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February 2016 – Volume 12 Number 1

Earth Sciences for Cultural Heritage

GUEST EDITORS
Gilberto Artioli and Simona Quartieri

PRINCIPAL EDITOR
Gordon E. Brown Jr.

April 2016 – Volume 12 Number 2 

Enigmatic Relationship Between Silicic Volcanic and Plutonic Rocks

GUEST EDITORS
Craig C. Lundstrom & Allen F. Glazner

PRINCIPAL EDITOR
Bernard J. Wood

June 2016 – Volume 12 Number 3

Cosmic Dust

GUEST EDITORS
Susan Taylor, Donald E. Brownlee, and George J. Flynn

PRINCIPAL EDITOR
Friedhelm von Blanckenburg

August 2016 – Volume 12 Number 4

Deep-mined Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste

GUEST EDITORS
Bruce Yardley, Rodney Ewing, Robert Whittleston

PRINCIPAL EDITOR
Gordon E. Brown Jr.

October 2016 – Volume 12 Number 5

Studying the Earth with LA-ICP-MS

GUEST EDITORS
Paul J. Sylvester and Simon E. Jackson

PRINCIPAL EDITOR
Bernard J. Wood

December 2016 – Volume 12 Number 6

Origins of Life: Transition from Geochemistry to Biogeochemistry

GUEST EDITORS
Nita Sahai and Hussein Kaddour

PRINCIPAL EDITOR
Patricia M. Dove

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December 2025 --The Variscan Orogeny in Europe – Understanding Supercontinent Formation

The Variscan orogen formed between 380 and 300 million years ago through several accretionary and collisional cycles, culminating with the construction of the Pangea supercontinent. This process occurred via sequential opening and closure of oceanic basins, synchronous detachment of Gondwana derived continental ribbons, and their outboard amalgamation onto the Laurussia margin. The Variscan orogen is rather unique compared with other orogenic belts on Earth: its overthickened and dominantly magmatic crust in the central belt, surprisingly minor mantle involvement in the magmatic and geodynamic processes, coherent and pulsed magmatism along the collision suture, and its complex accretionary history. Because its final product, Pangea, is the youngest and best-understood supercontinent on Earth, the Variscan orogeny offers clues for understanding the mechanisms of supercontinent formation.