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The Tectonophysics Section is highly
interdisciplinary, with strong ties to other Sections such as Seismology,
Geodesy, Planetary Sciences, Geomagnetism/ Paleomagnetism, and Volcanology/
Geochemistry/ Petrology. Its members are interested in geodynamic processes
and deformation from the scale of individual crystals to mantle convection
and plate tectonics through the study of rock mechanics, mineral physics,
seafloor geology and morphology, continental and marine tectonics and structural
geology, and the thermal regime and mass balance of the Earth. An enduring
challenge facing tectonophysicists is to relate processes and measurements
at Earth's surface to their origins at depths that can't be directly observed.
Better measurements, whether in the laboratory, at sea, in deep drill holes,
or from satellites, are revealing unexpected complexity that often challenges
simplified descriptions and standing models. This is nowhere better illustrated
than in the continents, where basic issues like the strength of the lithosphere,
strength of major plate boundary faults, the origins of the mountain belts,
and the mechanics of intraplate seismicity remain unresolved.
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