Elements Magazine Past Issues

YEAR  2026 | 2025  |  2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005

VOLUME  22
 |  21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1

Issues Published in 2011 -- Volume 7

February 2011 – Volume 7 Number 1 

Cosmochemistry

GUEST EDITOR
Dante S. Lauretta

PRINCIPAL EDITOR
Harry Y. (Hap) McSween

April 2011 – Volume 7 Number 2 

Iron in Earth Surface Systems

GUEST EDITORS
Kevin G. Taylor and Kurt O. Konhauser

PRINCIPAL EDITOR
David J. Vaughan

June 2011 – Volume 7 Number 3

Global Water Sustainability

GUEST EDITORS
Janet G. Hering, Chen Zhu, and Eric H. Oelkers

PRINCIPAL EDITOR
James I. (Tim) Drever

August 2011 – Volume 7 Number 4

When the Continental Crust Melts

GUEST EDITORS
Edward W. Sawyer, Bernardo Cesare, and Michael Brown

PRINCIPAL EDITOR
Harry Y. (Hap) McSween

October 2011 – Volume 7 Number 5 

Tourmaline

GUEST EDITORS
Barbara L. Dutrow and Darrell J. Henry

PRINCIPAL EDITOR
Georges Calas

December 2011 – Volume 7 Number 6 

Mine Wastes

GUEST EDITORS
Karen A. Hudson-Edwards, Heather E. Jamieson, and Bernd G. Lottermoser

PRINCIPAL EDITOR
James I. (Tim) Drever

Scroll to Top

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.