We study the petrographical and geochemical occurrence of magmatic sulfide minerals in volcanic rocks for areas characterised by different geodynamic settings, some of which are associated with porphyry (Cu and/or Au) and Au epithermal mineralisation. The aim is to investigate the role of magmatic sulfide saturation processes in depth for ore generation in the surface.

We report a peridotite xenolith-bearing basalt dredged from the Seifu Seamount (SSM basalt) in the northeast Tsushima Basin, southwest Sea of Japan, which is one of the western Pacific back-arc basin swarms. An ⁴⁰Ar / ³⁹Ar plateau age of 8.33 ± 0.15 Ma (2 σ) was obtained for the SSM basalt, indicating that it erupted shortly after the termination of back-arc spreading. The SSM basalt was formed in a post-back-arc extension setting by the low-degree partial melting of an upwelling asthenosphere.

We propose a new exploration of the concept of spontaneous lithospheric collapse at a transform fault (TF) by performing a large study of conditions allowing instability of the thicker plate using 2-D thermomechanical simulations. Spontaneous subduction is modelled only if extreme mechanical conditions are assumed. We conclude that spontaneous collapse of the thick older plate at a TF evolving into mature subduction is an unlikely process of subduction initiation at modern Earth conditions.

We present new earthquake focal depths and fault orientations for earthquakes that occurred in 2013 in the vicinity of an underground gas storage off the east coast of Spain. Our focal depths are in the range of 5–10 km, notably deeper than the depth of the gas injection (2 km). The obtained fault orientations also differ from the predominant faults at shallow depths. This suggests that the faults reactivated are deeper, previously unmapped faults occurring beneath the sedimentary layers.

This paper presents MuLTI-TEM, a Bayesian inversion tool for inverting TEM data with independent depth constraints to provide statistical properties and uncertainty analysis of the resistivity profile with depth. MuLTI-TEM is highly versatile, being compatible with most TEM survey designs, ground-based or airborne, along with the depth constraints being provided from any external source. Here, we present an application of MuLTI-TEM to characterise the subglacial water under a Norwegian glacier.

Understanding the anatomy of active magmatic plumbing systems is essential to define the heat source(s) feeding geothermal fields. Mineral-melt thermobarometry and fractional crystallization (FC) models were applied to Quaternary volcanic products of the Los Humeros Caldera (Mexico). Results point to a magmatic system controlled by FC processes and made of magma transport and storage layers within the crust, with significant implications on structure and longevity of the geothermal reservoir.

Seismic waves attenuate with distance due to two effects: (1) removal of energy by internal friction and (2) redistribution of energy into different distances and time windows by scattering from heterogeneous Earth structure. The relative contribution of these two effects is estimated by synthesizing seismograms having varying amounts of internal friction and heterogeneities. The attenuation of observed S waveforms requires contributions from both internal friction and scattering.

Changes in the Earth's elastic strength at increasing timescales of deformation affect predictions of its response to the shifting weight of the oceans caused by tides. We show that these changes are detectable using GPS and must be accounted for but that 3-D or locally-tuned models of the Earth's behaviour around the East China Sea provide only slightly better predictions than a simpler model which varies only with depth. Use of this model worldwide will improve precise positioning by GPS.

Metamorphic domes are areas in a mountain chain that were unburied and where deeper parts of the crust rose to the surface. The Lepontine Dome in the Swiss and Italian Alps is such a place, and it is additionally bordered on two sides by shear zones where crustal blocks moved past each other. To determine when these tectonic movements happened, we measured the ages of monazite crystals that form in fluid-filled pockets inside the rocks during these movements of exhumation and deformation.

In this study, we present a 1-D visco-elasto-plastic model in a spherical coordinate system to study the residual pressure preserved in mineral inclusions. This allows one to study how much residual pressure can be preserved after viscous relaxation. An example of quartz inclusion in garnet host is studied and it is found that above 600–700 °C, substantial viscous relaxation will occur. If one uses the relaxed residual quartz pressure for barometry, erroneous results will be obtained.

We aim to better understand the challenging areas that are the intraplate regions using one example: the southern French Massif Central and its numerous hundreds of meters deep valleys. We apply a multidisciplinary approach there using geomorphology, geochronology, and numerical modeling. Our dating results show that the canyon incisions are part of the Plio-Quaternary evolution with incision rate of ~ 80 m Ma⁻¹. We propose then that this incision is possible due to an active regional uplift.