Lithospheric Plates Research Articles

On the magnetic field of the oceans

The authors of the idea of linking strip magnetic anomalies with the formation of their sources under the influence of the Earth’s alternating magnetic field thought it possible to study the movement of lithospheric plates with their help. Most of them quickly abandoned such intentions. Nevertheless, most geophysicists in the world believe this is possible. The material accumulated over the 60 years of the idea’s existence contradicts it. The article reviews the currently known facts from the standpoint of plate tectonics and from the point of view of alternative ideas about the formation of the oceans and their crust. The discussion focuses on the spatial distribution and intensity of band anomalies of the oceans’ magnetic field and on their sources being restricted to certain types of rocks and layers of sections of the Earth’s crust and upper mantle. According to the author, they cannot be explained in any way by the plate tectonics concept. This conclusion is consistent with the long-standing results of many geophysicists. Recognition of this fact is restrained only by the unwillingness to abandon ingrained stereotypes. A variant of the process of oceanization of the continental crust proposed by the author, most of all reminiscent of continental endogenous regimes, reminiscent of rifting, accommodates models for the formation of band anomalies without involving sources with reverse magnetization. In oceanic basins, such sources have not been found at all. They occur in limited areas, but their experimentally determined parameters do not allow for an explanation of the observed magnetic field.

Tectonic Inversion of Intracontinental Basins and the Conundrum of Plate‐Scale Stress Propagation: The Case of the Jatobá Basin, NE Brazil

AbstractWe chose the Jatobá Basin (JB) in the Borborema Province in northeastern Brazil to address two outstanding problems, basin tectonic inversion and stress propagation, because (a) evidence of tectonic inversion is conspicuous in the JB, and (b) the basin sits on intracontinental northeastern Brazil, far from plate boundaries and the most obvious stress sources. We found robust evidence of oblique reverse faulting inside the basin, putting sediments of the JB's depocenter hundreds of meters above the hard granitic host basement. We also found sound evidence of hydrographic flow reversal, that is, earlier basement‐to‐basin runoff, followed by basin‐to‐basement runoff. This change means that formerly the basement stood higher than the basin, and later the basin was uplifted (inverted) to currently stand hundreds of meters higher than the basement, especially where the gravity anomaly map shows the deepest depocenter. Coarse conglomerates, sourced in the uplifted basin and blanketing the adjacent basement for kilometers, are only cut by the current hydrographic network. From these main lines of evidence, we infer recent basin tectonic inversion (Quaternary, i.e., <2.6 Ma?). The WSW‐ENE orientation of the maximum compressive stress needed to invert the basin likely results from Mid‐Atlantic and Andean pushes. We conclude that lithospheric plates can deform in their cores because of stresses propagating from plate boundaries to distant plate interiors, where the lithosphere has been locally weakened and strain has concentrated.

Heat Flow in the Northeastern Continental Margin of Russia

Abstract —This work is set out to summarize, analyze and revisit results of the geothermal studies carried out in Northeast Russia. A catalog of measured heat flow values has been compiled, and on its basis a map of the region’s heat flow distribution has been constructed. Geodynamic activity of the tectonic structures in Northeast Russia, their thermal regime in which the heat flow is a critical indicator, is largely determined by the interaction between the Eurasian and North American lithospheric plates and smaller-order plates located in the northeastern part of the Asian continent. The areas of interaction between the Eurasian and North American lithospheric plates are marked by the Arctic-Asian seismic belt, which is characterized by intense orogenesis, modern volcanism, active seismicity, diverse geothermal regimes, and large heterogeneity of measured heat flow values. On the Chukotka Peninsula, the helium isotope method was used to estimate heat flow values. It is proposed to consider the class of geodynamic activity of tectonic structures as one of the factors of the geothermal regime.

Zyryanka Basin Composite Tectono-Sedimentary Element, northeastern Asia

The Zyryanka Composite Tectono-Sedimentary Element is located in NE Asia. It consists of a synonymous sedimentary basin that is one of the least studied onshore basins in NE Asia due to its remoteness and the scarcity of wells and geophysical data. The basin evolved through four episodes of subsidence and two episodes of contraction. The Late Jurassic–Late Cretaceous subsidence is inferred to be caused by tectonic loading during contraction events within the Verkhoyansk–Kolyma Orogen, which led to the deposition of up to 10 km of predominantly continental siliciclastic strata. In the Cenozoic, the basin evolved in a post-orogenic intracontinental setting and accumulated a 2–3 km-thick succession of continental siliciclastic strata. In the Oligocene–Mid-Miocene, the basin evolved in a contractional setting, caused by a convergence between the Eurasian and North American lithospheric plates, and underwent a contractional deformation in the Middle Miocene. We recognize four individual tectono-sedimentary elements that are related to different stages of the basin's evolution. The basin contains significant coal resources. It was also considered a potential prospective area for the formation of hydrocarbon accumulations, especially in its Upper Jurassic–Cretaceous strata; however, drilled wells did not encounter any oil- or gas-bearing reservoirs.

Разработка программно-математической модели движений земной коры для территории Российской Федерации

The author considers the principles of construction, the structure of a software and mathematical model of the Earth`s crust’s movements. It is designed to ensure the maintenance of the state reference frame relevance, the establishment and maintenance of the national reference systems’ relationship with international ones for the Russian Federation’s territory. The software implementation should include mathematical models of geodynamic processes for the state’s territory and algorithms for taking them into account for determining coordinates in a given frame of reference. The author presents a general scheme of the above-mentioned model, which consists of several layers. The first base layer containing a model of the tectonic blocks movement and complemented by those of local solutions. Four stages of the model are described. The mathematical basis and software tools are considered. Employing of the first solution of the crust movements software-mathematical model for the Russian Federation’s territory is presented. It is based on that of lithospheric plates motion NNR-MORVEL56. The results of determining the Earth`s crust’s points velocities are compared with those of the Plate Motion Calculator. The coincidence of the calculated values up to hundredths of a millimeter is noted

Neotectonic evolution of the Caucasus: recent vertical movements and mechanism of crustal deformation

It is generally recognized that the formation of the fold-and-thrust tectonic structures of mobile belts on continents is associated with crushing and narrowing of the Earth’s crust as a result of collision of lithospheric plates. The deformation of the Caucasian lithosphere in the neotectonic time is generally consistent with these ideas. However, the block differentiation of the Caucasian lithosphere introduces specific features in the directivity of modern vertical and horizontal movements. In this paper, we analyze vertical movements of the Caucasus estimated by means of high-precision leveling over more than a century and consider their spatial correlation with tectonics, seismicity, stress-strain state, and geophysical fields. A clear relationship indicating the deep tectonic nature of the long-term uplifting of the Caucasus crust is revealed. Due to the differentiation of the Arabian plate movement, the territory of the Caucasus is divided into provinces that differ from each other in the pattern of modern movements, in the orientation of faults, and in the stress-strain state. The seismic regime in these provinces also has differences in the number of seismic events and focal mechanisms of the earthquakes. We propose a model of the deformation mechanism of the Greater Caucasus, which takes into account the long-term trend of the Caucasus uplifting in the conditions of general shortening of the Earth’s crust. The results of the analysis are used as a basis for discussion of a probable mechanism of tectonic evolution of the Greater Caucasus in the neotectonic time, which can be used in the assessment of seismic hazard in the North Caucasus.

Crust and Upper Mantle of the South China Sea (probabilistic-deterministic gravity model)

Rheological layering of a tectonosphere of the South China Sea (SCS) on the crust rigid (the depth interval of 5–30 km), viscous subcrustal (the depth interval of 30–70 km), rigid lower lithospheric (50–90 km), astenospheric (80–150 km) and rigid subastenospheric (the depth interval is more than 150 km) is established. Distributions of the density inhomogeneities connecting with the main tectonic events in SCS are caused by the Paleo-Pacific’s convergence, and later — the Philippine’a oceanic plate with the Philippine archipelago and further — with the Asian margin. In this zone by distributions of density contrast in a tectonosphere are tracing Cenozoic processes of a subduction, stretching, transformic shift and structure of the central type of the probable plume nature which form an evolutionary sequence: back arc, or paleo-oceanic spreading → the Philippine subduction → NE-stretching with shift → formation of the structure of the central type of a probable plume origin. The structures caused by convergence of the Asian continent with the Indo-Australian plate are isolated from the West Pacific margin, and the underthrsting of rigid lithospheric plates from the South under a lithosphere of the margin sea reflects traces of more ancient collision of fragments of the Gondwana with Asian continent.

The Influence of Gravity on the Frequency of Processes in Various Geospheres of the Earth. Biogenic and Abiogenic Pathways of Formation of HC Accumulations

Based on the results obtained in the study of the interaction of geological and biosphere processes, we found out that there is a close relationship between them. It was also found that the gravity of the bodies of the solar system on the Earth plays a significant role in the above relationship. The effect of gravity was demonstrated on the movement of lithosphere plates, on the processes in the atmosphere and hydrosphere, on related climatic cycles, and the biosphere processes, including "living" organisms' evolution and their mass extinctions. The periodicity of these processes due to gravity is shown. It is expressed in the alternation of short-term orogenic periods of the beginning of the processes with long-term geosynclinal periods of their development and completion. Both periods constitute the repetitive orogenic cycles. The relationship of the cycles with the evolution of photosynthesis, as well as with related Organic Matter (OM) accumulation in sediments after mass extinction of organisms, including OM transformation leading to the formation of Hydrocarbon (HC) accumulations, is shown. Biogenic processes accounting for the accumulation and transformation of organic matter in sediments constitute the biogenic pathway of the formation of hydrocarbon accumulations. It is shown that the influence of gravity extends to the processes in the inner geospheres, including the movement of magma in the asthenosphere under the lithosphere shell, to the movement of hydrogen gas coming from the Earth's core, combining with volatile compounds of elements present in magma, as well as to the rifting process. It is shown that rifting processes lead to the formation of gaseous HC accumulations and constitute a pathway called abiogenic. The obtained results shed light on the peculiarities of the formation of HC accumulations by biogenic and abiogenic pathways, allowing prediction of their chemical characteristics. This is essential when searching for oil and gas and planning exploration works.

Late Devonian felsic magmatism in southern New Brunswick and its association with a large igneous province that may have contributed to the Frasnian-Famennian extinction

Felsic rocks of the Piskahegan Group and coeval plutons form a major part of a Late Paleozoic epicontinental caldera in southwestern New Brunswick, Canada. The caldera forms an elliptical structure with a length of ∼34 km and a width of ∼13 km. It hosts a significant polymetallic deposit of tin, molybdenum, indium and bismuth associated with mid-sequence granitic intrusions. The caldera formed in the aftermath of the late Early to Middle Devonian Acadian Orogeny during the opening of the late Paleozoic Maritimes Basin in the Northern Appalachian Belt. Its surrounding successions are largely composed of bimodal igneous rocks that were derived from two distinct sources: upper mantle-derived mafic magma and lower crust-derived felsic magma. The rocks that marked the beginning of volcanic activity in the caldera are no younger than 374.2 ± 2 Ma, whereas the uppermost dated volcanic unit in the complex yielded an age of 364.6 ± 0.7 Ma. The latter is conformably overlain by a succession of red beds and undated basalts that also overlie penecontemporaneous felsic volcanic rocks adjacent to the caldera. The post-orogenic felsic rocks are fractionated, peraluminous A-2 type rocks with silica contents ranging from ∼70 to ∼79 wt% along with high K2O contents and ɛNd(t) ranging from −0.10 to +1.05. They were generated by the melting of lower crustal basement rocks linked to a lithospheric plate that was metasomatized during the Neoproterozoic. Based on available geochemical, geophysical and structural data on Late Paleozoic rocks of southeastern Canada, the melting may have been triggered by the injection of profuse mafic magma that eventually formed a thick underplating at the base of the crust in association with heat derived from an underlying mantle plume and conveyed by transtensional structures. Basal rocks of the Piskahegan Group (the Intracaldera Sequence) and penecontemporaneous volcanic rocks in Nova Scotia are interpreted as small erosional remnants of a Large Igneous Province (LIP) based on the extensive exposure of large coeval plutons throughout southeastern Canada. The new geochronological data suggests that profuse late Frasnian magmatism in this LIP could have contributed to the environmental deterioration that led to a significant extinction at the Frasnian-Famennian boundary (the Kellwasser Event).

Uplift of the Tibetan Plateau driven by mantle delamination from the overriding plate

The geodynamic evolution of the Tibetan Plateau remains highly debated. Any model of its evolution must explain the plateau’s growth as constrained by palaeo-altitude studies, the spatio-temporal distribution of magmatic activity, and the lithospheric mantle removal inferred from seismic velocity anomalies in the underlying mantle. Several conflicting models have been proposed, but none of these explains the first-order topographic, magmatic and seismic features self-consistently. Here we propose and test numerically an evolutionary model of the plateau that involves gradual peeling of the lithospheric mantle from the overriding plate and consequent mantle and crustal melting and uplift. We show that this model successfully reproduces the successive surface uplift of the plateau to more than 4 km above sea level and is consistent with the observed migration of magmatism and geometry of the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary resulting from subduction of the Indian plate and delamination of the mantle lithosphere of the Eurasian plate. These comparisons indicate that mantle delamination from the overriding plate is the driving force behind the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and, potentially, orogenic plateaus more generally.

Analysis of TEC variations and prediction of TEC by RNN during Indonesian earthquakes occurred from 2004 to 2024 and comparison with IRI-2020 model

The Ionosphere, a crucial region of Earth’s atmosphere extending from approximately 50 to 1000 km above the Earth’s surface, plays a pivotal role in global communication, navigation, and satellite-based technologies. Among its various parameters, Total Electron Content (TEC) stands out as a key metric, representing the integrated electron density along a specific path through the ionosphere. This research focuses on analyzing TEC variations during Indonesian earthquakes between 2004 and 2024 using a Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) model. The study investigates the ionospheric response to seismic activity, particularly in Indonesia, a region prone to earthquakes due to its location within the Pacific Ring of Fire and complex tectonic setting involving multiple lithospheric plates. The RNN model, designed to predict TEC variations during earthquakes, utilizes data on solar and geomagnetic activity, including the Kp index, solar wind, and geomagnetic storm activity, obtained from the OMNIWEB data centre, along with TEC data from the IONOLAB data servers for the BAKO station in Cibinong, Indonesia. The earthquakes considered for observation include significant events such as the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, the 2012 Wharton Basin earthquake, and subsequent seismic events up to 2024. Statistical metrics such as Mean Bias Deviation (MBD), Relative Error (REL_E), Absolute Error (ABS_E), and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) are used to evaluate the predictive capability of the RNN model and compare it with the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) 2020 model, a widely accepted empirical model for describing ionospheric parameters. The comparison reveals the performance of the RNN model in capturing TEC variations during seismic events, providing valuable insights for earthquake monitoring and early warning systems.

The Mystery Deepens: Anomalously Fast Speed of the Indian Lithospheric Plate - A Review

ABSTRACT During certain time windows of the late Cretaceous and early Tertiary the Indian plate travelled northward from deep south with exceptionally fast speed reaching around 15–18 to ~22 cm/yr. This is indeed intriguing and enigmatic because velocities of all other major tectonic plates, in comparison, do not exceed ~7–8 cm/yr and hence the high mobility of the Indian plate remains somewhat mysterious. This study discusses the various efforts carried out during the past four decades, which are aimed at understanding the processes/forces behind this rapid drift of India. On the basis of marine magnetic survey, deep drilling and numerical models, a number of potential causes have been put forward. Some of the important observations that emerged from these studies are, (i) delineation of multi-phase subduction systems within the India-Asia collision corridor, (ii) occurrence of upwelling of more than one mantle plumes and their push force, (iii) anti-correlated velocities of the Indian and African plates and their coupling with the Reunion mantle plume, and (iv) role of mantle plume in the initiation of subduction or convergent margin that implies initiation of the plate tectonics itself. These studies suggest a number of potential causes that could impart the observed high acceleration to the Indian plate. These include lithospheric thinning and geophysical/geochemical characteristics of the Indian plate, weakening of the litho-asthenospheric coupling and the coupling of mantle plume and double subduction. During the past decade, continued addition of concepts and ideas that negate/compliment/supplement preceding studies, comprehend the forces responsible for India’s rapid drift. It is significant to note that most of these suggestions have come up, in quick succession, thus making the unfoldment of this research highly engrossing and interesting.

Active shortening and aseismic slip along the Cephalonia Plate Boundary (Paliki Peninsula, Greece): Evidence from InSAR and GNSS data

We present a comprehensive analysis of geodetic data, including InSAR and GNSS, to assess the interseismic deformation of the Paliki peninsula in western Cephalonia, Greece. The region is prone to frequent earthquakes, due to its proximity to the Cephalonia Transform Fault (CTF), a 140 km long dextral strike-slip fault (striking NNE-SSW) that accommodates the relative motion between the Apulian and Aegean lithospheric plates. Our analysis covers the period from 2016 to 2022 and leverages LiCSBAS, an open-source package, for InSAR time series analysis with the N-SBAS method. The results of the InSAR analysis demonstrate deformation rates between 2 and 5 mm/yr in the line-of-sight (LOS) direction of the satellite. We constructed E-W velocity profiles that provided a velocity gradient terminating against the outcropping trace of the seismic fault of the 3 February 2014 earthquake (M6.1) near Atheras. This geodetic evidence indicates a ∼ 1 mm/yr minimum aseismic slip (fault creep) motion along the February 2014 seismic fault, during 2016–2022. Positive LOS values in both satellite imaging geometries show that the coastal town of Lixouri experiences uplift of 1 mm/yr. East-West velocity cross-sections across western Cephalonia including Gulf of Argostoli reveal several velocity discontinuities, possibly bounded by active faults and/or landslides. The E-W shortening rate between Lixouri and Argostoli areas amounts to 1.5 mm/yr corresponding to −187 ns/yr (nanostrain/yr) of tectonic strain. Our results suggest a complex deformation pattern on the Paliki peninsula with strain accumulation along strike-slip and reverse-slip faults. We also inverted GNSS velocities from Italy and Greece, across the Cephalonia segment of CTF (assuming elastic half-space) and obtained a locking depth of 13 km, and a slip rate of 17.3 ± 0.8 mm/yr.

Compositional signatures of clinopyroxenes from the mafic rocks of the Nagaland ophiolite (NE India): Inferences for melting of diverse source regions in a transitional arc-type setting

The Nagaland-Manipur ophiolite belt (NMOB) represents remnants of the Neo-Tethyan Ocean that evolved during the accretion of the Indian and Myanmar lithospheric plates. We studied clinopyroxenes of cumulate gabbro and basalt rocks from the northern section of the belt to decode the mechanism that controlled their petrogenesis and geotectonic setting. Clinopyroxenes (augite-diopside) exhibit compositional zoning and significant variations in their major and trace element contents. Zoned clinopyroxene from a single volcanic rock sample (2d-3-6-11) show higher concentrations of TiO2 (1.44 to 5.13 wt%) and Al (0.128–0.359 apfu) and lower Si (1.658–1.889 apfu) compared to clinopyroxenes from the other mafic rocks. The mg# [100 × Mg/(Mg + Fe2+)] values of clinopyroxenes range between 60.1 and 85.7. The trace element contents and the chondrite-normalised REE patterns of clinopyroxenes imply diverse geochemical affinities of both depleted mantle typical of tholeiite rocks and a less depleted LREE-enriched melt for the Nagaland mafic rocks. Pressure and temperature of crystallisation were estimated using single clinopyroxene geothermobarometry and were found to vary between 1–8 kbar and 840–1179 °C, respectively. In discrimination diagrams, the zoned clinopyroxenes show an alkaline composition consistent with a within-plate environment. On the other hand, clinopyroxenes from the rest of the mafic samples show a sub-alkaline composition typical of magmas produced in arc-related settings. Our study indicates the existence of diverse magma sources in an island arc-to-back arc setting during the formation of magmatic rocks in the NMOB.

Formation and Evolution of the Pacific‐North American (San Andreas) Plate Boundary: Constraints From the Crustal Architecture of Northern California

AbstractThe northward migration of the Mendocino triple junction (MTJ) drives a fundamental plate boundary transformation from convergence to translation; producing a series of strike‐slip faults, that become the San Andreas plate boundary. We find that the 3‐D structure of the Pacific plate lithosphere in the vicinity of the MTJ controls the location of San Andreas plate boundary formation. At the time of initiation of the Pacific‐North America plate boundary (∼30 Ma), the sequential interaction with the western margin of North America of the Pioneer Fracture Zone, soon followed by the Mendocino Fracture Zone, led to the capture of a small segment of partially subducted Farallon lithosphere by the Pacific plate, termed the Pioneer Fragment (PF). Since that time, the PF has translated with the Pacific Plate along the western margin of North America. Recently developed, high‐resolution seismic‐tomographic imagery of northern California indicates that (a) the PF is extant, occupying the western half of the slab window, immediately south of the MTJ; (b) the eastern edge of the PF lies beneath the newly forming Maacama fault system, which develops to become the locus for the primary plate boundary structure after approximately 6–10 Ma; and (c) the location of the translating PF adjacent to the asthenosphere of the slab window generates a shear zone within and below the crust that develops into the plate boundary faults. As a result, the San Andreas plate boundary forms interior to the western margin of North America, rather than at its western edge.

Comparative Analysis and Unified Derivation of Reissner’s Equations For 2D Bending of Thick Plates and Timoshenko’s Equations for Bending of Beams

Currently, calculations of flexural deformations of lithospheric plates are carried out on the basis of Kirchhoff’s theory of bending of thin plates formulated about 170 years ago. The paper examines the possibility of refining these calculations based on the theory of bending of thick plates by Timoshenko and Reissner. A new unified derivation is presented of the Timoshenko equations for 2D bending of beams and the Reissner equations for bending of slabs by direct transformation of the general elasticity equations with a simple approximate replacement of power cubic functions with effective linear ones. This derivation offers a simpler and more detailed understanding of the difference between the equations and the meaning of the simplifications made in these theories. By comparing the analytical solutions of the Timoshenko and Reissner equations with the existing test analytical solutions of the exact elasticity equations, quantitative estimates of the accuracy of these theories are presented.

Mid-ocean ridge unfaulting revealed by magmatic intrusions.

Mid-ocean ridges (MORs) are quintessential sites of tectonic extension1-4, at which divergence between lithospheric plates shapes abyssal hills that cover about two-thirds of the Earth's surface5,6. Here we show that tectonic extension at the ridge axis can be partially undone by tectonic shortening across the ridge flanks. This process is evidenced by recent sequences of reverse-faulting earthquakes about 15 km off-axis at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Carlsberg Ridge. Using mechanical models, we show that shallow compression of the ridge flanks up to the brittle failure point is a natural consequence of lithosphere unbending away from the axial relief. Intrusion of magma-filled fractures, which manifests as migrating swarms of extensional seismicity along the ridge axis, can provide the small increment of compressive stress that triggers reverse-faulting earthquakes. Through bathymetric analyses, we further find that reverse reactivation of MOR normal faults is a widely occurring process that can reduce the amplitude of abyssal hills by as much as 50%, shortly after they form at the ridge axis. This 'unfaulting' mechanism exerts a first-order influence on the fabric of the global ocean floor and provides a physical explanation for reverse-faulting earthquakes in an extensional environment.

Pre-disposed tectonic subsidence controls flood hazards and unplanned urbanisation dominates the flood disasters in the Pliocene to Holocene Kashmir basin, NW Himalayas

The Pliocene to Holocene Kashmir basin of NW Himalaya, India, is prone to various geological and climatic hazards routinely connected to the climatic and structural setting of the Himalayan intermontane basins. The topographic expression of the basin is a direct consequence of the active plate tectonic convergence between the lithosphere plates of India and Eurasia. However, the role of the tectonic framework and its contribution to flood hazards has remained an unresolved research question. Our previous work has contributed towards this problem, and here, we extend our previous work by producing robust evidence in support of the role of active faults and tectonic topography in shaping the flood hazards in the Kashmir basin and its implication for the other similar basins in the world. The Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager-Thermal Infrared Sensor (OLI-TIRS) and Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) images were used to extract pre-2014 floodwater bodies and 2014 flooded areas in the Jhelum River valley of the Kashmir region, respectively. Water pixels were extracted using the modified normalized difference water index (MNDWI) methods, and similarly, the flood depth and duration (in days) were computed. The flood depth was correlated with the Jhelum River valley's topography, morphology, and geology. The slope and topography were also associated with the 2014 flood disaster to map the influence of the pre-disposed structural setting of the basin on flood vulnerability. The results suggest that flood disasters were mainly related to the unplanned built area, which remains the dominant factor in how flood hazards have turned into disasters. The results reveal the tectonically derived structural configuration of the basin mainly contributed towards the flood hazards, which is the primary predisposed structural framework to dictate flood hazards since the formation of the basin ∼4.0 million years ago. Therefore, the primary outcome of our work is the strong evidence that flood hazards are related to the structural setting of the basin, which includes topography and geology, while the transition of flood hazards into disasters is mainly because of unplanned urbanization.

1Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

The article examines the distribution of current surface movements and changes due to the movement of lithospheric plates. Due to the proximity of the city of Almaty to the earthquake center, the occurrence of earthquakes, tectonic belts, geodynamic polygon zones, features of underground movement are described.

Dynamic Interplay: Unveiling the Biosphere-Geosphere Nexus in Carbon Cycling

A model describing the interaction of geological and biosphere processes is proposed. It is based on the postulate of the gravitational effect of the bodies of the solar system on the lithosphere plates' movement through magma flows and deep breathing of the Earth. The continuous movement of the plates consist of orogenic cycles. The cycles include a short-term orogenic periods of relatively fast plates' movement and long-term geosynclinal periods of relatively slow movement. The fast movement is caused by rifting, when magma breaks through the thin shell of the lithosphere and hardens in contact with sea water, forming a new plate. During the orogenic period, oceanic plates collide with the continental margin plate in the subduction zone. The energy of the collisions initiates thermochemical sulfate reduction, in which sedimentary organic matter (OM) is oxidized. The resulting CO2 rises to the surface of the Earth, spreads over the planet, initiating photosynthesis. In the geosynclinal period due to the slow plates' movement the released collision energy is insufficient to initiate thermochemical sulfate reduction.