DiscoverGeology BitesAlex Copley on Soft Continents
Alex Copley on Soft Continents

Alex Copley on Soft Continents

Update: 2024-07-151
Share

Description

We tend to think of continental tectonic plates as rigid caps that float on the asthenospheric mantle, much like oceanic plates. But while some continental regions have the most rigid rocks on the planet, wide swathes of the continents are not rigid at all. In the podcast, Alex Copley explains how this differentiation comes about and points to evidence that the responsible processes have been operating since the Archean.



Copley is Professor of Tectonics in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge.

Comments 
Top Podcasts
The Best New Comedy Podcast Right Now – June 2024The Best News Podcast Right Now – June 2024The Best New Business Podcast Right Now – June 2024The Best New Sports Podcast Right Now – June 2024The Best New True Crime Podcast Right Now – June 2024The Best New Joe Rogan Experience Podcast Right Now – June 20The Best New Dan Bongino Show Podcast Right Now – June 20The Best New Mark Levin Podcast – June 2024
In Channel
Mike Searle on the Mountain Ranges of Central Asia

Mike Searle on the Mountain Ranges of Central Asia

2024-12-2034:31

Rob Strachan on the Caledonian Orogeny

Rob Strachan on the Caledonian Orogeny

2024-12-1039:26

Joe MacGregor on Mapping the Geology of Greenland Below the Ice

Joe MacGregor on Mapping the Geology of Greenland Below the Ice

2024-11-1331:10

Adam Simon on Battery Metals

Adam Simon on Battery Metals

2024-10-2334:14

Rufus Catchings on Pinning Down California's Faults

Rufus Catchings on Pinning Down California's Faults

2024-09-2033:33

Sara Seager on Exoplanet Geology

Sara Seager on Exoplanet Geology

2024-09-0134:33

Evan Smith on Diamonds from the Deep Mantle

Evan Smith on Diamonds from the Deep Mantle

2024-08-1434:36

Roberta Rudnick on the Continental Crustal Composition Paradox

Roberta Rudnick on the Continental Crustal Composition Paradox

2024-07-3127:53

Alex Copley on Soft Continents

Alex Copley on Soft Continents

2024-07-1532:04

Shanan Peters on Quantifying the Global Sedimentary Rock Record

Shanan Peters on Quantifying the Global Sedimentary Rock Record

2024-07-0127:14

Paul Smith on the Cambrian Explosion

Paul Smith on the Cambrian Explosion

2024-06-0832:44

Scott Bolton on the Most Volcanically Active Body in the Solar System

Scott Bolton on the Most Volcanically Active Body in the Solar System

2024-05-2524:45

Bob White on How Magma Moves in the Crust

Bob White on How Magma Moves in the Crust

2024-05-0636:45

Richard Ernst on Large Igneous Provinces

Richard Ernst on Large Igneous Provinces

2024-04-1031:56

Damian Nance on What Drives the Supercontinent Cycle

Damian Nance on What Drives the Supercontinent Cycle

2024-02-2435:58

David Kohlstedt on Simulating the Mantle in the Lab

David Kohlstedt on Simulating the Mantle in the Lab

2024-02-0932:00

Claire Corkhill on Geological Radioactive Waste Disposal

Claire Corkhill on Geological Radioactive Waste Disposal

2024-01-0731:07

Mahesh Anand on What Human Return to the Moon Means for Lunar Geology

Mahesh Anand on What Human Return to the Moon Means for Lunar Geology

2023-12-2232:30

Susan Brantley on Earth's Geological Thermostat

Susan Brantley on Earth's Geological Thermostat

2023-12-1027:44

Clark Johnson on the Banded Iron Formations

Clark Johnson on the Banded Iron Formations

2023-11-1228:42

loading
Google Play
Download from Google Play
Castbox
Download from App Store
usUnited States
00:00
00:00
x

0.5x

0.8x

1.0x

1.25x

1.5x

2.0x

3.0x

Sleep Timer

Off

End of Episode

5 Minutes

10 Minutes

15 Minutes

30 Minutes

45 Minutes

60 Minutes

120 Minutes

Alex Copley on Soft Continents

Alex Copley on Soft Continents

Oliver Strimpel