Paleocene Pacific Plate reorganization mirrored in formation of the Suvarov Trough, Manihiki Plateau

2016 ◽  
Vol 121 (10) ◽  
pp. 7013-7023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricarda Pietsch ◽  
Gabriele Uenzelmann-Neben
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Plate ◽  
Manihiki Plateau

Small-scale mantle convection system and stress field under the Pacific plate

1976 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 212-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han-Shou Liu ◽  
Edward S. Chang ◽  
George H. Wyatt
Keyword(s):  
Stress Field ◽  
Mantle Convection ◽  
Pacific Plate ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
The Pacific

Polar Standstill of the Mid-Cretaceous Pacific Plate and Its Geodynamic Implications

Science ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 269 (5226) ◽  
pp. 956-959 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Tarduno ◽  
W. W. Sager
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Plate

scholarly journals Unusual earthquakes in the Gulf of Alaska and fragmentation of the Pacific Plate

1988 ◽  
Vol 15 (13) ◽  
pp. 1483-1486 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Lahr ◽  
R. A. Page ◽  
C. D. Stephens ◽  
D. H. Christensen
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Alaska ◽  
Pacific Plate ◽  
The Pacific

scholarly journals On the enigmatic birth of the Pacific Plate within the Panthalassa Ocean

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (7) ◽  
pp. e1600022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydian M. Boschman ◽  
Douwe J. J. van Hinsbergen
Keyword(s):  
Triple Junction ◽  
Tectonic Evolution ◽  
Plate Boundary ◽  
Pacific Plate ◽  
Plate Tectonic ◽  
Point Location ◽  
Marine Magnetic Anomalies ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ridge System

The oceanic Pacific Plate started forming in Early Jurassic time within the vast Panthalassa Ocean that surrounded the supercontinent Pangea, and contains the oldest lithosphere that can directly constrain the geodynamic history of the circum-Pangean Earth. We show that the geometry of the oldest marine magnetic anomalies of the Pacific Plate attests to a unique plate kinematic event that sparked the plate’s birth at virtually a point location, surrounded by the Izanagi, Farallon, and Phoenix Plates. We reconstruct the unstable triple junction that caused the plate reorganization, which led to the birth of the Pacific Plate, and present a model of the plate tectonic configuration that preconditioned this event. We show that a stable but migrating triple junction involving the gradual cessation of intraoceanic Panthalassa subduction culminated in the formation of an unstable transform-transform-transform triple junction. The consequent plate boundary reorganization resulted in the formation of a stable triangular three-ridge system from which the nascent Pacific Plate expanded. We link the birth of the Pacific Plate to the regional termination of intra-Panthalassa subduction. Remnants thereof have been identified in the deep lower mantle of which the locations may provide paleolongitudinal control on the absolute location of the early Pacific Plate. Our results constitute an essential step in unraveling the plate tectonic evolution of “Thalassa Incognita” that comprises the comprehensive Panthalassa Ocean surrounding Pangea.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document