Coevolution of craton margins and interiors during continental break-up.

Many cratonic continental fragments dispersed during the rifting and break-up of Gondwana are bound by steep topographic landforms known as 'great escarpments'1-4, which rim elevated plateaus in the craton interior5,6. In terms of formation, escarpments and plateaus are traditionally considered distinct owing to their spatial separation, occasionally spanning more than a thousand kilometres. Here we integrate geological observations, statistical analysis, geodynamic simulations and landscape-evolution models to develop a physical model that mechanistically links both phenomena to continental rifting. Escarpments primarily initiate at rift-border faults and slowly retreat at about 1 km Myr-1 through headward erosion. Simultaneously, rifting generates convective instabilities in the mantle7-10 that migrate cratonward at a faster rate of about 15-20 km Myr-1 along the lithospheric root, progressively removing cratonic keels11, driving isostatic uplift of craton interiors and forming a stable, elevated plateau. This process forces a synchronized wave of denudation, documented in thermochronology studies, which persists for tens of millions of years and migrates across the craton at a comparable or slower pace. We interpret the observed sequence of rifting, escarpment formation and exhumation of craton interiors as an evolving record of geodynamic mantle processes tied to continental break-up, upending the prevailing notion of cratons as geologically stable terrains.

Understanding the phenomenological experiences of schema therapy for those with an eating disorder.

Schema therapy expands traditional cognitive-behavioral models, weakening early maladaptive schemas and schema modes while strengthening adaptive modes. This study investigated participant experiences of schema therapy for eating disorders, focusing on schema modes and the eating disorder voice, how these maintained disordered eating, and how therapy helped. Semistructured online video interviews with clients receiving schema therapy for eating disorders (N=10) were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Four group experiential themes were developed: (1) adverse experiences, typically in childhood and adolescence, (2) interpersonal relationships, especially with primary caregivers and the benefits of a good therapeutic relationship, (3) self-awareness of schema modes and the eating disorder voice and their impact on participants' eating disorders, and (4) recovery using schema concepts, including finding one's inner child, better self-management, and ambivalence about recovering. Overall, schema therapy was perceived as beneficial, specifically regarding participants' awareness of their inner child, development of their eating disorder, and awareness of their eating disorder voice. Participants expressed a growing positive sense of agency, connecting with their inner child's needs and developing a connection to their healthy adult mode. They also felt that schema therapy had equipped them with the tools to strengthen their healthy adult mode, while simultaneously weakening their maladaptive modes.