Damaged tectonic plates underlying large igneous provinces heal themselves during cooling new study shows

Researchers at the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, together with Imperial College London and Colorado State University, have revealed how mantle plumes that result in very large magmatic eruptions damage the tectonic plate but that it will heal again over time.

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Ocean-bottom seismometers provide new constraints on the mechanisms of plate formation and divergence.

The Atlantic Ocean has opened and closed at least three times in its history. This study shows that the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is playing an active role in opening the Atlantic.

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Earthquakes in ice could be used to reduce uncertainty in sea-level rise projections.

Researchers at the Department of Earth Sciences, together with an international group of collaborators, have found a way to use earthquakes generated by the sudden release of strain at the base of an ice sheet to directly observe the movement of a Antarctic glacier for the first time – here on named icequakes . Their results have been published in Nature Geoscience.

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Research Groups

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Geodynamics

The FoaLab is a group of researchers and students working together to elucidate geophysical processes involving fluid mechanics and phase changes. Our research interests include magma/mantle dynamics

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Stratigraphy and Sedimentology

Stratigraphy and sedimentology are fundamental to our understanding of Earth history because sedimentary strata form the principal archive of past events, climates and environments. Research in Oxford

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Earth Surface Geochemistry

The Earth Surface Geochemistry group at Oxford seeks to understand drivers and dynamics of the exchange of elements between rocks, sediments and the surface environment. We have a strong focus on the

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Seismology

Welcome! We perch so thin and fragile here upon the land And the earth that moves beneath us, we don't understand Justin Sullivan We work on a wide range of topics within seismology

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Noble Lab

Our group uses the unique properties of the noble gases (helium, neon, argon, krypton and xenon) to understand the role that fluids and gases play in geological systems. The noble gas abundance and

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Shell-Oxford Research Collaboration

Shell and Oxford University signed a major collaborative research agreement in 2012 in which Shell generously undertook to support fundamental research into the deposition, diagenesis, deformation and

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EMeRG - Eastern Mediterranean Research Group

What is EMeRG? EMeRG is the Eastern Mediterranean Research Group at the Department of Earth Sciences in the University of Oxford. EmeRG is composed of world leading experts in Basin Analysis, Earth R

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Vertebrate Palaeobiology

Vertebrates play key ecological roles in virtually all Earth's surface environments today, and have a rich fossil record spanning more than 500 million years of deep time. Vertebrate Palaeobiology res

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Ocean Biogeochemical Modeling

We use numerical models, mathematical theory and analysis of data to study the ocean's carbon cycle and its interaction with physical circulation and climate. Our research ranges from exploiting obser

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Isotopes and Climate

Our group uses geochemistry, particularly isotope geochemistry, to study the surface environment of the Earth now and in the past, and to learn about the processes shaping the surface of the planet we

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The Hard Rock Group

The Hard Rock Group's projects cover a broad range of research activity. For further detail see the Projects pages on our main site. Fundamental metamorphic processes (Dave Waters) Tectonics o

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Earthquake Mechanics

In the earthquake mechanics group, we are interested in the physics of slip on faults: in why some faults slip slowly and steadily, others slip in large earthquakes, and still others slip in episodic

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Experimental Petrology

Experimental petrology is a field of research concerned with experimentally determining the physical and chemical behaviour of rocks and their constituents. Since the Earth's mantle and core are no

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Beneath Britain

About Beneath Britain is a joint initiative between UKOGL and the Department of Earth Sciences at Oxford, led by Malcolm Butler and Joe Cartwright. Its aim is to broaden the use of UKOGL’s databa

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Active Tectonics and Earthquakes Research

Our work combines remote sensing, fieldwork, and laboratory analysis of samples to study active tectonics, faulting, and earthquakes within the continents. Within the Department of Earth Sciences we c

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Magmas and Ore-forming Systems

The Magmas and Ore-forming Systems (MOSt) research group explores links between magmatic processes within the other, such as those that drive volcanic eruptions and form planetary crusts, and ore-form

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Marine Geology and Geophysics

We are an active group interested in the structure and evolution of the world's ocean basins and their margins. To date, we have participated in 14 research cruises on the RRS Charles Darwin, RRS Ja

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Physical Oceanography

The Physical Oceanography group uses analytical theory, numerical models and ocean observations to understand the circulation of the oceans and their role in the climate system. It includes scientists

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Ocean Biogeochemistry - Oceanbug

Welcome to the Oxford OceanBug research page! OceanBug is the Oxford group based in the Earth Sciences department researching marine biogeochemistry. Our research interests span from developing i

Palaeomagnetism and Rock Magnetism

The Palaeomagnetism and Rock Magnetism Group at the University of Oxford using the magnetism of natural samples to explore a broad spectrum of problems in Earth and Planetary Sciences. These involve t

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Environmental Proxies In Karst

The Environmental Proxies In Karst group, led by Dr Chris Day, develops and applies proxies for understanding environmental processes in the top few tens of meters of the Earth’s surface. This small

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Oxford Biological Oceanography

Our research team studies the microscopic flora of the oceans (phytoplankton) which account for half of the photosynthesis on our planet and provide the base of the marine food chain. Our group inve

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Volcanology and Igneous Petrology

Oxford is a leading centre for research in volcanology. Much of our work builds on collaborations with researchers both in the UK, and internationally. Within Oxford, volcanology is an important compo

News & Events

Rethinking Natural Resources with the Oxford Martin School

Earth Sciences Faculty Members Promoted to Professor

Week 1 research seminar with Dr Ekbal Hussain

Damaged tectonic plates underlying large igneous provinces heal themselves during cooling new study shows

Week 2 research seminar with Prof Stephen Mojzsis

Ocean-bottom seismometers deployed near the equatorial Mid-Atlantic Ridge provide new constraints on the mechanisms of plate formation and divergence.

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