Thanks for tackling it! This post definitely gets more into the weeds than some of our others. I have to say that 80% of a post about the tectonics of the Banda Sea is still a pretty advanced place to be! It is not beginner tectonics.
Awww, thanks! I have vivid memories of fifth grade science (which makes it 1964 Ish) learning about this "new "theory of plate tectonics. I have kept up ever since, even though I didn't end up in a science field. Eg the new two blob theory. I also just realized that the opensource utube video I have had on my phone for several years to help explain various things is MIA. Horrors! It was labeled "Plate tectonic evolution from 1 Billion years ago to the present." Might you know of another?
Can I upload a figure that would explain all? The Banda Arc - not a question of being bounded by subduction zones north and south. Continuous subduction all the way around! The Banda Arc is a classic example of roll back - a subduction transform - now the Palu Koro Fault - has foundered and sunk in a basin-like shape, resting on the bottom of the mantle transition zone.
Since about five million years ago the Banda Slab sag is being squashed north-south, and a SW-NE travelling wrench fault has all but broken through from one side to the other transferring Indian Ocean motion across to the Pacific interface. This makes the sides steeper, and the distance N-S progressively shorter.
Roll back has stretched the rocks exhumed in the over-riding lithosphere, so high grade metamorphic rocks are exhumed in the forearc. The Weber Deep is bounded by one of the largest active detachment faults known on planet Earth. True a wondrous place for tectonics.
Hi Gordon, Kyle has responded to your comment at the end of the post, including a figure from one of your papers, which I think captures the point you are making. Thanks for the additional discussion!
Good write-up and informative. In response to your your request for "ideas about how to improve this presentation for a generally interested audience": I think an executive summary or "BLUF" (bottom line up front) that includes your assessed risk in layman's terms would be great.
Your first two paragraphs are good. But from the perspective of, say, the closest residents, tourists, or a company's security risk or business continuity manager, I'm unclear on the "So what?". E.g., considering "This is a pretty seismically noisy part of the Earth, generating on average about two M6+ earthquakes each year." is this earthquake concerning/not concerning and why/why not? What, if anything, should we look out for in the next x days?
Thanks for the suggestion! For more impactful earthquakes we do tend to have more discussion of damage and what to expect. We will think about including a brief summary at the beginning, especially for those types of events.
Great analysis and analogies. I can almost (maybe 80%) understand it. But love a challenge. Thank you.
Thanks for tackling it! This post definitely gets more into the weeds than some of our others. I have to say that 80% of a post about the tectonics of the Banda Sea is still a pretty advanced place to be! It is not beginner tectonics.
Awww, thanks! I have vivid memories of fifth grade science (which makes it 1964 Ish) learning about this "new "theory of plate tectonics. I have kept up ever since, even though I didn't end up in a science field. Eg the new two blob theory. I also just realized that the opensource utube video I have had on my phone for several years to help explain various things is MIA. Horrors! It was labeled "Plate tectonic evolution from 1 Billion years ago to the present." Might you know of another?
Can I upload a figure that would explain all? The Banda Arc - not a question of being bounded by subduction zones north and south. Continuous subduction all the way around! The Banda Arc is a classic example of roll back - a subduction transform - now the Palu Koro Fault - has foundered and sunk in a basin-like shape, resting on the bottom of the mantle transition zone.
Since about five million years ago the Banda Slab sag is being squashed north-south, and a SW-NE travelling wrench fault has all but broken through from one side to the other transferring Indian Ocean motion across to the Pacific interface. This makes the sides steeper, and the distance N-S progressively shorter.
Roll back has stretched the rocks exhumed in the over-riding lithosphere, so high grade metamorphic rocks are exhumed in the forearc. The Weber Deep is bounded by one of the largest active detachment faults known on planet Earth. True a wondrous place for tectonics.
Hi Gordon, Kyle has responded to your comment at the end of the post, including a figure from one of your papers, which I think captures the point you are making. Thanks for the additional discussion!
Good write-up and informative. In response to your your request for "ideas about how to improve this presentation for a generally interested audience": I think an executive summary or "BLUF" (bottom line up front) that includes your assessed risk in layman's terms would be great.
Your first two paragraphs are good. But from the perspective of, say, the closest residents, tourists, or a company's security risk or business continuity manager, I'm unclear on the "So what?". E.g., considering "This is a pretty seismically noisy part of the Earth, generating on average about two M6+ earthquakes each year." is this earthquake concerning/not concerning and why/why not? What, if anything, should we look out for in the next x days?
Thanks for the suggestion! For more impactful earthquakes we do tend to have more discussion of damage and what to expect. We will think about including a brief summary at the beginning, especially for those types of events.