participation!

 

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Deep time spatio-temporal data analysis using pyGPlates with PlateTectonicTools and GPlately

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Plate Models

PyGPlates is an open-source Python library to visualize and edit plate tectonic reconstructions created using GPlates. The Python API affords a greater level of flexibility than GPlates to interrogate plate reconstructions and integrate with other Python workflows. GPlately was created to accelerate spatio-temporal data analysis leveraging pyGPlates and PlateTectonicTools within a simplified Python interface. This … Read more…

Tectonics: Modeling Lithospheric Thickness Along the Conjugate South Atlantic Passive Margins Implies Asymmetric Rift Initiation

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The lithospheric architecture of passive margins is crucial for understanding the tectonic processes that caused the breakup of Gondwana. We highlight the evolution of the South Atlantic passive margins by a simple thermal lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) model based on onset and cessation of rifting, crustal thickness, and stretching factors. We simulate lithospheric thinning and select … Read more…

GPlately1.0 released

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GPlately

We have just released GPlately1.0 as a conda package. GPlately was created to accelerate spatio-temporal data analysis leveraging pyGPlates and PlateTectonicTools within a simplified Python interface. GPlately is a python package that enables the reconstruction of data through deep geologic time (points, lines, polygons and rasters), the interrogation of plate kinematic information (plate velocities, rates of subduction … Read more…

Clarke Memorial Lecture: Reconstructing ancient oceans, sea-level fluctuations, the deep carbon cycle and biodiversity

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The Royal Society of NSW Clarke Memorial Open Lecture on Wednesday 5 April 2023 will be delivered by Dietmar Müller on “Reconstructing ancient oceans, sea-level fluctuations, the deep carbon cycle and biodiversity”. Venue: Gallery Room, State Library of NSW, Shakespeare Place Abstract This presentation is a journey through geological time, reconstructing ancient oceans that have … Read more…

EarthByte Seminar Series: Prof. Mike Coffin

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Join us on March 29th at 11:00 am AEDT in Madsen Building Room 336, School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, or tune in via Zoom for the next talk in EarthByte Seimar Series to learn about the first-order question in Earth science – how tectonic plate subduction starts.

Professor MikeCoffin will discuss his research on the Macquarie Ridge Complex, which arguably constitutes the global type example for initiating plate subduction.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from a leading expert. We look forward to seeing you there

To register for the talk, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/earthbyte-seminar-series-prof-mike-coffin-tickets-590594633447 

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Evolution of Mantle Plumes and Lower Mantle Structure in Numerical Models Using Tectonic Reconstructions as Boundary Conditions

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We evaluate four mantle convection models that use tectonic reconstructions to specify kinematic boundary conditions to explore the development of the lower mantle large low shear velocity provinces (LLSVP) structures and their relationship with mantle plumes. Evolution of mantle plumes in our spherical models is broadly consistent with observations including the number of plumes generated … Read more…

EarthByte Seminar Series: Dr. Luke Daly

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Join us for an exciting talk by Luke Daly, a planetary geoscientist at the University of Glasgow, as he takes us on a journey through the geological history of a Martian volcano. Using correlative microscopy, Luke has been able to uncover the complex geological history of a group of Martian meteorites known as the Nakhlites, and has used this information to predict the geomorphology of the landscape around the launch crater.

In this talk, Luke will share his insights into the evolution of Mars and the Solar System as a whole, and how his research is informing remote sensing exploration to finally locate the source of the Nakhlite meteorites on Mars.

The talk will take place on March 15th at 11:00 am AEDT, in Madsen Building Room 331, School of Geosciences, University of Sydney and will be live-streamed via Zoom for those who are unable to attend in person. This is an excellent opportunity to learn from Luke and gain insights into the mysteries of our Solar System.

To register for the talk, please visit https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/earthbyte-seminar-series-tickets-565834575447?keep_tld=1 

We look forward to seeing you there! For more information, see the details below. See you there!

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Science: Hundred million years of landscape dynamics from catchment to global scale

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Our capability to reconstruct past landscapes and the processes that shape them underpins our understanding of paleo-Earth. We take advantage of a global-scale landscape evolution model assimilating paleoelevation and paleoclimate reconstructions over the past 100 million years. This model provides continuous quantifications of metrics critical to the understanding of the Earth system, from global physiography … Read more…

Nature Reviews Earth and Environment: Deconstructing plate tectonic reconstructions

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The evolving mosaic of tectonic plates across the surface of the Earth sets boundary conditions for the evolution of biotic and abiotic processes and helps shape the dynamics of its interior. Reconstructing plate tectonics back through time allows scientists from a range of disciplines (such as palaeobiology, palaeoclimate, geodynamics and seismology) to investigate Earth evolution … Read more…

Geology: The role of surface processes in basin inversion and breakup unconformity

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In the context of continental extension, transient compressional episodes (stress inversion) and phases of uplift (depth inversion) are commonly recorded with no corresponding change in plate motion. Changes in gravitational potential energy during the rifting process have been invoked as a possible source of compressional stresses, but their magnitude, timing, and relationship with depth inversions … Read more…

Terra Nova: Brief immersion of southern Australia by change in relative plate speed

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Dynamic subsidence and uplift of plates are often explained by the vertical motion of density anomalies in the mantle. Such models predict surface vertical motion rates of less than 100 m Myr−1 at long-wavelengths with a timespan of tens of Myr. However, during periods of relative sea-level stability, some of the phases of vertical motion … Read more…

Software Is Unlocking The Mystery Of Why Rivers Change

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Colombian geologist Sara Polanco uses a computer-game-like river modelling software to understand the processes that make and connect river networks, hopefully providing the tools to help better manage water resources in the future. “That software allows me to simulate how rivers change under different scenarios,” Polanco says, “In a sense, it is like a computer game where … Read more…

EarthByte Seminar Series: Dr. Samuel C Boone

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EarthByte Seminar Series presents the first talk of this year by Dr. Samuel C Boone from the University of Melbourne, titled “THERMOCHRONOLOGICAL INSIGHTS INTO CONTINENTAL BREAKUP PROCESSES.” The seminar will be held in the Madsen Building Room 449 (Conference Room) from 11 am (AEDT)  Wednesday, 18th January. You are also welcome to join us live via Zoom (link: https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/j/86426471159). For more information on the seminar, see below:

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EarthByte seminar series: Nicole Januszczak

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This week brings the final EarthByte seminar of the year, featuring Nicole Januszczak of BHP, titled “Exploration at BHP: Putting mineral systems into action.” The seminar will be held in the Madsen Building Room 331 at 11am-12pm this Wednesday 14th December, and will also streamed live via Zoom (link: https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/j/82037433636). For more information on the seminar, see below:

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J. Struct. Geol.: Microstructural and textural modification of columnar calcite under increasing shear strain (Evia Island, Greece)

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We studied the microstructural and textural modification of columnar calcite naturally deformed at increasing shear strain. The studied marbles were sampled from different structural levels of the Basal Unit of the Cycladic Massif on Evia Island, Greece. The marbles have experienced high pressure metamorphism at peak temperatures around 350 °C. The long axes of the columnar calcite grains and their c-axes were … Read more…

Geol. Soc. London Mem.: Effects of melt-percolation, refertilization and deformation on upper mantle seismic anisotropy: constraints from peridotite xenoliths, Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica

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We report on the petrology, microstructure and seismic properties of 44 peridotite xenoliths extracted from the upper mantle beneath Marie Byrd Land (MBL), West Antarctica. The aim of this work is to understand how melt-rock reaction, refertilization, and deformation affected the seismic properties (velocities, anisotropy) of the West Antarctic upper mantle, in the context of … Read more…

Future Mining: Travelling through geological time to find copper deposits

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Travel through geological time to find copper deposits via our article in the inaugural issue of the Future Mining Magazine. https://future-mining.partica.online/future-mining/vol-1-no-1/flipbook/60/ Plate reconstructions at 1000, 400, 300, 200, 100 million years ago and at present-day. Ancient ocean basins are shown in white with continents in grey, and coloured arrows showing plate speed and direction. Mid-ocean … Read more…

Scientific Reports: Javanese Homo erectus on the move in SE Asia circa 1.8 Ma

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The migration of Homo erectus in Southeast Asia during Early Pleistocene is cardinal to our comprehension of the evolution of the genus Homo. However, the limited consideration of the rapidly changing physical environment, together with controversial datings of hominin bearing sites, make it challenging to secure the robust timeline needed to unveil the behavior of early humans. Here, … Read more…

Marine Geology: Tidal dynamics drive ooid formation in the Capricorn Channel since the Last Glacial Maximum

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Relative sea-level changes can dramatically alter coastal geomorphology and coastlines, which, in turn, can fundamentally alter tidal regimes. The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) has undergone around 120 m of relative sea level (RSL) rise since the Last Glacial Maximum, ∼20,000 years ago (ka). Ooid grains (sand sized carbonate sediment) that formed in shallow water (>5 m depth) … Read more…

Geoscience Letters: Geophysical model generation with generative adversarial networks

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With the rapid development of deep learning technologies, data-driven methods have become one of the main research focuses in geophysical inversion. Applications of various neural network architectures to the inversion of seismic, electromagnetic, gravity and other types of data confirm the potential of these methods in real-time parameter estimation without dependence on the starting subsurface … Read more…

Nature Reviews Earth and Environment: A glimpse into a possible geomorphic future of Tibet

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The Tibetan Plateau plays a central role in global atmospheric circulation, acts as a key biodiversity hotspot, and delivers fresh water for more than 20% of the global population. Projecting its future uplift and erosion trajectory over geological time can offer potential testable hypotheses into interactions between tectonic and surface processes. Rey, P., Salles, T., … Read more…

Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems: The history of Cenozoic carbonate flux in the Atlantic Ocean constrained by multiple regional carbonate compensation depth reconstructions

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The Atlantic is the only ocean basin almost entirely surrounded by passive margins, and a major global long-term sink of carbonate carbon that has evaded subduction. Quantifying the history of carbonate accumulation in the Atlantic has been limited by the absence of well-defined regional carbonate compensation depth (CCD) models. We determine the CCD for the … Read more…

EarthByte seminar series: Ben Fulcher

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The next EarthByte seminar will be held at 11am–12pm on Wednesday 16th November in Madsen Seminar Room 331 at the University of Sydney. This week we will be hearing from Ben Fulcher from the Dynamics and Neural Systems Group within the School of Physics at the University of Sydney, discussing his work on “Quantifying patterns in time series.” As usual, the seminar will be streamed live over Zoom at the following link: https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/j/82037433636.

More details are below:

Quantifying patterns in time series

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EOS: Billion-year rewind tracks supercontinents and mantle structures

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AGU Science News: Billion-Year Rewind Tracks Supercontinents and Mantle Structures – EOS has featured our recent paper on tracing past pathways of tectonic plates and their boundaries back a billion years. The article highlights how our work on solid Earth system evolution is driving “a second plate tectonic revolution”., inspiring future work to test and … Read more…

EarthByte seminar series: Nick Mortimer

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The next installment of the EarthByte seminar series will be held at 11am–12pm next Wednesday 5th October, featuring Nick Mortimer from GNS Science in New Zealand. The seminar will be held in the Madsen Building Rm 449 at the University of Sydney, and streamed live on Zoom at this link: https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/j/82037433636.

Further details on the talk are below:

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The formation of atolls: new insights from numerical simulations

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Several theories have been proposed to explain atoll formation. While karst dissolution during glacial periods and preferential coral reef accretion along raised bank margins during deglaciations and interglacials have been invoked to explain atoll formation, the respective roles of karst dissolution and reef margin construction in atoll formation have not been adequately evaluated by simulations. … Read more…