Apennines mystery solved: delamination explains geological paradox

The 1200-km Apennine range had long been a geodynamic puzzle — the Earth's crust simultaneously stretches inside it and compresses at its edges. A geology team led by Stefano Taviani of the University of Florence showed in Communications Earth & Environment that delamination causes it — the lower lithosphere separates from the upper layer and sinks into Earth's mantle.