Recent  

Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are considered critical mineral resources for future industrial growth due to their short supply and rising demand. This study applied an artificial intelligence-based technique to target potential REE-deposit hosting areas in western Rajasthan, India. Uncertainties associated with the prospective targets were also estimated to aid decision-making. The presented workflow can be applied to similar regions elsewhere to locate potential zones of REE mineralisation.

We describe a virtual geological mapping course implemented in response to traveling and social restrictions derived from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The course was designed to replicate as closely as possible a physical mapping exercise with the aid of real field data and photographs collected by the authors during previous years in the Cantabrian Zone (NW Spain). The course is delivered through Google Earth via a KMZ file with outcrop descriptions and links to GitHub-hosted photographs.

Geological carbon sequestration using basalts provides solution to mitigate the high CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere. Due to the long timespan of the GCS, it is important to understand the long-term deformation of the reservoir rock. Here we studied the creep of basalt with fluid presence. Our results show presence of fluid weakens the rock and promotes creep, while the composition only has a secondary effect and demonstrated that the governing creep mechanism is sub-critical micro-cracking.

Field trips in a Stratigraphy, Structure, Tectonics (SST) course transitioned to a virtual format in Fall 2020, due to the COVID pandemic. Virtual field experiences (VFEs) were developed in web Google Earth and were evaluated in comparison with on-location field trips via an online survey. Students recognized the value of VFEs for revisiting outcrops and noted improved accessibility for students with disabilities. Potential benefits of hybrid field experiences were also indicated.

Questions such as anthropogenic earthquakes and deep geothermal energy developments require a better understanding of the fractured rock. Experiments conducted at reduced scales but with closer, controlled observation can shed some light. To this end, the Bedretto Underground Laboratory for Geosciences and Geoenergies was recently established in a tunnel in Ticino, Switzerland, with preliminary efforts to characterize realistic rock mass behavior at the hectometer scale.

Legacy 2D seismic data together with the newly acquired 3D seismic data were used to construct new model of geological evolution of NW Poland during last 400 Ma. It illustrates how destruction of Caledonian orogen in Late Devonian-early Carboniferous led to formation of half-grabens, how they were inverted in late Carboniferous, how study area evolved during formation of the Permo-Mesozoic Polish Basin and finally how supra-evaporitic structures were inverted in Late Cretaceous-Paleogene.

We present tectonic geomorphology and paleoseismology along the newly discovered Sharkhai fault near the capital city of Mongolia. The fault length is of ~40 km, the last earthquake occurred between 1515 ± 90 BC and 945 ± 110 BC and the previous occurred after 860 ± 85 AD. Associated magnitudes are between 6.4 ± 0.2 and 7.1 ± 0.2 and long-term slip rates between 0.2 ± 0.2 and 1.0 ± 0.5 mm/y. The Sharkhai fault should be taken into account for the seismic hazard assessment for Ulaanbaatar.

Old seismic data recently reprocessed with modern software, allowed us to study at depth the Late Cretaceous tectonic structures in the Permo-Mesozoic rock sequences in the Sudetes. The structures formed in response to Iberia collision with continental Europe. The NE-SW compression undulated the crystalline basement top and produced folds, faults and joints in the sedimentary cover. Our results are of importance for regional geology and in prospecting for deep thermal waters.

Methods for mineral exploration play an important role within the EU. Exploration must be environmentally friendly, cost effective and feasible in populated areas. Seismic methods have the potential to deliver detailed images of mineral deposits but suffer from these demands. We show the results for such a sparse 3D seismic dataset, acquired in Sweden. The 3D depth image allows to follow the known mineralizations beyond the known extension and gives new insights into the geometry of the deposit.

We present a new 3D crustal model of Volgo-Uralia, an eastern segment of the East European craton. We built this model by processing the satellite gravity data and used prior crustal thickness’ estimations from regional seismic studies to constrain the results. The modeling revealed a high-density body on the top of the mantle and otherwise reflected the main known features of Volgo-Uralian crustal architecture. We plan to use the obtained model for further geothermal analysis of the region.

We propose a methodology useful to evaluate 1) the reliability of focal mechanism solution inferred by the inversion of seismological data (as P-wave polarities) 2) the performance the seismic network, operated to monitor natural/induced seismicity, to assess focal mechanism solution. We studied the focal mechanism reliability retrieved by the inversion of data recorded by ISNet, a local dense seismic network that monitors the Irpinia Fault System in Southern Italy.

We present an erosion rate analysis on dated rock and sediment from the Northern Apennine Mountains, Italy, which provides new insights on the pattern of erosion rates through space and time. This analysis shows decreasing erosion through time on the Ligurian side, but increasing erosion through time on the Adriatic side. We suggest that the pattern of erosion rates is consistent with the present asymmetric topography in the Northern Apennines, which has likely existed for several million years.

The energy transition involves operations in faulted rocks. To manage the technical challenges and public concern over induced earthquakes, we need to quantify the risks. We calculate the probability of fault slip based on uncertain inputs – stresses and fluid pressures, and the mechanical properties of rocks in fault zones. Our examples highlight the specific gaps in our knowledge. Citizen science projects could produce useful data, and include the public in the discussions about hazard.

We introduce two spectacular, up to 7 km long normal fault scarps near the city of Bar (Montenegro). The fact that these widely visible earthquake-related structures have never been described before is even less surprising than the circumstance that they apparently do not fit the tectonic setting that they are located in. By quantifying the age and movement of the newly discovered fault scarps and by partly re-interpreting local tectonics, we introduce approaches how this is still compatible.

In the present study, structure of sedimentary basins in the Eastern Asia Arctic zone is analysed by employing the approach based on decompensative gravity anomalies. Two obtained models of thickness and density of sediments in the study area display Significant changes in the thickness and distribution of sedimentary rocks revealed for some particular basins. The new results improve our knowledge about the region, providing a better understanding of the evolution of the sedimentary basins.

We use the Minerve virtual reality software to bring undergraduate students to an unusual field trip at 1200 m below sea level, in the Lesser Antilles area. This region is located above an active subduction zone responsible for intense volcanic and seismic activity. In particular, we focus on the Roseau submarine fault that ruptured during the Mw 6.3 Les Saintes earthquakes and presents a fresh scarp that the students can analyze and map in VR. They compile their results in a GIS project.

Interpretation of recently acquired FRANKEN 2D seismic survey in SE Germany show that Upper Paleozoic low-grade metasedimentary rocks are transported by Variscan shear zones to ca. 65 km west of the Franconian Fault System. We show that the location of post-Variscan Upper Carboniferous-Permian normal faults and associated graben and half-graben basins are controlled by the geometry of underlying Variscan shear zones.

1. Integrate lithosphere modeling of the Sergipano Belt using gravity, geoid and surface heat flow; 2. Tectonic model of the lithosphere in different scale based on geophysics and petrological data; 3. Accretionary tectonic model of the southern Borborema Province.