A structural and petrological study of the Late Proterozoic rocks in the Wadi Kid area, Sinai, Egypt indicates the presence of an extensional metamorphic core complex in the northern Arabian–Nubian Shield. Gneissic domes throughout the Arabian–Nubian Shield resemble the core complex of the Wadi Kid area and as a result, they are interpreted as extensional metamorphic core complexes. The presenc...

The transfer (accretion) of materials from a subducting oceanic plate to a subduction-accretionary complex has produced rock assemblages recording the history of the subducted oceanic plate from formation to arrival at the trench. These rock assemblages, comprising oceanic igneous rocks progressively overlain by pelagic sedimentary rocks (chert and/or limestone) and trench-fill clastic sediment...

The formation of new subduction zones is a key element plate tectonics and the Wilson cycle, many different controlling mechanisms have been proposed to initiate subduction. Here, we provide brief overview known scenarios initiation in intra-oceanic ocean-continent tectonic settings. Intra-oceanic most commonly associated with mechanical heterogeneities within oceanic lithosphere, such as pre-e...

Global topographic data and the assumption of Airy isostasy have been used to estimate the crustal volumes of the continents and the oceanic and continental submarine plateaus. The calculated crustal volumes are 7182 X lo6 km3 for the continents, 242 x lo6 km3 for continental submarine plateaus, and 369 X lo6 km3 for oceanic plateaus. The Falkland Plateau and the Lord Howe Rise are the two larg...

We present a comprehensive geochemical data set for the most recent volcanics from the Mariana Islands, which provides new constraints on the timing and nature of fluxes from the subducting slab. The lavas display many features typical of island arc volcanics, with all samples showing large negative niobium anomalies and enrichments in alkaline earth elements and lead (e.g., high Ba/La and Pb/C...

Leg 135 of the Ocean Drilling Program drilled and cored eight sites across the Lau Basin and adjacent Tonga Ridge to study the geological evolution of a backarc basin and adjacent oceanic arc and forearc. Six sites (Sites 834, 835, 836, 837, 838, and 839) were drilled within the Lau Basin, each within smaller and narrower (<10 km) north-south fault basins and collectively representing a broad e...

Since the contributions of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, oceanic archipelagos have played a central role in the development of biogeography. However, despite the critical influence of oceanic islands on ecological and evolutionary theory, our focus has remained limited to either the island-level of specific archipelagos or single archipelagos. Recently, it was proposed that oceanic ...

The Crassulacean genus Aeonium is a well-known example for plant species radiation on oceanic archipelagos. However, while allopatric speciation among islands is documented for this genus, the role of intra-island speciation due to population divergence by topographical isolation or ecological heterogeneity has not yet been addressed. The aim of this study was to investigate intraspecific genet...