Evolution of the oceanic and continental crust during Neo-Proterozoic and Phanerozoic

Abstract

In present contribution palaeogeographical maps for the time interval 0.6 Ga BP to present are analyzed in terms of (a) the ratio between continental to oceanic crust areas in order to estimate the speed of continental growth, and (b) the surface motion of continental plates under the influence of global forces of tidal friction and Eötvös force ("pole-fleeing"). It is concluded that the area of the continents during the Phanerozoic was growing and it exhibited a rate ~0.5 km 3 /yr. It is also found that beside the westward oriented tidal frictional forces the Eötvös force can play also a role in tectonical processes. It is shown that the continental plates on average tend to find a position close to the equator during the whole investigated 600 Ma time interval.

Impact of tidal friction on the motion of lithospheric plates and earthquake activity

“…These maps show the location of continents and the linear components of plate tectonics. The method of digitizing palaeogeographic maps and statistical verification of the reliability of the content of the map series has been described in Varga et al, 2012. To show the influence of the Eötvös force on the time-dependent location of continents the 20 palaeogeographical maps were divided into 30° latitude bands and, on this basis, the relative global continental coverage (%) was calculated (Varga et al, 2014;Figure 2).…”

“…To show the influence of the Eötvös force on the time‐dependent location of continents the 20 palaeogeographical maps were divided into 30° latitude bands and, on this basis, the relative global continental coverage (%) was calculated (Varga et al, 2014; Figure 2). During the Phanerozoic Eon, the continents were positioned near the equator.…”