The Appalachians are a billion years, two supercontinents, and 4 orogenic periods old. They’ve been eroding since 200 million years before the Rockies formed. They are the same range as the Scottish highlands, Scandinavian Mountains, and Atlas Mountains. The caves predate bones.
It's so cute when people on the east coast talk about mountains
August 13, 2026 at 5:53 PM
The Appalachians are a billion years, two supercontinents, and 4 orogenic periods old. They’ve been eroding since 200 million years before the Rockies formed. They are the same range as the Scottish highlands, Scandinavian Mountains, and Atlas Mountains. The caves predate bones.
Utrecht Paleogeography model in prep!
We're integrating our detailed reconstructions of orogenic belts and lost subducted plates into one plate tectonic and paleogeography model. We'll launch the updated Paleolatitude.org soon, and more tools for geodynamic, paleoclimate, and paleobiology studies!
We're integrating our detailed reconstructions of orogenic belts and lost subducted plates into one plate tectonic and paleogeography model. We'll launch the updated Paleolatitude.org soon, and more tools for geodynamic, paleoclimate, and paleobiology studies!
November 6, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Utrecht Paleogeography model in prep!
We're integrating our detailed reconstructions of orogenic belts and lost subducted plates into one plate tectonic and paleogeography model. We'll launch the updated Paleolatitude.org soon, and more tools for geodynamic, paleoclimate, and paleobiology studies!
We're integrating our detailed reconstructions of orogenic belts and lost subducted plates into one plate tectonic and paleogeography model. We'll launch the updated Paleolatitude.org soon, and more tools for geodynamic, paleoclimate, and paleobiology studies!
we should all strive to communicate the bio-orogenic history of life as effectively as Mr. Denver.
July 12, 2026 at 6:22 PM
we should all strive to communicate the bio-orogenic history of life as effectively as Mr. Denver.
How do deformation, erosion, and precipitation interact during orogenic growth? ⚒️
Find out in this new study led by Xiaoping Yuan where we used a 3-code coupling between #ASPECT, #FASTSCAPE, and #LFPM.
Article here: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧪
@natureportfolio.bsky.social @gfz.bsky.social
Find out in this new study led by Xiaoping Yuan where we used a 3-code coupling between #ASPECT, #FASTSCAPE, and #LFPM.
Article here: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧪
@natureportfolio.bsky.social @gfz.bsky.social
December 1, 2024 at 5:29 PM
How do deformation, erosion, and precipitation interact during orogenic growth? ⚒️
Find out in this new study led by Xiaoping Yuan where we used a 3-code coupling between #ASPECT, #FASTSCAPE, and #LFPM.
Article here: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧪
@natureportfolio.bsky.social @gfz.bsky.social
Find out in this new study led by Xiaoping Yuan where we used a 3-code coupling between #ASPECT, #FASTSCAPE, and #LFPM.
Article here: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧪
@natureportfolio.bsky.social @gfz.bsky.social
My Work summarized:
An artistic vision with/based on geological/orogenic ideas.
An artistic vision with/based on geological/orogenic ideas.
May 11, 2026 at 7:19 AM
My Work summarized:
An artistic vision with/based on geological/orogenic ideas.
An artistic vision with/based on geological/orogenic ideas.
January 29, 2025 at 11:43 AM
"I still haven’t been able to find out who made it—there’s no record of it anywhere as a listed artwork"
I like the idea that these words burned themselves up from inside of the rock itself, using its last remaining orogenic energy to memorialise lost immensities.
I like the idea that these words burned themselves up from inside of the rock itself, using its last remaining orogenic energy to memorialise lost immensities.
‘I used to be a mountain’ by Maarten Inghels onboards.be/nl/product/m...
📷 Maarten Inghels/Onboards Biennale
#urbangeology
📷 Maarten Inghels/Onboards Biennale
#urbangeology
February 15, 2026 at 2:16 PM
"I still haven’t been able to find out who made it—there’s no record of it anywhere as a listed artwork"
I like the idea that these words burned themselves up from inside of the rock itself, using its last remaining orogenic energy to memorialise lost immensities.
I like the idea that these words burned themselves up from inside of the rock itself, using its last remaining orogenic energy to memorialise lost immensities.
Let's talk about the Balcones Escarpment & how it shaped Texas history.
300 MYA, two continents collided & formed the Appalachian & Ouachita Mountain Ranges: the latter ran from Arkansas (Ozarks) down to the Texas-Mexico border.
Those mountains changed weather patterns...
300 MYA, two continents collided & formed the Appalachian & Ouachita Mountain Ranges: the latter ran from Arkansas (Ozarks) down to the Texas-Mexico border.
Those mountains changed weather patterns...
February 1, 2024 at 1:58 AM
Let's talk about the Balcones Escarpment & how it shaped Texas history.
300 MYA, two continents collided & formed the Appalachian & Ouachita Mountain Ranges: the latter ran from Arkansas (Ozarks) down to the Texas-Mexico border.
Those mountains changed weather patterns...
300 MYA, two continents collided & formed the Appalachian & Ouachita Mountain Ranges: the latter ran from Arkansas (Ozarks) down to the Texas-Mexico border.
Those mountains changed weather patterns...
Orogenic(?) rainfall?
March 17, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Orogenic(?) rainfall?
Consensus (among myself and Ron Frost) is that we need another Laramide orogenic event because we want more basement cored uplifts to study. I want more paleoproterozoic sedimentary rocks. He wants more archean greenstone belts.
September 5, 2026 at 1:13 PM
Consensus (among myself and Ron Frost) is that we need another Laramide orogenic event because we want more basement cored uplifts to study. I want more paleoproterozoic sedimentary rocks. He wants more archean greenstone belts.
How did we get seafloor emplacement/uplift in the Mid-Atlantic? Well, you can thank the Taconic-Appalachian-Alleghenian orogenic sequence that started during the Ordovician for that.
The closure of the Iapetus ocean fundamentally controlled the formation of what we now know as the US East coast.
The closure of the Iapetus ocean fundamentally controlled the formation of what we now know as the US East coast.
A wild thread:
490 million years ago, the seafloor which would become the city of Baltimore was a serpentinite-hosted hydrothermal vent complex.
Those vents laid the ultramafic structures that would, in 1812, be discovered as America's first chromite mine.
490 million years ago, the seafloor which would become the city of Baltimore was a serpentinite-hosted hydrothermal vent complex.
Those vents laid the ultramafic structures that would, in 1812, be discovered as America's first chromite mine.
April 20, 2026 at 7:46 PM
How did we get seafloor emplacement/uplift in the Mid-Atlantic? Well, you can thank the Taconic-Appalachian-Alleghenian orogenic sequence that started during the Ordovician for that.
The closure of the Iapetus ocean fundamentally controlled the formation of what we now know as the US East coast.
The closure of the Iapetus ocean fundamentally controlled the formation of what we now know as the US East coast.
After two years of drawing 1000 polygons, the updated plate reconstruction behind Paleolatitude.org is ready, which includes all major orogenic belts (except Alaska & Canadian Cordillera, still working on that) back to 320 Ma. Ideal for paleobiology studies! DM if you want to test!
February 28, 2025 at 2:30 PM
After two years of drawing 1000 polygons, the updated plate reconstruction behind Paleolatitude.org is ready, which includes all major orogenic belts (except Alaska & Canadian Cordillera, still working on that) back to 320 Ma. Ideal for paleobiology studies! DM if you want to test!
A fun and unexpected point: The Andean mountain belt is abou5 1.7x the volume of the Himalayan mountain belt.
Both initiate at about ~60 Ma (more or less), but the Andes have ended up about 2x the width and much more massive than the Himalaya due to differences in erosion rates.
Both initiate at about ~60 Ma (more or less), but the Andes have ended up about 2x the width and much more massive than the Himalaya due to differences in erosion rates.
Differences between the central Andean and Himalayan orogenic wedges: A matter of climate
The Central Andean and Himalayan orogenic belts provide an ideal natural experiment to test the potential role of climate in controlling orogeny. Appr…
www.sciencedirect.com
April 25, 2025 at 3:08 PM
A fun and unexpected point: The Andean mountain belt is abou5 1.7x the volume of the Himalayan mountain belt.
Both initiate at about ~60 Ma (more or less), but the Andes have ended up about 2x the width and much more massive than the Himalaya due to differences in erosion rates.
Both initiate at about ~60 Ma (more or less), but the Andes have ended up about 2x the width and much more massive than the Himalaya due to differences in erosion rates.
Incredible pleated micro-orogenic topography from collision of Indian subcontinent with Asia, in Baluchistan, Pakistan. Note the highway with semi-truck for scale.
#Geology
#Geology
January 26, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Incredible pleated micro-orogenic topography from collision of Indian subcontinent with Asia, in Baluchistan, Pakistan. Note the highway with semi-truck for scale.
#Geology
#Geology
4. How mountains work
While still contentious, the idea of cycles of subduction driven mountain growth is a big, bold idea that's trying to unify many specialties with geology and geophysics to explain the growth of the Andes and Rockies, among other mountain belts.
While still contentious, the idea of cycles of subduction driven mountain growth is a big, bold idea that's trying to unify many specialties with geology and geophysics to explain the growth of the Andes and Rockies, among other mountain belts.
Cyclicity in Cordilleran orogenic systems - Nature Geoscience
Cordilleran orogenic systems are long belts of deformation and magmatism that form when oceanic plates subduct beneath continental ones. Links between processes in the upper continental plate explain ...
www.nature.com
June 3, 2026 at 12:16 AM
4. How mountains work
While still contentious, the idea of cycles of subduction driven mountain growth is a big, bold idea that's trying to unify many specialties with geology and geophysics to explain the growth of the Andes and Rockies, among other mountain belts.
While still contentious, the idea of cycles of subduction driven mountain growth is a big, bold idea that's trying to unify many specialties with geology and geophysics to explain the growth of the Andes and Rockies, among other mountain belts.
A hollow earth needs an orogenic mechanism though
April 8, 2024 at 10:26 PM
A hollow earth needs an orogenic mechanism though
More broadly these results highlight the seismic hazard of mature, low‐slip‐rate intraplate faults in orogenic belts, which may have very long recurrence intervals and elude detection via instrumental networks.
July 17, 2025 at 5:10 PM
More broadly these results highlight the seismic hazard of mature, low‐slip‐rate intraplate faults in orogenic belts, which may have very long recurrence intervals and elude detection via instrumental networks.
⚒️ Why are there rifts in mountains like the Apennines, the Cordillera & Tibet? ⚒️
Find out in our next #RiftAndRiftedMarginsSeminar with Simone Lenci, William Holt, Michael Taylor
Monday March 3rd, 4 pm CET
Register uni-potsdam.zoom-x.de/meeting/regi...
Past talks
www.youtube.com/@riftandrift...
Find out in our next #RiftAndRiftedMarginsSeminar with Simone Lenci, William Holt, Michael Taylor
Monday March 3rd, 4 pm CET
Register uni-potsdam.zoom-x.de/meeting/regi...
Past talks
www.youtube.com/@riftandrift...
February 25, 2025 at 7:21 AM
⚒️ Why are there rifts in mountains like the Apennines, the Cordillera & Tibet? ⚒️
Find out in our next #RiftAndRiftedMarginsSeminar with Simone Lenci, William Holt, Michael Taylor
Monday March 3rd, 4 pm CET
Register uni-potsdam.zoom-x.de/meeting/regi...
Past talks
www.youtube.com/@riftandrift...
Find out in our next #RiftAndRiftedMarginsSeminar with Simone Lenci, William Holt, Michael Taylor
Monday March 3rd, 4 pm CET
Register uni-potsdam.zoom-x.de/meeting/regi...
Past talks
www.youtube.com/@riftandrift...
Freeman's Lemhi soil‑geochem programme: grid sampling, ICP‑MS with pXRF QA/QC. Will map arsenic‑antimony pathfinder corridors and orogenic high‑grade targets. https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/freeman-gold-advances-baseline-soil-113000526.html
September 21, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Freeman's Lemhi soil‑geochem programme: grid sampling, ICP‑MS with pXRF QA/QC. Will map arsenic‑antimony pathfinder corridors and orogenic high‑grade targets. https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/freeman-gold-advances-baseline-soil-113000526.html
Ophiolites play a significant role in our understanding of orogenic evolution. This study on the Ballantrae Complex in Scotland integrated geochronological and geochemical data to reconstruct the opening of the Iapetus ocean.
Full article: geosociety.co/de_Sampaio_et_al
Image: Fig 11 from the paper
Full article: geosociety.co/de_Sampaio_et_al
Image: Fig 11 from the paper
February 3, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Ophiolites play a significant role in our understanding of orogenic evolution. This study on the Ballantrae Complex in Scotland integrated geochronological and geochemical data to reconstruct the opening of the Iapetus ocean.
Full article: geosociety.co/de_Sampaio_et_al
Image: Fig 11 from the paper
Full article: geosociety.co/de_Sampaio_et_al
Image: Fig 11 from the paper
Tectonics and Pottery in Ancient China
The tectonic evolution of China, shaped by orogenic systems, profoundly impacted the region’s geology, influencing the availability of claystone and petunse. These resources shaped pottery traditions across China’s diverse regions. Let’s explore! 👇🧵 #Geology
November 16, 2024 at 8:22 AM
Tectonics and Pottery in Ancient China
The tectonic evolution of China, shaped by orogenic systems, profoundly impacted the region’s geology, influencing the availability of claystone and petunse. These resources shaped pottery traditions across China’s diverse regions. Let’s explore! 👇🧵 #Geology
A bridge creates a discontinuity In nature geographical,
Nonconformity bending star-crossed lovers close enough to almost touch
In the mind a quirk's as good as a quark: kinky
A singularity in the starched fabric of time
Exchanged for space
Orogenic traversal
#Wormhole
#vss365 #poetry #prompt #poem
Nonconformity bending star-crossed lovers close enough to almost touch
In the mind a quirk's as good as a quark: kinky
A singularity in the starched fabric of time
Exchanged for space
Orogenic traversal
#Wormhole
#vss365 #poetry #prompt #poem
July 15, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Happens all the time in orogenic terranes
April 20, 2026 at 1:58 AM
Happens all the time in orogenic terranes
Here we apply advanced correlative characterization methods to help understand the mineral constituents of sample found in the Reindeer Zone of the Paleoproterozoic Trans Hudson orogenic belt.
🧪🔬⚒️
🧪🔬⚒️
🚨New paper: "The significance of an unknown Pd-Ni-Bi telluride mineral from the Gochager Lake Ni-Cu deposit (Saskatchewan, Canada)" by P. Alexandre and T.B. Britton
doi.org/10.1180/mgm....
doi.org/10.1180/mgm....
June 16, 2026 at 12:14 AM
Here we apply advanced correlative characterization methods to help understand the mineral constituents of sample found in the Reindeer Zone of the Paleoproterozoic Trans Hudson orogenic belt.
🧪🔬⚒️
🧪🔬⚒️
#WeekendReading: Li et al. on how shallow-water carbonates and deep-water siliciclastics may end up mixed together. 🧪⚒️
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Carbonate‐rich megabeds within a Triassic siliciclastic deep‐water system, West Qinling orogenic belt, Central China: Character, processes and implications
This article reports an important but rarely documented deep-water sediment gravity flow deposit—the carbonate-rich megabed, from outcrops of the Lower Triassic in the West Qinling orogenic belt, cen...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
July 19, 2024 at 7:47 AM
#WeekendReading: Li et al. on how shallow-water carbonates and deep-water siliciclastics may end up mixed together. 🧪⚒️
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....