The Experts below are selected from a list of 261 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
R. Dietmar Müller - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Sea level fluctuations driven by changes in global Ocean Basin volume following supercontinent break-up
Earth-Science Reviews, 2020Co-Authors: Nicky M. Wright, Maria Seton, Simon Williams, Joanne M. Whittaker, R. Dietmar MüllerAbstract:Abstract Long-term variations in eustatic sea level in an ice-free world, which existed through most of the Mesozoic and early Cenozoic eras, are partly driven by changes in the volume of Ocean Basins. Previous studies have determined Ocean Basin volume changes from plate tectonic reconstructions since the Mesozoic; however, these studies have not considered a number of important elements that contribute to Ocean Basin volume, such as regional differences in sedimentation, or uncertainties within the plate tectonic model itself, such as spreading asymmetries and the incomplete representation of back-arc Basins in the Mesozoic. Additionally, studies on long-term changes in sea level related to the extension and rifting of passive margins have not been performed on a global-scale and likely significantly underestimated the influence of this process. In order to improve reconstructions of sea level on geologic time scales and assess the uncertainty in deriving the volume of Ocean Basins based on a global plate kinematic model, we investigate the influence of back-arc Basins, spreading asymmetry, large igneous provinces (LIPs), sediment thickness, and passive margins on Ocean Basin volume since 200 Ma. We find that less-constrained plate tectonic elements, such as the presence of back-arc Basins or spreading asymmetry, may contribute up to ~120 m or ~150 m to sea level respectively. Changes in the sea level related to sedimentation and LIPs are respectively ~75–165 m and ~45 m. Changes in sea level associated with passive margin formation are almost negligible at present day, though were much larger in the Cretaceous, and the assumed sedimentation style strongly influences the rate and magnitude of sea-level change. We incorporate predictions for these components during times where Ocean Basins are predominantly synthetic reconstructions and find that sea level driven by fluctuating Ocean Basin volume has changed by ~200 m since the Jurassic, which is comparable to previous estimates. Our revised estimates will need to be combined with other processes driving long-term sea-level change, including mantle convection-driven dynamic topography and glacio-eustasy for constructing a complete eustatic sea-level curve. Understanding and quantifying the uncertainties in the volume of Ocean Basins has implications for modelling subduction flux, the Oceanic carbon cycle, and heatflow, and is important for exploring Earth's evolutionary cycles, especially during times in the geologic past where much of the Ocean Basin history has been lost.
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Continent-Ocean Interactions Within East Asian Marginal Seas - Reconstructing the lost eastern Tethys Ocean Basin: Convergence history of the SE Asian margin and marine gateways
Geophysical monograph, 2013Co-Authors: Christian Heine, R. Dietmar Müller, Carmen GainaAbstract:Plate tectonic reconstructions for the late Mesozoic-Cenozoic evolution of the eastern Tethyan Ocean Basin, separating eastern Gondwanaland from Proto- Southeast Asia, are usually based on geological data gathered from the different tectonic blocks accreted to Southeast Asia. However, this approach only provides few constraints on the reconstruction of the eastern Tethys Ocean and the drift path of various terranes. We have used marine magnetic anomalies in the Argo and Gascoyne Abyssal Plains off the Australian Northwest Shelf, jointly with published geological data, to reconstruct the seafloor spreading history and plate tectonic evolution of the eastern Tethys and Proto-Indian Ocean Basins for the time between 160 Ma and the present. Based on the assumption of symmetrical seafloor spreading and a hotspot-track-based plate reference frame, we have created a relative and absolute plate motion model and a series of Oceanic paleo-age grids that show the evolution of Tethyan mid-Ocean ridges and the convergence history along the southeast Asian margin through time. A thermal boundary layer model for Oceanic lithosphere is used to compute approximate paleo-depths to Oceanic basement to predict the opening and closing of Oceanic gateways. The proposed model not only provides improved boundary conditions for paleoclimate reconstructions and modelling of Oceanic currents through time, but also for understanding stress changes in the overriding plate and the formation of new accretionary crust along the Southeast Asian margin, driven by changing subduction parameters like hinge rollback and slab dip.
Maria Seton - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Sea level fluctuations driven by changes in global Ocean Basin volume following supercontinent break-up
Earth-Science Reviews, 2020Co-Authors: Nicky M. Wright, Maria Seton, Simon Williams, Joanne M. Whittaker, R. Dietmar MüllerAbstract:Abstract Long-term variations in eustatic sea level in an ice-free world, which existed through most of the Mesozoic and early Cenozoic eras, are partly driven by changes in the volume of Ocean Basins. Previous studies have determined Ocean Basin volume changes from plate tectonic reconstructions since the Mesozoic; however, these studies have not considered a number of important elements that contribute to Ocean Basin volume, such as regional differences in sedimentation, or uncertainties within the plate tectonic model itself, such as spreading asymmetries and the incomplete representation of back-arc Basins in the Mesozoic. Additionally, studies on long-term changes in sea level related to the extension and rifting of passive margins have not been performed on a global-scale and likely significantly underestimated the influence of this process. In order to improve reconstructions of sea level on geologic time scales and assess the uncertainty in deriving the volume of Ocean Basins based on a global plate kinematic model, we investigate the influence of back-arc Basins, spreading asymmetry, large igneous provinces (LIPs), sediment thickness, and passive margins on Ocean Basin volume since 200 Ma. We find that less-constrained plate tectonic elements, such as the presence of back-arc Basins or spreading asymmetry, may contribute up to ~120 m or ~150 m to sea level respectively. Changes in the sea level related to sedimentation and LIPs are respectively ~75–165 m and ~45 m. Changes in sea level associated with passive margin formation are almost negligible at present day, though were much larger in the Cretaceous, and the assumed sedimentation style strongly influences the rate and magnitude of sea-level change. We incorporate predictions for these components during times where Ocean Basins are predominantly synthetic reconstructions and find that sea level driven by fluctuating Ocean Basin volume has changed by ~200 m since the Jurassic, which is comparable to previous estimates. Our revised estimates will need to be combined with other processes driving long-term sea-level change, including mantle convection-driven dynamic topography and glacio-eustasy for constructing a complete eustatic sea-level curve. Understanding and quantifying the uncertainties in the volume of Ocean Basins has implications for modelling subduction flux, the Oceanic carbon cycle, and heatflow, and is important for exploring Earth's evolutionary cycles, especially during times in the geologic past where much of the Ocean Basin history has been lost.
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the late cretaceous to recent tectonic history of the pacific Ocean Basin
Earth-Science Reviews, 2016Co-Authors: Nicky M. Wright, Maria Seton, Simon Williams, Dietmar R MullerAbstract:Abstract A vast Ocean Basin has spanned the region between the Americas, Asia and Australasia for well over 100 Myr, represented today by the Pacific Ocean . Its evolution includes a number of plate fragmentation and plate capture events, such as the formation of the Vancouver, Nazca, and Cocos plates from the break-up of the Farallon plate, and the incorporation of the Bellingshausen, Kula, and Aluk (Phoenix) plates, which have been studied individually, but never been synthesised into one coherent model of Ocean Basin evolution. Previous regional tectonic models of the Pacific typically restrict their scope to either the North or South Pacific , and global kinematic models fail to incorporate some of the complexities in the Pacific plate evolution (e.g. the independent motion of the Bellingshausen and Aluk plates), thereby limiting their usefulness for understanding tectonic events and processes occurring in the Pacific Ocean perimeter. We derive relative plate motions (with 95% uncertainties) for the Pacific –Farallon/Vancouver, Kula– Pacific , Bellingshausen– Pacific , and early Pacific –West Antarctic spreading systems, based on recent data including marine gravity anomalies, well-constrained fracture zone traces and a large compilation of magnetic anomaly identifications. We find our well-constrained relative plate motions result in a good match to the fracture zone traces and magnetic anomaly identifications in both the North and South Pacific . In conjunction with recently published and well-constrained relative plate motions for other Pacific spreading systems (e.g. Aluk–West Antarctic, Pacific-Cocos, recent Pacific –West Antarctic spreading), we explore variations in the age of the Oceanic crust, seafloor spreading rates and crustal accretion and find considerable refinements have been made in the central and southern Pacific . Asymmetries in crustal accretion within the overall Pacific Basin (where both flanks of the spreading system are preserved) have typically deviated less than 5% from symmetry, and large variations in crustal accretion along the southern East Pacific Rise (i.e. Pacific –Nazca/Farallon spreading) appear to be unique to this spreading corridor. Through a relative plate motion circuit, we explore the implied convergence history along the North and South America s, where we find that the inclusion of small tectonic plate fragments such as the Aluk plate are critical for reconciling the history of convergence with onshore geological evidence.
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global continental and Ocean Basin reconstructions since 200 ma
Earth-Science Reviews, 2012Co-Authors: Maria Seton, Carmen Gaina, R D Muller, Sabin Zahirovic, Trond H Torsvik, Grace E Shephard, A Talsma, Michael Gurnis, Mark Turner, Stefan MausAbstract:Global plate motion models provide a spatial and temporal framework for geological data and have been effective tools for exploring processes occurring at the earth's surface. However, published models either have insufficient temporal coverage or fail to treat tectonic plates in a self-consistent manner. They usually consider the motions of selected features attached to tectonic plates, such as continents, but generally do not explicitly account for the continuous evolution of plate boundaries through time. In order to explore the coupling between the surface and mantle, plate models are required that extend over at least a few hundred million years and treat plates as dynamic features with dynamically evolving plate boundaries. We have constructed a new type of global plate motion model consisting of a set of continuously-closing topological plate polygons with associated plate boundaries and plate velocities since the break-up of the supercontinent Pangea. Our model is underpinned by plate motions derived from reconstructing the seafloor-spreading history of the Ocean Basins and motions of the continents and utilizes a hybrid absolute reference frame, based on a moving hotspot model for the last 100 Ma, and a true-polar wander corrected paleomagnetic model for 200 to 100 Ma. Detailed regional geological and geophysical observations constrain plate boundary inception or cessation, and time-dependent geometry. Although our plate model is primarily designed as a reference model for a new generation of geodynamic studies by providing the surface boundary conditions for the deep earth, it is also useful for studies in disparate fields when a framework is needed for analyzing and interpreting spatio-temporal data.
Dietmar R Muller - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the late cretaceous to recent tectonic history of the pacific Ocean Basin
Earth-Science Reviews, 2016Co-Authors: Nicky M. Wright, Maria Seton, Simon Williams, Dietmar R MullerAbstract:Abstract A vast Ocean Basin has spanned the region between the Americas, Asia and Australasia for well over 100 Myr, represented today by the Pacific Ocean . Its evolution includes a number of plate fragmentation and plate capture events, such as the formation of the Vancouver, Nazca, and Cocos plates from the break-up of the Farallon plate, and the incorporation of the Bellingshausen, Kula, and Aluk (Phoenix) plates, which have been studied individually, but never been synthesised into one coherent model of Ocean Basin evolution. Previous regional tectonic models of the Pacific typically restrict their scope to either the North or South Pacific , and global kinematic models fail to incorporate some of the complexities in the Pacific plate evolution (e.g. the independent motion of the Bellingshausen and Aluk plates), thereby limiting their usefulness for understanding tectonic events and processes occurring in the Pacific Ocean perimeter. We derive relative plate motions (with 95% uncertainties) for the Pacific –Farallon/Vancouver, Kula– Pacific , Bellingshausen– Pacific , and early Pacific –West Antarctic spreading systems, based on recent data including marine gravity anomalies, well-constrained fracture zone traces and a large compilation of magnetic anomaly identifications. We find our well-constrained relative plate motions result in a good match to the fracture zone traces and magnetic anomaly identifications in both the North and South Pacific . In conjunction with recently published and well-constrained relative plate motions for other Pacific spreading systems (e.g. Aluk–West Antarctic, Pacific-Cocos, recent Pacific –West Antarctic spreading), we explore variations in the age of the Oceanic crust, seafloor spreading rates and crustal accretion and find considerable refinements have been made in the central and southern Pacific . Asymmetries in crustal accretion within the overall Pacific Basin (where both flanks of the spreading system are preserved) have typically deviated less than 5% from symmetry, and large variations in crustal accretion along the southern East Pacific Rise (i.e. Pacific –Nazca/Farallon spreading) appear to be unique to this spreading corridor. Through a relative plate motion circuit, we explore the implied convergence history along the North and South America s, where we find that the inclusion of small tectonic plate fragments such as the Aluk plate are critical for reconciling the history of convergence with onshore geological evidence.
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reconstructing the lost eastern tethys Ocean Basin convergence history of the se asian margin and marine gateways
Geophysical monograph, 2013Co-Authors: Christian Heine, Dietmar R Muller, Carmen GainaAbstract:Plate tectonic reconstructions for the late Mesozoic-Cenozoic evolution of the eastern Tethyan Ocean Basin, separating eastern Gondwanaland from Proto- Southeast Asia, are usually based on geological data gathered from the different tectonic blocks accreted to Southeast Asia. However, this approach only provides few constraints on the reconstruction of the eastern Tethys Ocean and the drift path of various terranes. We have used marine magnetic anomalies in the Argo and Gascoyne Abyssal Plains off the Australian Northwest Shelf, jointly with published geological data, to reconstruct the seafloor spreading history and plate tectonic evolution of the eastern Tethys and Proto-Indian Ocean Basins for the time between 160 Ma and the present. Based on the assumption of symmetrical seafloor spreading and a hotspot-track-based plate reference frame, we have created a relative and absolute plate motion model and a series of Oceanic paleo-age grids that show the evolution of Tethyan mid-Ocean ridges and the convergence history along the southeast Asian margin through time. A thermal boundary layer model for Oceanic lithosphere is used to compute approximate paleo-depths to Oceanic basement to predict the opening and closing of Oceanic gateways. The proposed model not only provides improved boundary conditions for paleoclimate reconstructions and modelling of Oceanic currents through time, but also for understanding stress changes in the overriding plate and the formation of new accretionary crust along the Southeast Asian margin, driven by changing subduction parameters like hinge rollback and slab dip.
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long term sea level fluctuations driven by Ocean Basin dynamics
Science, 2008Co-Authors: Dietmar R Muller, Carmen Gaina, M Sdrolias, Bernhard Steinberger, Christian HeineAbstract:Earth9s long-term sea-level history is characterized by widespread continental flooding in the Cretaceous period (∼145 to 65 million years ago), followed by gradual regression of inland seas. However, published estimates of the Late Cretaceous sea-level high differ by half an order of magnitude, from ∼40 to ∼250 meters above the present level. The low estimate is based on the stratigraphy of the New Jersey margin. By assimilating marine geophysical data into reconstructions of ancient Ocean Basins, we model a Late Cretaceous sea level that is 170 (85 to 270) meters higher than it is today. We use a mantle convection model to suggest that New Jersey subsided by 105 to 180 meters in the past 70 million years because of North America9s westward passage over the subducted Farallon plate. This mechanism reconciles New Jersey margin–based sea-level estimates with Ocean Basin reconstructions.
Nicky M. Wright - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Sea level fluctuations driven by changes in global Ocean Basin volume following supercontinent break-up
Earth-Science Reviews, 2020Co-Authors: Nicky M. Wright, Maria Seton, Simon Williams, Joanne M. Whittaker, R. Dietmar MüllerAbstract:Abstract Long-term variations in eustatic sea level in an ice-free world, which existed through most of the Mesozoic and early Cenozoic eras, are partly driven by changes in the volume of Ocean Basins. Previous studies have determined Ocean Basin volume changes from plate tectonic reconstructions since the Mesozoic; however, these studies have not considered a number of important elements that contribute to Ocean Basin volume, such as regional differences in sedimentation, or uncertainties within the plate tectonic model itself, such as spreading asymmetries and the incomplete representation of back-arc Basins in the Mesozoic. Additionally, studies on long-term changes in sea level related to the extension and rifting of passive margins have not been performed on a global-scale and likely significantly underestimated the influence of this process. In order to improve reconstructions of sea level on geologic time scales and assess the uncertainty in deriving the volume of Ocean Basins based on a global plate kinematic model, we investigate the influence of back-arc Basins, spreading asymmetry, large igneous provinces (LIPs), sediment thickness, and passive margins on Ocean Basin volume since 200 Ma. We find that less-constrained plate tectonic elements, such as the presence of back-arc Basins or spreading asymmetry, may contribute up to ~120 m or ~150 m to sea level respectively. Changes in the sea level related to sedimentation and LIPs are respectively ~75–165 m and ~45 m. Changes in sea level associated with passive margin formation are almost negligible at present day, though were much larger in the Cretaceous, and the assumed sedimentation style strongly influences the rate and magnitude of sea-level change. We incorporate predictions for these components during times where Ocean Basins are predominantly synthetic reconstructions and find that sea level driven by fluctuating Ocean Basin volume has changed by ~200 m since the Jurassic, which is comparable to previous estimates. Our revised estimates will need to be combined with other processes driving long-term sea-level change, including mantle convection-driven dynamic topography and glacio-eustasy for constructing a complete eustatic sea-level curve. Understanding and quantifying the uncertainties in the volume of Ocean Basins has implications for modelling subduction flux, the Oceanic carbon cycle, and heatflow, and is important for exploring Earth's evolutionary cycles, especially during times in the geologic past where much of the Ocean Basin history has been lost.
-
the late cretaceous to recent tectonic history of the pacific Ocean Basin
Earth-Science Reviews, 2016Co-Authors: Nicky M. Wright, Maria Seton, Simon Williams, Dietmar R MullerAbstract:Abstract A vast Ocean Basin has spanned the region between the Americas, Asia and Australasia for well over 100 Myr, represented today by the Pacific Ocean . Its evolution includes a number of plate fragmentation and plate capture events, such as the formation of the Vancouver, Nazca, and Cocos plates from the break-up of the Farallon plate, and the incorporation of the Bellingshausen, Kula, and Aluk (Phoenix) plates, which have been studied individually, but never been synthesised into one coherent model of Ocean Basin evolution. Previous regional tectonic models of the Pacific typically restrict their scope to either the North or South Pacific , and global kinematic models fail to incorporate some of the complexities in the Pacific plate evolution (e.g. the independent motion of the Bellingshausen and Aluk plates), thereby limiting their usefulness for understanding tectonic events and processes occurring in the Pacific Ocean perimeter. We derive relative plate motions (with 95% uncertainties) for the Pacific –Farallon/Vancouver, Kula– Pacific , Bellingshausen– Pacific , and early Pacific –West Antarctic spreading systems, based on recent data including marine gravity anomalies, well-constrained fracture zone traces and a large compilation of magnetic anomaly identifications. We find our well-constrained relative plate motions result in a good match to the fracture zone traces and magnetic anomaly identifications in both the North and South Pacific . In conjunction with recently published and well-constrained relative plate motions for other Pacific spreading systems (e.g. Aluk–West Antarctic, Pacific-Cocos, recent Pacific –West Antarctic spreading), we explore variations in the age of the Oceanic crust, seafloor spreading rates and crustal accretion and find considerable refinements have been made in the central and southern Pacific . Asymmetries in crustal accretion within the overall Pacific Basin (where both flanks of the spreading system are preserved) have typically deviated less than 5% from symmetry, and large variations in crustal accretion along the southern East Pacific Rise (i.e. Pacific –Nazca/Farallon spreading) appear to be unique to this spreading corridor. Through a relative plate motion circuit, we explore the implied convergence history along the North and South America s, where we find that the inclusion of small tectonic plate fragments such as the Aluk plate are critical for reconciling the history of convergence with onshore geological evidence.
Carmen Gaina - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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reconstructing the lost eastern tethys Ocean Basin convergence history of the se asian margin and marine gateways
Geophysical monograph, 2013Co-Authors: Christian Heine, Dietmar R Muller, Carmen GainaAbstract:Plate tectonic reconstructions for the late Mesozoic-Cenozoic evolution of the eastern Tethyan Ocean Basin, separating eastern Gondwanaland from Proto- Southeast Asia, are usually based on geological data gathered from the different tectonic blocks accreted to Southeast Asia. However, this approach only provides few constraints on the reconstruction of the eastern Tethys Ocean and the drift path of various terranes. We have used marine magnetic anomalies in the Argo and Gascoyne Abyssal Plains off the Australian Northwest Shelf, jointly with published geological data, to reconstruct the seafloor spreading history and plate tectonic evolution of the eastern Tethys and Proto-Indian Ocean Basins for the time between 160 Ma and the present. Based on the assumption of symmetrical seafloor spreading and a hotspot-track-based plate reference frame, we have created a relative and absolute plate motion model and a series of Oceanic paleo-age grids that show the evolution of Tethyan mid-Ocean ridges and the convergence history along the southeast Asian margin through time. A thermal boundary layer model for Oceanic lithosphere is used to compute approximate paleo-depths to Oceanic basement to predict the opening and closing of Oceanic gateways. The proposed model not only provides improved boundary conditions for paleoclimate reconstructions and modelling of Oceanic currents through time, but also for understanding stress changes in the overriding plate and the formation of new accretionary crust along the Southeast Asian margin, driven by changing subduction parameters like hinge rollback and slab dip.
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Continent-Ocean Interactions Within East Asian Marginal Seas - Reconstructing the lost eastern Tethys Ocean Basin: Convergence history of the SE Asian margin and marine gateways
Geophysical monograph, 2013Co-Authors: Christian Heine, R. Dietmar Müller, Carmen GainaAbstract:Plate tectonic reconstructions for the late Mesozoic-Cenozoic evolution of the eastern Tethyan Ocean Basin, separating eastern Gondwanaland from Proto- Southeast Asia, are usually based on geological data gathered from the different tectonic blocks accreted to Southeast Asia. However, this approach only provides few constraints on the reconstruction of the eastern Tethys Ocean and the drift path of various terranes. We have used marine magnetic anomalies in the Argo and Gascoyne Abyssal Plains off the Australian Northwest Shelf, jointly with published geological data, to reconstruct the seafloor spreading history and plate tectonic evolution of the eastern Tethys and Proto-Indian Ocean Basins for the time between 160 Ma and the present. Based on the assumption of symmetrical seafloor spreading and a hotspot-track-based plate reference frame, we have created a relative and absolute plate motion model and a series of Oceanic paleo-age grids that show the evolution of Tethyan mid-Ocean ridges and the convergence history along the southeast Asian margin through time. A thermal boundary layer model for Oceanic lithosphere is used to compute approximate paleo-depths to Oceanic basement to predict the opening and closing of Oceanic gateways. The proposed model not only provides improved boundary conditions for paleoclimate reconstructions and modelling of Oceanic currents through time, but also for understanding stress changes in the overriding plate and the formation of new accretionary crust along the Southeast Asian margin, driven by changing subduction parameters like hinge rollback and slab dip.
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global continental and Ocean Basin reconstructions since 200 ma
Earth-Science Reviews, 2012Co-Authors: Maria Seton, Carmen Gaina, R D Muller, Sabin Zahirovic, Trond H Torsvik, Grace E Shephard, A Talsma, Michael Gurnis, Mark Turner, Stefan MausAbstract:Global plate motion models provide a spatial and temporal framework for geological data and have been effective tools for exploring processes occurring at the earth's surface. However, published models either have insufficient temporal coverage or fail to treat tectonic plates in a self-consistent manner. They usually consider the motions of selected features attached to tectonic plates, such as continents, but generally do not explicitly account for the continuous evolution of plate boundaries through time. In order to explore the coupling between the surface and mantle, plate models are required that extend over at least a few hundred million years and treat plates as dynamic features with dynamically evolving plate boundaries. We have constructed a new type of global plate motion model consisting of a set of continuously-closing topological plate polygons with associated plate boundaries and plate velocities since the break-up of the supercontinent Pangea. Our model is underpinned by plate motions derived from reconstructing the seafloor-spreading history of the Ocean Basins and motions of the continents and utilizes a hybrid absolute reference frame, based on a moving hotspot model for the last 100 Ma, and a true-polar wander corrected paleomagnetic model for 200 to 100 Ma. Detailed regional geological and geophysical observations constrain plate boundary inception or cessation, and time-dependent geometry. Although our plate model is primarily designed as a reference model for a new generation of geodynamic studies by providing the surface boundary conditions for the deep earth, it is also useful for studies in disparate fields when a framework is needed for analyzing and interpreting spatio-temporal data.
-
long term sea level fluctuations driven by Ocean Basin dynamics
Science, 2008Co-Authors: Dietmar R Muller, Carmen Gaina, M Sdrolias, Bernhard Steinberger, Christian HeineAbstract:Earth9s long-term sea-level history is characterized by widespread continental flooding in the Cretaceous period (∼145 to 65 million years ago), followed by gradual regression of inland seas. However, published estimates of the Late Cretaceous sea-level high differ by half an order of magnitude, from ∼40 to ∼250 meters above the present level. The low estimate is based on the stratigraphy of the New Jersey margin. By assimilating marine geophysical data into reconstructions of ancient Ocean Basins, we model a Late Cretaceous sea level that is 170 (85 to 270) meters higher than it is today. We use a mantle convection model to suggest that New Jersey subsided by 105 to 180 meters in the past 70 million years because of North America9s westward passage over the subducted Farallon plate. This mechanism reconciles New Jersey margin–based sea-level estimates with Ocean Basin reconstructions.