David Allison

GY305
Physics of Tectonic Plate Motions
Global Positioning Systems
Earth’s Magnetic Field
Radiometric Decay & Age Determinations
Uplift Rates
Earth’s Gravity Field
Earth’s Heat Flow
Kinematic Physics of Deformation
Tectonic Plates
 2 Criteria
 Composition (i.e. mineralogy and geochemistry)
 Seismic (mechanical behavior)
 Depth Thick Layer
7-50km Basalt (3.0) Diorite (2.7)
Crust

650km Upper mantle Peridotite (3.3)

700km

2200km Lower mantle Garnet Lherzolite (3.5-5.5)

2900km

2200km Outer core Ni-Fe-S Alloy (10-12)

5100km
1300km Inner core Ni-Fe Alloy (13)
6400km
 Depth Thick Layer
70-150km Brittle
Lithosphere

550km Asthenosphere Ductile

700km

2200km Mesosphere Brittle

2900km

2200km Outer core Liquid (very ductile)

5100km
1300km Inner core Brittle
6400km
Primary plates
These seven plates comprise the bulk of the Earth’s
Lithosphere:
Pacific Ocean.
African Plate
Antarctic Plate
Eurasian Plate
Indo-Australian Plate
North American Plate
Pacific Plate
South American Plate
• Vectors are proportional to plate spreading velocity
• Note that the Pacific is spreading much faster than the Atlantic
GPS-determined Absolute Plate Motion Rates
• Convection Cells in the Mantle
• Note that “Slab Pull” is due to older denser ocean
lithosphere
Seismic Activity is confined mainly
to plate boundaries
Paleomagnetic “stripes”
generated by sea floor
spreading
Phanerozoic Plate Motions
 Plate Motion on the Earth Spheroid

The 3 possible plate boundary configurations

Divergent Convergent Transform

 Plate Motion on the Earth Spheroid

The 6 possible dextral transform configurations

2 Plates on a Flat Earth
A 3-Plate Configuration

• Plate velocity vectors are additive 1st order

tensors
 A 3-Plate Circuit Diagram

• Start with any plate

• Calculate relative velocity in a specific direction (C or CC)
• Continue to calculate velocity in C or CC direction

BVC
Plate Motion on the Sphere of the Earth
• 2 plates always move relative to each other relative to a pole of rotation
• Transform boundaries are the “small circles” of the plate motion
• The angular velocity (w) is constant but the linear velocity of relative plate
motion increases from 0 at pole to a max. at 90 degrees to the pole of
rotation
• Transform boundaries are
small circle paths relative to
rotation pole
• On a Mercator projection the
transforms are parallel to
latitude lines
• Stereographic Projections may be used to track plate motions
relative to rotation pole
Implications of Plate Boundary
Interactions
 Absolute Plate Motions

• Hot Spots: assumed to have constant position in

asthenosphere

• GPS: Satellite geometry calculates absolute latitude-

longitude position to within millimeters
Emperor Seamounts & Hawaiian Islands