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February 2007 – Volume 3 Number 1 

Zircon - Tiny but Timely

GUEST EDITORS
Simon L. Harley and Nigel M. Kelly

PRINCIPAL EDITOR
Ian Parsons

April 2007 – Volume 3 Number 2 

On the Cutting Edge: Teaching Mineralogy, Petrology, and Geochemistry

GUEST EDITOR
David W. Mogk

PRINCIPAL EDITOR
Michael F. Hochella, Jr.

June 2007 – Volume 3 Number 3

Energy: A Geoscience Perspective

GUEST EDITOR
Allison M. Macfarlane

PRINCIPAL EDITOR
Ian Parsons

August 2007 – Volume 3 Number 4

Frontiers in Textural and Microgeochemical Analysis

GUEST EDITORS
Dougal A. Jerram and Jon P. Davidson

PRINCIPAL EDITOR
E. Bruce Watson

October 2007 – Volume 3 Number 5 

Critical Zone: Where Rock Meets Life

GUEST EDITORS
Susan L. Brantley, Timothy S. White, and K. Vala Ragnarsdottir

PRINCIPAL EDITOR
Susan L.S. Stipp

December 2007 – Volume 3 Number 6 

Medical Mineralogy and Geochemistry

GUEST EDITOR
Nita Sahai

PRINCIPAL EDITOR
E. Bruce Watson

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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.