Plate tectonics and planetary convection
A series of azimuthal–equidistant map projections, centered on each of the plates of lithosphere, is used to demonstrate the high degree of ordering and symmetry in the major plates. The Pacific and African plates are approximately circular with a radius of 60°. The entire pattern is dominated by th...
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Canadian Science Publishing
1976
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/e76-035 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/e76-035 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/e76-035 2023-12-17T10:47:14+01:00 Plate tectonics and planetary convection Kanasewich, E. R. 1976 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/e76-035 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/e76-035 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences volume 13, issue 2, page 331-340 ISSN 0008-4077 1480-3313 General Earth and Planetary Sciences journal-article 1976 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/e76-035 2023-11-19T13:38:54Z A series of azimuthal–equidistant map projections, centered on each of the plates of lithosphere, is used to demonstrate the high degree of ordering and symmetry in the major plates. The Pacific and African plates are approximately circular with a radius of 60°. The entire pattern is dominated by these two major plates, exactly antipodal to one another in the form of a dipole. Between the two 'circular' plates is a ring of elliptical plates with irregular boundaries but a organized geometric interrelationship. The average major and minor axes of the 'elliptical' plates, measured at the center of the earth, are 62° ± 6 °and 30° ± 5°, and the major axes are oriented at angles of 56° ± 3 °to lines joining the center of the African plate. The centers of the 'elliptical' plates are arranged within 6° ± 3 °of a great circle path through the North pole. This organized distribution of the major plates is most likely the result of convection currents involving the entire mantle, from the lithosphere to the core. To a first approximation, the convective pattern may be modelled by a superposition of third order spherical harmonics, P 0 3 , P 1 3 , and P 2 3 in a pattern that regressed from a first spherical harmonic, −P 0 1 . Article in Journal/Newspaper North Pole Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) Pacific North Pole Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 13 2 331 340 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences |
spellingShingle |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Kanasewich, E. R. Plate tectonics and planetary convection |
topic_facet |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences |
description |
A series of azimuthal–equidistant map projections, centered on each of the plates of lithosphere, is used to demonstrate the high degree of ordering and symmetry in the major plates. The Pacific and African plates are approximately circular with a radius of 60°. The entire pattern is dominated by these two major plates, exactly antipodal to one another in the form of a dipole. Between the two 'circular' plates is a ring of elliptical plates with irregular boundaries but a organized geometric interrelationship. The average major and minor axes of the 'elliptical' plates, measured at the center of the earth, are 62° ± 6 °and 30° ± 5°, and the major axes are oriented at angles of 56° ± 3 °to lines joining the center of the African plate. The centers of the 'elliptical' plates are arranged within 6° ± 3 °of a great circle path through the North pole. This organized distribution of the major plates is most likely the result of convection currents involving the entire mantle, from the lithosphere to the core. To a first approximation, the convective pattern may be modelled by a superposition of third order spherical harmonics, P 0 3 , P 1 3 , and P 2 3 in a pattern that regressed from a first spherical harmonic, −P 0 1 . |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kanasewich, E. R. |
author_facet |
Kanasewich, E. R. |
author_sort |
Kanasewich, E. R. |
title |
Plate tectonics and planetary convection |
title_short |
Plate tectonics and planetary convection |
title_full |
Plate tectonics and planetary convection |
title_fullStr |
Plate tectonics and planetary convection |
title_full_unstemmed |
Plate tectonics and planetary convection |
title_sort |
plate tectonics and planetary convection |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1976 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/e76-035 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/e76-035 |
geographic |
Pacific North Pole |
geographic_facet |
Pacific North Pole |
genre |
North Pole |
genre_facet |
North Pole |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences volume 13, issue 2, page 331-340 ISSN 0008-4077 1480-3313 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/e76-035 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
331 |
op_container_end_page |
340 |
_version_ |
1785571043447930880 |