Tectonic microplates in a wax model of sea-floor spreading

Katz, Richard F.; Ragnarsson, Rolf; Bodenschatz, Eberhard

doi:10.1088/1367-2630/7/1/037

Cited by 36 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Note that this image has been rotated counterclockwise and reflected across they-axis so that the orientation and sense of rotation of the microplate is consistent with panels (a) and (b).The figure is from Ref. [1] observations of their kinematic model and found excellent agree ment, proving a connection between the observed morphology of microplates and their tectonic evolution. In Figure 1 we show that wax microplates obey the same relation between spreading rate, growth rate and spiral pseudofault geometry as their oceanic cousins.…”

supporting

confidence: 73%

“…We have shown [ 1 ] that a kinematic model of microplate evolution proposed and applied to the Easter microplate by Schouten et al [2] can explain the data. The Schouten model states that the rigid motion of a microplate is like that of a ball rotating between two parallel, moving plates.…”

Section: Microplate Model Confirmedmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…In a paper recently published in the New Journal of Physics [ 1 ] we describe a wax analog model that simulates the divergence of two brittle lithospheric plates above a ductile mantle, exactly as it occurs beneath the sea at a mid-ocean ridge over millions of years (the lithosphere is the mechanical boundary layer at the surface of the Earth where the strength of rock increases dramatically). This work breaks new ground in quantifying the kinematic evolution of a curious tectonic feature of mid-ocean ridges, the microplate.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Left column) Images of the microplate. [Right column) Images identical to those in the left column but with pseudofault pairs and spreading ridge traces overlayed in red.The inner pseudofaults were generated using equations described in the appendix of [1]. Ridge traces were drawn by hand.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Green arrows show the direction of motion of the main plates and the direction of microplate rotation.The figure is from Ref. [1] europhysics news S Before each run the wax is brought to temperature equilibrium at which a layer of solid wax is present on the surface. Skimmers embedded in the solid wax are attached to a threaded rod that is driven by a micro-stepping motor.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Taking wax for a spin: microplates in an analog model of plate tectonics

Katz¹,

Bodenschatz

2005

Europhysics News

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W atching the divergence of tectonic plates at a mid-ocean ridge is about as riveting as watching the grass grow; if you had the patience to stare for a year straight, you'd only see move ment of a few centimeters. And, incidentally, with about four kilometers of water between the sea-floor and the closest ship, you'd have to be clever to figure out just how to get a view. Now consider the excitement of watching millions of years of geologic time unfold in seconds, in the comfort of your own laboratory. It's like one of those high-speed movies of clouds skittering across the sky -except that the clock is ticking about 1015 times faster than usual and you're watching dynamic processes that are impossible to observe in their natural setting. We've been whiling away geo logic time just so, and not merely for entertainment.In a paper recently published in the New Journal of Physics [ 1 ] we describe a wax analog model that simulates the divergence of two brittle lithospheric plates above a ductile mantle, exactly as it occurs beneath the sea at a mid-ocean ridge over millions of years (the lithosphere is the mechanical boundary layer at the surface of the Earth where the strength of rock increases dramatically). This work breaks new ground in quantifying the kinematic evolution of a curious tectonic feature of mid-ocean ridges, the microplate. Here we give a summary of that work.In a world where tectonic plates glide slowly from their origin at mid-ocean ridges to where they founder at subduction zones, microplates remain trapped between major plates on a mid-ocean ridge and spin (geologically speaking) about a vertical axis. They grow as they rotate by accreting lithosphere at their edges, leading to a characteristic spiral pattern of pseudofaults, visible to the trained eye through sonar surveys of sea-floor topography. This was geologic theory anyway, derived from the creative minds of marine geophysicists who had never actually watched the sea-floor in motion [2]. We quantified this theory, applied it to detailed fiq .l; europhysics news S E P T E M B E R /o cA rticle available at

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supporting

confidence: 73%

Section: Microplate Model Confirmedmentioning

confidence: 84%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Taking wax for a spin: microplates in an analog model of plate tectonics

Katz¹,

Bodenschatz

2005

Europhysics News

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Controls of inherited lithospheric heterogeneity on rift linkage: Numerical and analog models of interaction between the Kenyan and Ethiopian rifts across the Turkana depression

2017

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Inherited rheological structures in the lithosphere are expected to have large impact on the architecture of continental rifts. The Turkana depression in the East African Rift connects the Main Ethiopian Rift to the north with the Kenya rift in the south. This region is characterized by a NW‐SE trending band of thinned crust inherited from a Mesozoic rifting event, which is cutting the present‐day N‐S rift trend at high angle. In striking contrast to the narrow rifts in Ethiopia and Kenya, extension in the Turkana region is accommodated in subparallel deformation domains that are laterally distributed over several hundred kilometers. We present both analog experiments and numerical models that reproduce the along‐axis transition from narrow rifting in Ethiopia and Kenya to a distributed deformation within the Turkana depression. Similarly to natural observations, our models show that the Ethiopian and Kenyan rifts bend away from each other within the Turkana region, thus forming a right‐lateral step over and avoiding a direct link to form a continuous N‐S depression. The models reveal five potential types of rift linkage across the preexisting basin: three types where rifts bend away from the inherited structure connecting via a (1) wide or (2) narrow rift or by (3) forming a rotating microplate, (4) a type where rifts bend towards it, and (5) straight rift linkage. The fact that linkage type 1 is realized in the Turkana region provides new insights on the rheological configuration of the Mesozoic rift system at the onset of the recent rift episode.

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Origin, Evolution, Seismicity, and Models of Oceanic and Continental Transform Boundaries

Gerya

2016

Plate Boundaries and Natural Hazards

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Tectonic microplates in a wax model of sea-floor spreading

Cited by 36 publications

References 25 publications

Taking wax for a spin: microplates in an analog model of plate tectonics

Taking wax for a spin: microplates in an analog model of plate tectonics

Controls of inherited lithospheric heterogeneity on rift linkage: Numerical and analog models of interaction between the Kenyan and Ethiopian rifts across the Turkana depression

Origin, Evolution, Seismicity, and Models of Oceanic and Continental Transform Boundaries

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