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The Multi-scale Laboratories (MSL) are a network of European laboratories bringing together the scientific fields of analogue modeling, paleomagnetism, experimental rock and melt physics, geochemistry and microscopy. MSL is one of nine (see below) Thematic Core Services (TCS) of the European Plate Observing System (EPOS). The overarching goal of EPOS is to establish a comprehensive multidisciplinary research platform for the Earth sciences in Europe. It aims at facilitating the integrated use of data, models, and facilities, from both existing and new distributed pan European Research Infrastructures, allowing open access and transparent use of data. The TCS MSL network allows researchers to collaborate with other labs and scientists. By becoming part of the rapidly growing TCS MSL network, new laboratories are offered a platform to showcase their research data output, laboratory equipment and information, and the opportunity to open laboratories to guest researchers through the Transnational Access (TNA) program. The EPOS Multi-scale laboratories offer researchers a fully operational data publication chain tailored to the specific needs of laboratory research, from a bespoke metadata editor, through dedicated, (domain-specific) data repositories, to the MSL Portal showcasing these citable data publications. During this process the data publications are assigned with digital object identidiers (DOI), published with open licenses (e.g. CC BY 4.0) and described with standardized and machine-readable rich metadata (following the FAIR Principles to make research data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. The TCS MSL is currently working on linking these data publications to the EPOS Central Portal1, the main discovery and access point for European multi-disciplinary data, and on increasing the number of connected data repositories. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

A presentation from the NAC (Nederlands Aardwetenschappelijk Congres/Netherlands Earth Sciences Conference) given on 9 April 2021, explaining how the EPOS-NL project is working with data repositories at Utrecht University and Delft University of Technology to publish FAIR earth science data in the Netherlands., The EPOS-NL project is funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO)

Understanding earth materials is critical to creating a sustainable, carbon-neutral society due to their involvement in many vital processes. Earth materials control the feasibility of subsurface energy storage, geothermal energy extraction, and are a source of critical elements. However, perturbations to geological systems can also result in hazards, such as human-induced earthquakes. If we want to tackle current, pressing scientific questions related to sustainable development for a circular economy, there is an urgent need to make multi-scale, multi-dimensional characterisations of earth materials available to a broad spectrum of earth-science disciplines. In addition to the society relevant topics, the properties of earth materials determine how the Earth works on the most fundamental level. To overcome this challenge, 15 European electron and X-ray microscopy facilities join forces to establish EXCITE (Electron and X-ray microscopy community for structural and chemical imaging techniques for earth materials; www.excite-network.com). EXCITE enables access to high-end microscopy facilities and to join the knowledge and experience from the different institutions. EXCITE develops community-driven technological imaging advancements that strengthen and extend the current implementation of leading-edge microscopy for earth-materials research. EXCITE integrates joint research programmes with networking, training, and transnational access activities, to enable both academia and industry to answer critical questions in earth-materials science and technology. As such, EXCITE builds a community of highly qualified earth scientists, develops correlative imaging technologies and provides access to world-class facilities to new and non-expert users that are often hindered from engaging in problem-solving microscopy.

Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, The Netherlands In this virtual fieldtrip we will review and discuss three case studies carried out at Utrecht University utilizing virtual reality (VR) and virtual field observations (VFO) across a range of scales for the study of geologic features such as fold and fault or shear zone structures. At the laboratory scale, state-of the art Virtual Reality (VR) provides an unprecedented level of detail for the observation of the surface expression of tectonic deformation in analogue models and provides opportunities for bringing the laboratory into real world virtual environments. An outcrop-scale case-study of the sheared Rosas granodiorite in the eastern Pyrenees will be presented to demonstrate how 2D 3D drone mapping can aid geologists in understanding relations between intermediate scale structures not directly recognizable in the field. Moreover, it will be briefly discussed how 3D drone maps can be used to extract high quality quantitative field measurements. Lastly, an educational virtual field-trip case study will be presented from the ‘Cap de Creus’ area (Pyrenees), which serves as a data science project within the Dutch component of the European Plate Observing system (EPOS-NL) project, to emphasize how a virtual environment can be used to study complex deformation structures that resulted from multiple deformation events.

Haiti is located on the western part of the island of Hispaniola, shared with the Dominican Republic in the east. Haiti is situated within the northern Caribbean plate boundary region where relative motion between the Caribbean and North American plates is accommodated by a complex system of fault-bounded microplates and tectonic blocks. Two seismogenic strike-slip faults related to this system are found in Haiti; the Enriquillo – Plantain Garden Fault Zone (EGPFZ) onshore southern Haiti, and the Septentrional Fault Zone (SFZ) offshore northern Haiti, with the southwest-verging, forward-propagating Haitian Fold-and-Thrust Belt situated in between them. The geology and geodynamic setting of Haiti became the focus of increased scientific interest following the January 12th 2010 Mw 7.0 Leogâne earthquake, which struck southern Haiti close to its capital Port-au-Prince. This study, which is a collaboration between Sorbonne Université, IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEn), Université d’Etat d’Haïti (UEH), URGéo, and Bureau des Mines et de l’Energie d’Haïti (BME), is dedicated to increase our knowledge of the onshore geology of southern Haiti. There are three main objectives to this study; 1) identify the number and timing of deformation phases on the Southern Peninsula of Haiti, their regional impact, and the associated structural style of deformation and paleo-stress evolution, 2) constrain the deformation history of the southernmost onshore part of the Haitian Fold-and-Thrust Belt (the Chaîne des Matheux), the structural style of deformation and the associated paleo-stress evolution, and 3) characterize the interaction between fluids and deformation by examining the paleo-fluid circulation related to deformation in both regions. To fulfill these objectives this study integrates geological data and observations onshore Haiti from field campaigns in 2015 and 2017. Stratigraphic and structural data are combined with satellite imagery and digital elevation models to create four small-scale (~1:50.000) geological maps and associated cross sections. These are used to better understand and constraining the style of deformation in the region. Samples of host rocks and veins from fault zones and fractures are analyzed using a suite of analytical techniques, which include optical and cathodoluminescence microscopy, fluid inclusion microthermometry and Raman spectroscopy on fluid inclusions, x-ray diffraction, stable oxygen and carbon isotope geochemistry, and whole-rock geochemistry, all of which are integrated to constrain the paleofluid circulation. The results of this study indicate that 1) the Southern Peninsula evolved by basement-involved inversion, thrusting, and strike-slip, while 2) the style of deformation in the Chaîne des Matheux is predominantly thin-skinned controlled by shallow dipping decollement levels, although a component of thick-skinned basement-involved deformation is probable. The polyphase deformation history of the Southern Peninsula is characterized by three major tectonic events; 1) Deformation and uplift during the Maastrichtian and early Paleocene, 2) early Miocene compression and uplift that mainly affected the southwestern part of the Southern Peninsula, and 3) transpressive deformation from the late Miocene to recent. This last phase is characterized by a progressive focus of strike-slip activity along the EPGFZ, which accommodated a maximum of 15 km of left-lateral displacement since the late Messinian [...], Haïti est située sur la partie occidentale de l'île d'Hispaniola, qu'il partage avec la République dominicaine à l'est. Haïti est située en limite septentrionale des Caraïbes, où le mouvement relatif entre les plaques Caraïbes et Amérique du Nord est accommodé par un système complexe de microplaques de failles et de blocs tectoniques. Deux failles décrochantes sismogènes liées à ce système se trouvent en Haïti ; la zone de faille d'Enriquillo – Plantain Garden (EGPFZ) sur la partie sud d'Haïti et la zone de faille Septentrionale (SFZ) au large de la partie nord d'Haïti, tandis que la chaîne trans-haïtienne, composée de chevauchements d’unités tectoniques haïtiennes se propage vers le sud-ouest. La géologie et le contexte géodynamique d'Haïti font l'objet d'un regain d'intérêt scientifique à cause du séisme très destructeur de Mw 7.0, survenu le 12 janvier 2010, qui s’est produit au sud d'Haïti à Leogâne, près de la capitale Port-au-Prince. Cette étude, qui est une collaboration entre Sorbonne Université, IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEn), l’Université d’Etat d’Haïti (UEH), URGéo, et le Bureau des Mines et de l’Energie d’Haïti (BME), participe à l'accroissement des connaissances géologiques de la zone méridionale d'Haïti. Elle comporte trois objectifs principaux ; 1) identifier le nombre et la chronologie des phases de déformation de la péninsule sud d'Haïti, leur impact régional, leur style structural, et l'évolution des paléo-contraintes, 2) contraindre l'histoire de la déformation de la zone frontale de la chaîne trans-haïtienne (la chaîne des Matheux), et (3) caractériser l'interaction entre les fluides et la déformation en examinant la circulation des paléo‐fluides associée à la déformation dans les deux régions. Pour atteindre ces objectifs, cette étude intègre des données géologiques et des observations à terre sur Haïti acquises lors de deux campagnes de terrain en 2015 et 2017. Les données stratigraphiques et structurales sont combinées avec l’étude des images satellitaires pour établir quatre cartes géologiques à petite échelle (~1:50.000) et des coupes transversales, qui permettent de mieux comprendre et de contraindre la déformation dans la région. Des échantillons de roches et de veines sont analysés à l'aide d'une série de techniques analytiques, incluant la microscopie optique, la cathodoluminescence, la micro‐thermométrie des inclusions fluides et la spectroscopie Raman sur ces inclusions, la diffraction des rayons X, la géochimie des isotopes stables, et la géochimie sur roche totale. L'ensemble des analyses est intégré afin de documenter et comprendre la circulation des paléo‐fluides. Les résultats de cette étude indiquent que la Péninsule du Sud s’est développée sur une large zone d’inversion bordée par des chevauchements impliquant le socle, tandis que la déformation dans la Chaîne des Matheux est principalement à l’origine d'une tectonique contrôlée par des niveaux de décollement peu profonds, suivie tardivement par des inversions de socle. L'histoire de déformation de la Péninsule du Sud est polyphasée et caractérisée par trois phases tectoniques majeures; 1) Compression et soulèvement durant le Maastrichtien et le Paléocène inférieur, 2) compression et soulèvement du Miocène inférieur qui affectaient principalement la partie sud‐ ouest de la Péninsule du Sud, et 3) déformation transpressive du Miocène supérieur à l’actuel. Cette dernière phase est caractérisée par une concentration progressive d'activité décrochante le long de l'EPGFZ, qui enregistre un maximum de 15 km de déplacement sénestre depuis la fin du Messinien [...]