Geodinamika

Geodynamics is a subfield of geophysics that studies the dynamic processes that shape the Earth's interior and its surface. It focuses on the motion and deformation of the mantle, crust, and core, and on the forces and energy sources that drive them, including mantle convection, plate tectonics, subduction, and core–mantle interactions. Through geodynamics researchers seek to explain the present-day configuration of continents and ocean basins as well as the long-term evolution of the planet’s shape and topography.

Geodynamics integrates observations from seismology, geodesy, gravity, and magnetism with laboratory experiments and numerical modeling to describe how rocks deform, how mantle material circulates, and how the movement of plates induces earthquakes, volcanism, mountain building, and crustal thinning. It addresses the coupling between deep Earth processes and surface tectonics, regional uplift, subsidence, and sea-floor spreading.

Key methods include global and regional seismic imaging, seismic tomography, mantle convection modeling, and dynamic topography studies; geodetic data from GPS and InSAR track plate motions and crustal deformation; mineral physics and rock mechanics provide rheology; and high-performance computing enables three-dimensional simulations of Earth dynamics.

Historically, geodynamics emerged from the plate tectonics revolution of the 1960s and has since become an interdisciplinary field linking geology, physics, chemistry, and engineering. Its insights aid in understanding natural hazards, resource distribution, and the thermal and mechanical evolution of the Earth.

Important concepts in geodynamics include mantle convection as a driver of plate motion, slab rollback, plume tectonics, dynamic topography, and the coupling between deep processes and surface tectonics. Ongoing work seeks to reconcile observations with models across scales from mantle flow to continental drift.