A Global Plate Model Including Lithospheric Deformation Along Major Rifts and Orogens Since the Triassic

Abstract

Global deep‐time plate motion models have traditionally followed a classical rigid plate approach, even though plate deformation is known to be significant. Here we present a global Mesozoic–Cenozoic deforming plate motion model that captures the progressive extension of all continental margins since the initiation of rifting within Pangea at ~240 Ma. The model also includes major failed continental rifts and compressional deformation along collision zones. The outlines and timing of regional deformation episodes are reconstructed from a wealth of published regional tectonic models and associated geological and geophysical data. We reconstruct absolute plate motions in a mantle reference frame with a joint global inversion using hot spot tracks for the last 80 million years and minimizing global trench migration velocities and net lithospheric rotation. In our optimized model, net rotation is consistently below 0.2°/Myr, and trench migration scatter is substantially reduced. Distributed plate deformation reaches a Mesozoic peak of 30 × 106 km2 in the Late Jurassic (~160–155 Ma), driven by a vast network of rift systems. After a mid‐Cretaceous drop in deformation, it reaches a high of 48 x 106 km2 in the Late Eocene (~35 Ma), driven by the progressive growth of plate collisions and the formation of new rift systems. About a third of the continental crustal area has been deformed since 240 Ma, partitioned roughly into 65% extension and 35% compression. This community plate model provides a framework for building detailed regional deforming plate networks and form a constraint for models of basin evolution and the plate‐mantle system.

Biogeographical history of golden orbweavers: Chronology of a global conquest

“…Note that a combination of two letters indicates a distribution in both areas. The left panel shows the positions of continents from the time of nephilid origin until the present day, following Muller et al (2019). Clade numbers match those in Table 2 and in the text [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]…”

Structural Heterogeneity in Source Zones of the 2018 Anchorage Intraslab Earthquake and the 1964 Alaska Megathrust Earthquake

“…The arrows in (a) show the motion direction of the Pacific plate with respect to the North American plate (NUVEL‐1A; DeMets et al, ), and the numbers beside the arrows denote the rates of plate motions (mm/year). The seafloor age is from Müller et al (), whose scale is shown atop (a). The thin blue dashed lines in (a) denote depth contours of the subducting Pacific slab (Gou, Zhao, et al, ).…”

Tectonic Reconstruction of the Ellice Basin

“…Bathymetric data were processed and gridded using MB-System tools (Caress & Chayes, 1995) in conjunction with the Generic Mapping Tools (Wessel et al, 2013). Additional bathymetric data in the study region were obtained through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Centers for Environmental Information Bathymetric Data Viewer (Müller et al, 2019) slightly modified and shaded by predicted bathymetry (Sandwell et al, 2014), with M series (Nakanishi et al, 1992) and younger (Cande et al, 1989) isochrons. Dashed black line represents Tongereva triple junction trace (Viso et al, 2005).…”