To see the other types of publications on this topic, follow the link: Plate tectonic.
Journal articles on the topic 'Plate tectonic'
Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles
Consult the top 50 journal articles for your research on the topic 'Plate tectonic.'
Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.
You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.
Browse journal articles on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.
1
Stern, Robert J. "The evolution of plate tectonics." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 376, no. 2132 (2018): 20170406. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2017.0406.
Full textAbstract:
To understand how plate tectonics became Earth's dominant mode of convection, we need to address three related problems. (i) What was Earth's tectonic regime before the present episode of plate tectonics began? (ii) Given the preceding tectonic regime, how did plate tectonics become established? (iii) When did the present episode of plate tectonics begin? The tripartite nature of the problem complicates solving it, but, when we have all three answers, the requisite consilience will provide greater confidence than if we only focus on the long-standing question of when did plate tectonics begin? Earth probably experienced episodes of magma ocean, heat-pipe, and increasingly sluggish single lid magmatotectonism. In this effort we should consider all possible scenarios and lines of evidence. As we address these questions, we should acknowledge there were probably multiple episodes of plate tectonic and non-plate tectonic convective styles on Earth. Non-plate tectonic styles were probably dominated by ‘single lid tectonics’ and this evolved as Earth cooled and its lithosphere thickened. Evidence from the rock record indicates that the modern episode of plate tectonics began in Neoproterozoic time. A Neoproterozoic transition from single lid to plate tectonics also explains kimberlite ages, the Neoproterozoic climate crisis and the Neoproterozoic acceleration of evolution. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Earth dynamics and the development of plate tectonics’.
2
Brown, Michael, Tim Johnson, and Nicholas J. Gardiner. "Plate Tectonics and the Archean Earth." Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 48, no. 1 (2020): 291–320. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth-081619-052705.
Full textAbstract:
If we accept that a critical condition for plate tectonics is the creation and maintenance of a global network of narrow boundaries separating multiple plates, then to argue for plate tectonics during the Archean requires more than a local record of subduction. A case is made for plate tectonics back to the early Paleoproterozoic, when a cycle of breakup and collision led to formation of the supercontinent Columbia, and bimodal metamorphism is registered globally. Before this, less preserved crust and survivorship bias become greater concerns, and the geological record may yield only a lower limit on the emergence of plate tectonics. Higher mantle temperature in the Archean precluded or limited stable subduction, requiring a transition to plate tectonics from another tectonic mode. This transition is recorded by changes in geochemical proxies and interpreted based on numerical modeling. Improved understanding of the secular evolution of temperature and water in the mantle is a key target for future research. ▪ Higher mantle temperature in the Archean precluded or limited stable subduction, requiring a transition to plate tectonics from another tectonic mode. ▪ Plate tectonics can be demonstrated on Earth since the early Paleoproterozoic (since c. 2.2 Ga), but before the Proterozoic Earth's tectonic mode remains ambiguous. ▪ The Mesoarchean to early Paleoproterozoic (3.2–2.3 Ga) represents a period of transition from an early tectonic mode (stagnant or sluggish lid) to plate tectonics. ▪ The development of a global network of narrow boundaries separating multiple plates could have been kick-started by plume-induced subduction.
3
Lenardic, A. "The diversity of tectonic modes and thoughts about transitions between them." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 376, no. 2132 (2018): 20170416. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2017.0416.
Full textAbstract:
Plate tectonics is a particular mode of tectonic activity that characterizes the present-day Earth. It is directly linked to not only tectonic deformation but also magmatic/volcanic activity and all aspects of the rock cycle. Other terrestrial planets in our Solar System do not operate in a plate tectonic mode but do have volcanic constructs and signs of tectonic deformation. This indicates the existence of tectonic modes different from plate tectonics. This article discusses the defining features of plate tectonics and reviews the range of tectonic modes that have been proposed for terrestrial planets to date. A categorization of tectonic modes relates to the issue of when plate tectonics initiated on Earth as it provides insights into possible pre-plate tectonic behaviour. The final focus of this contribution relates to transitions between tectonic modes. Different transition scenarios are discussed. One follows classic ideas of regime transitions in which boundaries between tectonic modes are determined by the physical and chemical properties of a planet. The other considers the potential that variations in temporal evolution can introduce contingencies that have a significant effect on tectonic transitions. The latter scenario allows for the existence of multiple stable tectonic modes under the same physical/chemical conditions. The different transition potentials imply different interpretations regarding the type of variable that the tectonic mode of a planet represents. Under the classic regime transition view, the tectonic mode of a planet is a state variable (akin to temperature). Under the multiple stable modes view, the tectonic mode of a planet is a process variable. That is, something that flows through the system (akin to heat). The different implications that follow are discussed as they relate to the questions of when did plate tectonics initiate on Earth and why does Earth have plate tectonics. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Earth dynamics and the development of plate tectonics’.
4
O'Neill, Craig, Simon Turner, and Tracy Rushmer. "The inception of plate tectonics: a record of failure." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 376, no. 2132 (2018): 20170414. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2017.0414.
Full textAbstract:
The development of plate tectonics from a pre-plate tectonics regime requires both the initiation of subduction and the development of nascent subduction zones into long-lived contiguous features. Subduction itself has been shown to be sensitive to system parameters such as thermal state and the specific rheology. While generally it has been shown that cold-interior high-Rayleigh-number convection (such as on the Earth today) favours plates and subduction, due to the ability of the interior stresses to couple with the lid, a given system may or may not have plate tectonics depending on its initial conditions. This has led to the idea that there is a strong history dependence to tectonic evolution—and the details of tectonic transitions, including whether they even occur, may depend on the early history of a planet. However, intrinsic convective stresses are not the only dynamic drivers of early planetary evolution. Early planetary geological evolution is dominated by volcanic processes and impacting. These have rarely been considered in thermal evolution models. Recent models exploring the details of plate tectonic initiation have explored the effect of strong thermal plumes or large impacts on surface tectonism, and found that these ‘primary drivers’ can initiate subduction, and, in some cases, over-ride the initial state of the planet. The corollary of this, of course, is that, in the absence of such ongoing drivers, existing or incipient subduction systems under early Earth conditions might fail. The only detailed planetary record we have of this development comes from Earth, and is restricted by the limited geological record of its earliest history. Many recent estimates have suggested an origin of plate tectonics at approximately 3.0 Ga, inferring a monotonically increasing transition from pre-plates, through subduction initiation, to continuous subduction and a modern plate tectonic regime around that time. However, both numerical modelling and the geological record itself suggest a strong nonlinearity in the dynamics of the transition, and it has been noted that the early history of Archaean greenstone belts and trondhjemite–tonalite–granodiorite record many instances of failed subduction. Here, we explore the history of subduction failure on the early Earth, and couple these with insights from numerical models of the geodynamic regime at the time. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Earth dynamics and the development of plate tectonics'.
5
Hansen, Vicki L. "Global tectonic evolution of Venus, from exogenic to endogenic over time, and implications for early Earth processes." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 376, no. 2132 (2018): 20170412. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2017.0412.
Full textAbstract:
Venus provides a rich arena in which to stretch one's tectonic imagination with respect to non-plate tectonic processes of heat transfer on an Earth-like planet. Venus is similar to Earth in density, size, inferred composition and heat budget. However, Venus' lack of plate tectonics and terrestrial surficial processes results in the preservation of a unique surface geologic record of non-plate tectonomagmatic processes. In this paper, I explore three global tectonic domains that represent changes in global conditions and tectonic regimes through time, divided respectively into temporal eras. Impactors played a prominent role in the ancient era, characterized by thin global lithosphere. The Artemis superstructure era highlights sublithospheric flow processes related to a uniquely large super plume. The fracture zone complex era, marked by broad zones of tectonomagmatic activity, witnessed coupled spreading and underthrusting, since arrested. These three tectonic regimes provide possible analogue models for terrestrial Archaean craton formation, continent formation without plate tectonics, and mechanisms underlying the emergence of plate tectonics. A bolide impact model for craton formation addresses the apparent paradox of both undepleted mantle and growth of Archaean crust, and recycling of significant Archaean crust to the mantle. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Earth dynamics and the development of plate tectonics’.
6
Coltice, Nicolas, Laurent Husson, Claudio Faccenna, and Maëlis Arnould. "What drives tectonic plates?" Science Advances 5, no. 10 (2019): eaax4295. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax4295.
Full textAbstract:
Does Earth’s mantle drive plates, or do plates drive mantle flow? This long-standing question may be ill posed, however, as both the lithosphere and mantle belong to a single self-organizing system. Alternatively, this question is better recast as follows: Does the dynamic balance between plates and mantle change over long-term tectonic reorganizations, and at what spatial wavelengths are those processes operating? A hurdle in answering this question is in designing dynamic models of mantle convection with realistic tectonic behavior evolving over supercontinent cycles. By devising these models, we find that slabs pull plates at rapid rates and tear continents apart, with keels of continents only slowing down their drift when they are not attached to a subducting plate. Our models show that the tectonic tessellation varies at a higher degree than mantle flow, which partly unlocks the conceptualization of plate tectonics and mantle convection as a unique, self-consistent system.
7
Lawton, Timothy F. "Plate tectonic pioneer." Nature Geoscience 8, no. 10 (2015): 750. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2551.
Full text
8
Stern, R. J., T. Tsujimori, G. Harlow, and L. A. Groat. "Plate tectonic gemstones." Geology 41, no. 7 (2013): 723–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/g34204.1.
Full text
9
Landalf, Helen. "Tectonic Plate Movement." Science Activities: Classroom Projects and Curriculum Ideas 35, no. 1 (1998): 14–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00368129809600903.
Full text
10
Gurnis, Michael, Mark Turner, Sabin Zahirovic, et al. "Plate tectonic reconstructions with continuously closing plates." Computers & Geosciences 38, no. 1 (2012): 35–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2011.04.014.
Full text
11
Barnes, Gina L. "Tectonic Archaeology as a Foundation for Geoarchaeology." Land 10, no. 5 (2021): 453. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land10050453.
Full textAbstract:
This article proposes a new subdiscipline, Tectonic Archaeology, based on the efforts of Japanese archaeologists to deal with the effects of earthquakes, volcanic tephra cover, and tsunami on archaeological sites. Tectonic Archaeology is conceived as an umbrella term for those efforts and as a foundation for Geoarchaeology in general. Comparisons distinguish between Geoarchaeology and Tectonic Archaeology, and a survey of major archaeological journals and textbooks reveals how the concept of ‘tectonics’ and specifically the processes of Plate Tectonics have been treated. Al-though the term ‘tectonics’ occurred fairly frequently, particularly as affecting coastlines and sea levels, it was not thoroughly defined and discussed. Volcanic activity was most mentioned in journals due to its provision of resources and modification of the landscape, while the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan seems to have stimulated more studies in Archaeoseismology. The textbooks were found to have scattered references to Plate Tectonic processes but no clear approach tying these together. The major exception is the Encyclopedia of Archaeology which addresses volcanoes, Archaeoseismology, and tsunami—soon to be linked together vis à vis Earth processes. Tectonic Archaeology attempts first to explain the processes of Plate Tectonics to underwrite investigation of their effects; it is applicable worldwide, in continental and coastal contexts.
12
Cavadas, Bento, and Sara Aboim. "Using PhET™ interactive simulation plate tectonics for initial teacher education." Geoscience Communication 4, no. 1 (2021): 43–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/gc-4-43-2021.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Using digital educational resources (DERs) in science education is an effective way of promoting students' content knowledge of complex natural processes. This work presents the usage of the digital educational resource CreativeLab_Sci&Math | Plate Tectonics, designed for exploring the PhET™ Plate Tectonics simulator, in the context of the education of pre-service teachers (PSTs) in Portugal. The performance of the PSTs was analysed based on the five tasks into which the DER was organized. Results show that the DER contributed to the successful achievement of the following learning outcomes for PSTs: describing the differences between the oceanic crust and continental crust regarding temperature, density, composition and thickness, associating the plate tectonic movements with their geological consequences, and identifying the plate tectonic movements that cause the formation of some geological structures. Results also show that PSTs considered the PhET™ Plate Tectonics simulator a contributor to their learning about plate tectonics.
13
Sissingh, W. "Palaeozoic and Mesozoic igneous activity in the Netherlands: a tectonomagmatic review." Netherlands Journal of Geosciences - Geologie en Mijnbouw 83, no. 2 (2004): 113–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0016774600020084.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractTo date, igneous rocks, either intrusive or extrusive, have been encountered in the Palaeozoic-Mesozoic sedimentary series of the Netherlands in some 65 exploration and production wells. Following 17 new isotopic K/Ar age determinations of the recovered rock material (amounting to a total of 28 isotopic ages from 21 different wells), analysis of the stratigraphic distribution of the penetrated igneous rock bodies showed that the timing of their emplacement was importantly controlled by orogenic phases involving intra-plate wrench and rift tectonics. Magmatism coincided with the Acadian (Late Devonian), Sudetian (early Late Carboniferous), Saalian (Early Permian), Early Kimmerian (late Late Triassic), Mid-Kimmerian (Late Jurassic), Late Kimmerian (earliest Cretaceous) and Austrian (latest Early Cretaceous) tectonic phases. This synchroneity presumably reflects (broadly) coeval structural reorganizations of respectively the Baltica/Fennoscandinavia-Laurentia/Greenland, Laurussia-Gondwana, African-Eurasia and Greenland/Rockall-Eurasia plate assemblies. Through their concomitant changes of the intra-plate tectonic stress regime, inter-plate motions induced intra-plate tectonism and magmatism. These plate-tectonics related events determined the tectonomagmatic history of the Dutch realm by inducing the formation of localized centres, as well as isolated spot occurrences, of igneous activity. Some of these centres were active at (about) the same time. At a number of centres igneous activity re-occurred after a long period of time.
14
Klimczak, Christian, Paul K. Byrne, A. M. Celâl Şengör, and Sean C. Solomon. "Principles of structural geology on rocky planets." Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 56, no. 12 (2019): 1437–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2019-0065.
Full textAbstract:
Although Earth is the only known planet on which plate tectonics operates, many small- and large-scale tectonic landforms indicate that deformational processes also occur on the other rocky planets. Although the mechanisms of deformation differ on Mercury, Venus, and Mars, the surface manifestations of their tectonics are frequently very similar to those found on Earth. Furthermore, tectonic processes invoked to explain deformation on Earth before the recognition of horizontal mobility of tectonic plates remain relevant for the other rocky planets. These connections highlight the importance of drawing analogies between the rocky planets for characterizing deformation of their lithospheres and for describing, applying appropriate nomenclature, and understanding the formation of their resulting tectonic structures. Here we characterize and compare the lithospheres of the rocky planets, describe structures of interest and where we study them, provide examples of how historic views on geology are applicable to planetary tectonics, and then apply these concepts to Mercury, Venus, and Mars.
15
Gordon, Richard G. "Plate tectonic speed limits." Nature 349, no. 6304 (1991): 16–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/349016a0.
Full text
16
Rödder, I. "Simulating tectonic plate movement." Simulation Practice and Theory 5, no. 7-8 (1997): 777–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0928-4869(96)00027-4.
Full text
17
Barron, Eric J. "Cretaceous plate tectonic reconstructions." Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 59 (January 1987): 3–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0031-0182(87)90071-x.
Full text
18
Ruban, Dmitry A. "Did plate tectonics control the generic diversity of Jurassic brachiopods? One point of view." Geologos 24, no. 1 (2018): 79–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/logos-2018-0006.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Possible plate tectonic controls on faunal diversity dynamics have been discussed in the geological literature for around 50 years. The new model of plate tectonic processes is here linked to Jurassic generic diversity (simple α-diversity) of brachiopods. This comparison offers three observations, four hypotheses and three unresolved issues. Most importantly, changes in the global plate root mean square speed coincided with brachiopod diversity dynamics, which can be explained hypothetically by either environmental disturbance triggered by more active plate motion or activity of any process (such as eustasy) tied to plate tectonic mechanisms and with an impact on marine benthic communities. It is also established that global generic diversity dynamics of brachiopods during the Jurassic coincided with the regional picture as established for the Northern Caucasus and the Swiss Jura Alps; this coincidence is difficult to explain with regard to plate tectonics. These and other speculative considerations do not clarify the role of the plate tectonic factor in Jurassic generic diversity dynamics of brachiopods, and, thus, they indicate important issues for further research.
19
Heron, Philip J., Russell N. Pysklywec, and Randell Stephenson. "Exploring the theory of plate tectonics: the role of mantle lithosphere structure." Geological Society, London, Special Publications 470, no. 1 (2018): 137–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1144/sp470.7.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractThis review of the role of the mantle lithosphere in plate tectonic processes collates a wide range of recent studies from seismology and numerical modelling. A continually growing catalogue of deep geophysical imaging has illuminated the mantle lithosphere and generated new interpretations of how the lithosphere evolves. We review current ideas about the role of continental mantle lithosphere in plate tectonic processes. Evidence seems to be growing that scarring in the continental mantle lithosphere is ubiquitous, which implies a reassessment of the widely held view that it is the inheritance of crustal structure only (rather than the lithosphere as a whole) that is most important in the conventional theory of plate tectonics (e.g. the Wilson cycle). Recent studies have interpreted mantle lithosphere heterogeneities to be pre-existing structures and, as such, linked to the Wilson cycle and inheritance. We consider the current fundamental questions in the role of the mantle lithosphere in causing tectonic deformation, reviewing recent results and highlighting the potential of the deep lithosphere in infiltrating every aspect of plate tectonics processes.
20
Dewey, J. F., E. S. Kiseeva, J. A. Pearce, and L. J. Robb. "Precambrian tectonic evolution of Earth: an outline." South African Journal of Geology 124, no. 1 (2021): 141–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.25131/sajg.124.0019.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Space probes in our solar system have examined all bodies larger than about 400 km in diameter and shown that Earth is the only silicate planet with extant plate tectonics sensu stricto. Venus and Earth are about the same size at 12 000 km diameter, and close in density at 5 200 and 5 500 kg.m-3 respectively. Venus and Mars are stagnant lid planets; Mars may have had plate tectonics and Venus may have had alternating ca. 0.5 Ga periods of stagnant lid punctuated by short periods of plate turnover. In this paper, we contend that Earth has seen five, distinct, tectonic periods characterized by mainly different rock associations and patterns with rapid transitions between them; the Hadean to ca. 4.0 Ga, the Eo- and Palaeoarchaean to ca. 3.1 Ga, the Neoarchaean to ca. 2.5 Ga, the Proterozoic to ca. 0.8 Ga, and the Neoproterozoic and Phanerozoic. Plate tectonics sensu stricto, as we know it for present-day Earth, was operating during the Neoproterozoic and Phanerozoic, as witnessed by features such as obducted supra-subduction zone ophiolites, blueschists, jadeite, ruby, continental thin sediment sheets, continental shelf, edge, and rise assemblages, collisional sutures, and long strike-slip faults with large displacements. From rock associations and structures, nothing resembling plate tectonics operated prior to ca. 2.5 Ga. Archaean geology is almost wholly dissimilar from Proterozoic-Phanerozoic geology. Most of the Proterozoic operated in a plate tectonic milieu but, during the Archaean, Earth behaved in a non-plate tectonic way and was probably characterised by a stagnant lid with heat-loss by pluming and volcanism, together with diapiric inversion of tonalite-trondjemite-granodiorite (TTG) basement diapirs through sinking keels of greenstone supracrustals, and very minor mobilism. The Palaeoarchaean differed from the Neoarchaean in having a more blobby appearance whereas a crude linearity is typical of the Neoarchaean. The Hadean was probably a dry stagnant lid Earth with the bulk of its water delivered during the late heavy bombardment, when that thin mafic lithosphere was fragmented to sink into the asthenosphere and generate the copious TTG Ancient Grey Gneisses (AGG). During the Archaean, a stagnant unsegmented, lithospheric lid characterised Earth, although a case can be made for some form of mobilism with “block jostling”, rifting, compression and strike-slip faulting on a small scale. We conclude, following Burke and Dewey (1973), that there is no evidence for subduction on a global scale before about 2.5 Ga, although there is geochemical evidence for some form of local recycling of crustal material into the mantle during that period. After 2.5 Ga, linear/curvilinear deformation belts were developed, which “weld” cratons together and palaeomagnetism indicates that large, lateral, relative motions among continents had begun by at least 1.88 Ga. The “boring billion”, from about 1.8 to 0.8 Ga, was a period of two super-continents (Nuna, also known as Columbia, and Rodinia) characterised by substantial magmatism of intraplate type leading to the hypothesis that Earth had reverted to a single plate planet over this period; however, orogens with marginal accretionary tectonics and related magmatism and ore genesis indicate that plate tectonics was still taking place at and beyond the bounds of these supercontinents. The break-up of Rodinia heralded modern plate tectonics from about 0.8 Ga. Our conclusions are based, almost wholly, upon geological data sets, including petrology, ore geology and geochemistry, with minor input from modelling and theory.
21
VÉRARD, CHRISTIAN. "Plate tectonic modelling: review and perspectives." Geological Magazine 156, no. 2 (2018): 208–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0016756817001030.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractSince the 1970s, numerous global plate tectonic models have been proposed to reconstruct the Earth's evolution through deep time. The reconstructions have proven immensely useful for the scientific community. However, we are now at a time when plate tectonic models must take a new step forward. There are two types of reconstructions: those using a ‘single control’ approach and those with a ‘dual control’ approach. Models using the ‘single control’ approach compile quantitative and/or semi-quantitative data from the present-day world and transfer them to the chosen time slices back in time. The reconstructions focus therefore on the position of tectonic elements but may ignore (partially or entirely) tectonic plates and in particular closed tectonic plate boundaries. For the readers, continents seem to float on the Earth's surface. Hence, the resulting maps look closer to what Alfred Wegener did in the early twentieth century and confuse many people, particularly the general public. With the ‘dual control’ approach, not only are data from the present-day world transferred back to the chosen time slices, but closed plate tectonic boundaries are defined iteratively from one reconstruction to the next. Thus, reconstructions benefit from the wealth of the plate tectonic theory. They are physically coherent and are suited to the new frontier of global reconstruction: the coupling of plate tectonic models with other global models. A joint effort of the whole community of geosciences will surely be necessary to develop the next generation of plate tectonic models.
22
Yin, An, Günther Brandl, and Alfred Kröner. "Plate-tectonic processes at ca. 2.0 Ga: Evidence from >600 km of plate convergence." Geology 48, no. 2 (2019): 103–7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/g47070.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract We addressed when plate-tectonic processes first started on Earth by examining the ca. 2.0 Ga Limpopo orogenic belt in southern Africa. We show through palinspastic reconstruction that the Limpopo orogen originated from >600 km of west-directed thrusting, and the thrust sheet was subsequently folded by north-south compression. The common 2.7–2.6 Ga felsic plutons in the Limpopo thrust sheet and the absence of an arc immediately predating the 2.0 Ga Limpopo thrusting require the Limpopo belt to be an intracontinental structure. The similar duration (∼40 m.y.), slip magnitude (>600 km), slip rate (>15 mm/yr), tectonic setting (intracontinental), and widespread anatexis to those of the Himalayan orogen lead us to propose the Limpopo belt to have developed by continent-continent collision. Specifically, the combined Zimbabwe-Kaapvaal craton (ZKC, named in this study) in the west (present coordinates) was subducting eastward below an outboard craton (OC), which carried an arc equivalent to the Gangdese batholith in southern Tibet prior to the India-Asia collision. The ZKC-OC collision at ca. 2.0 Ga triggered a westward jump in the plate convergence boundary, from the initial suture zone to the Limpopo thrust within the ZKC. Subsequent thrusting accommodated >600 km of plate convergence, possibly driven by ridge push from the west side of the ZKC. As intracontinental plate convergence is a key modern plate-tectonic process, the development of the Limpopo belt implies that the operation of plate tectonics, at least at a local scale, was ongoing by ca. 2.0 Ga on Earth.
23
von Raumer, Jürgen F., Gérard M. Stampfli, Cyril Hochard, and Juan Carlos Gutiérrez-Marco. "The Early Palaeozoic in Iberia a plate-tectonic interpretation." Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geowissenschaften 157, no. 4 (2006): 575–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1127/1860-1804/2006/0157-0575.
Full text
24
Calais, E., G. Mattioli, C. DeMets, et al. "Tectonic strain in plate interiors?" Nature 438, no. 7070 (2005): E9—E10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature04428.
Full text
25
Meert, Joseph G., Rob Van der Voo, Chris McA Powell, et al. "A plate-tectonic speed limit?" Nature 363, no. 6426 (1993): 216–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/363216a0.
Full text
26
Foulger, G. R. "Plumes, or plate tectonic processes?" Astronomy & Geophysics 43, no. 6 (2002): 6.19–6.23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1468-4004.2002.43619.x.
Full text
27
Zerkle, Aubrey L. "Biogeodynamics: bridging the gap between surface and deep Earth processes." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 376, no. 2132 (2018): 20170401. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2017.0401.
Full textAbstract:
Life is sustained by a critical and not insubstantial set of elements, nearly all of which are contained within large rock reservoirs and cycled between Earth's surface and the mantle via subduction zone plate tectonics. Over geologic time scales, plate tectonics plays a critical role in recycling subducted bioactive elements lost to the mantle back to the ocean–biosphere system, via outgassing and volcanism. Biology additionally relies on tectonic processes to supply rock-bound ‘nutrients’ to marine and terrestrial ecosystems via uplift and erosion. Thus, the development of modern-style plate tectonics and the generation of stable continents were key events in the evolution of the biosphere on Earth, and similar tectonic processes could be crucial for the development of habitability on exoplanets. Despite this vital ‘biogeodynamic’ connection, directly testing hypotheses about feedbacks between the deep Earth and the biosphere remains challenging. Here, I discuss potential avenues to bridge the biosphere–geosphere gap, focusing specifically on the global cycling and bioavailability of major nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) over geologic time scales. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Earth dynamics and the development of plate tectonics’.
28
Jolivet, Laurent, Thierry Baudin, Sylvain Calassou, et al. "Geodynamic evolution of a wide plate boundary in the Western Mediterranean, near-field versus far-field interactions." BSGF - Earth Sciences Bulletin 192 (2021): 48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/bsgf/2021043.
Full textAbstract:
The present-day tectonic setting of the Western Mediterranean region, from the Pyrénées to the Betics and from the Alps to the Atlas, results from a complex 3-D geodynamic evolution involving the interactions between the Africa, Eurasia and Iberia plates and asthenospheric mantle dynamics underneath. In this paper, we review the main tectonic events recorded in this region since the Early Cretaceous and discuss the respective effects of far-field and near-field contributions, in order to unravel the origin of forces controlling crustal deformation. The respective contributions of mantle-scale, plate-scale and local processes in the succession of tectonic stages are discussed. Three periods can be distinguished: (1) the first period (Tethyan Tectonics), from 110 to 35 Ma, spans the main evolution of the Pyrenean orogen and the early evolution of the Betics, from rifting to maximum shortening. The rifting between Iberia and Europe and the subsequent progressive formation of new compressional plate boundaries in the Pyrénées and the Betics, as well as the compression recorded all the way to the North Sea, are placed in the large-scale framework of the African and Eurasian plates carried by large-scale mantle convection; (2) the second period (Mediterranean Tectonics), from 32 to 8 Ma, corresponds to a first-order change in subduction dynamics. It is most typically Mediterranean with a dominant contribution of slab retreat and associated mantle flow in crustal deformation. Mountain building and back-arc basin opening are controlled by retreating and tearing slabs and associated mantle flow at depth. The 3-D interactions between the different pieces of retreating slabs are complex and the crust accommodates the mantle flow underneath in various ways, including the formation of metamorphic core complexes and transfer fault zones; (3) the third period (Late-Mediterranean Tectonics) runs from 8 Ma to the Present. It corresponds to a new drastic change in the tectonic regime characterized by the resumption of N-S compression along the southern plate boundary and a propagation of compression toward the north. The respective effects of stress transmission through the lithospheric stress-guide and lithosphere-asthenosphere interactions are discussed throughout this period.
29
Stern, Robert. "The Mesoproterozoic Single-Lid Tectonic Episode: Prelude to Modern Plate Tectonics." GSA Today 30, no. 12 (2020): 4–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/gsatg480a.1.
Full text
30
Gordon, Richard G. "THE PLATE TECTONIC APPROXIMATION: Plate Nonrigidity, Diffuse Plate Boundaries, and Global Plate Reconstructions." Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 26, no. 1 (1998): 615–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.earth.26.1.615.
Full text
31
Sissingh, W. "Syn-kinematic palaeogeographic evolution of the West European Platform: correlation with Alpine plate collision and foreland deformation." Netherlands Journal of Geosciences 85, no. 2 (2006): 131–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0016774600077933.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractSequence stratigraphic correlations indicate that intermittent changes of the kinematic far-field stress-field regimes, and the associated geodynamic re-organisations at the plate-tectonic contacts of the African, Apulian, Iberian and European plates, affected the Tertiary palaeogeographic evolution of the West European Platform through a combination of intra-plate tectonics and fluctuations of relative sea level. A temporal sequence of first-order stages in structural, palaeotopographic and palaeohydrographic development of the platform can be distinguished from the Paleocene onwards. These formative stages are closely linked to major plate-boundary events involving the development of the Pyrenean and Alpine orogens, and can be traced throughout the West European Platform.
32
Vérard, Christian, and Ján Veizer. "On plate tectonics and ocean temperatures." Geology 47, no. 9 (2019): 881–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/g46376.1.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Plate tectonics, the principal vehicle for dissipation of planetary energy, is believed to buffer the δ18O of seawater at its near-modern value of 0‰ SMOW (Standard Mean Ocean Water) because the hot and cold cells of hydrothermal circulation at oceanic ridges cancel each other. The persistence of plate tectonics over eons apparently favors attribution of the well-documented oxygen isotope secular trends for carbonates (cherts, phosphates) to progressively warmer oceans, from 40–70 °C in the early Paleozoic to 60–100 °C in the Archean. We argue that these oceanic hydrothermal systems are dominated by low-temperature (<350 °C) cells that deplete the percolating water in 18O. Seawater δ18O is therefore a proxy for, rather than being buffered by, the intensity of plate tectonics. Detrending the Phanerozoic carbonate δ18Oc secular trend for its “tectonic” component yields a stationary time series that, interpreted as a proxy for Phanerozoic climate, indicates low-latitude shallow ocean temperatures oscillating between 10 and 30 °C around a baseline of 17 °C, attributes comparable to modern temperature values.
33
Cannon, J., E. Lau, and R. D. Müller. "Plate tectonic raster reconstruction in GPlates." Solid Earth Discussions 6, no. 1 (2014): 793–830. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/sed-6-793-2014.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. We describe a novel method implemented in the GPlates plate tectonic reconstruction software to interactively reconstruct arbitrarily high-resolution raster data to past geological times using a rotation model. The approach is based on the projection of geo-referenced raster data into a cube map followed by a reverse projection onto rotated tectonic plates on the surface of the globe. This decouples the rendering of a geo-referenced raster from its reconstruction, providing a number of benefits including a simple implementation and the ability to combine rasters with different geo-referencing or inbuilt raster projections. The cube map projection is accelerated by graphics hardware in a wide variety of computer systems manufactured over the last decade. Furthermore, by integrating a multi-resolution tile partitioning into the cube map we can provide on-demand tile streaming, level-of-detail rendering and hierarchical visibility culling enabling researchers to visually explore essentially unlimited resolution geophysical raster data attached to tectonic plates and reconstructed through geological time. This capability forms the basis for interactively building and improving plate reconstructions in an iterative fashion, particularly for tectonically complex regions.
34
Cannon, J., E. Lau, and R. D. Müller. "Plate tectonic raster reconstruction in GPlates." Solid Earth 5, no. 2 (2014): 741–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/se-5-741-2014.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. We describe a novel method implemented in the GPlates plate tectonic reconstruction software to interactively reconstruct arbitrarily high-resolution raster data to past geological times using a rotation model. The approach is based on the projection of geo-referenced raster data into a cube map followed by a reverse projection onto rotated tectonic plates on the surface of the globe. This decouples the rendering of a geo-referenced raster from its reconstruction, providing a number of benefits including a simple implementation and the ability to combine rasters with different geo-referencing or inbuilt raster projections. The cube map projection is accelerated by graphics hardware in a wide variety of computer systems manufactured over the last decade. Furthermore, by integrating a multi-resolution tile partitioning into the cube map we can provide on-demand tile streaming, level-of-detail rendering and hierarchical visibility culling, enabling researchers to visually explore essentially unlimited resolution geophysical raster data attached to tectonic plates and reconstructed through geological time. This capability forms the basis for interactively building and improving plate reconstructions in an iterative fashion, particularly for tectonically complex regions.
35
Kushnir, D. G. "New geodynamics: geosyncline plate tectonics." Actual Problems of Oil and Gas, no. 34 (November 30, 2021): 3–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.29222/ipng.2078-5712.2021-34.art1.
Full textAbstract:
For the first time, on the basis of the data set of the Taimyr geophysical site, the processes that cause vertical oscillatory movements of large blocks of the continental crust and largely determine its deep structure are confidently recorded. In this regard, the conceptual apparatus of plate tectonics is being expanded due to terms that were not originally used for it, previously used within the framework of geosyncline theory. Modern geodynamics combines concepts opposed in the past, thereby forming a conceptually new geosyncline plate tectonics. Under the new paradigm, the oil and gas prospects of an area are determined not so much by its confinement to a geostructure of any age, as by the current stage of the geosyncline cycle, characterized by subsidence, active sedimentation processes and formation of a sedimentary basin or, conversely, orogenesis and dominant erosion of sediments. Thus, one or another scenario will cause a different inflow of hydrocarbons from the generation area, which means that regional tectonic movements largely predetermine the realization of the hydrocarbon potential, making them one of the most important criteria for its assessment.
36
CAVADAS, BENTO. "PLATE TECTONICS IN PORTUGUESE AND SPANISH SCIENCE TEXTBOOKS: FROM THE 1960s TO THE 1980s." Earth Sciences History 40, no. 2 (2021): 538–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.17704/1944-6187-40.2.538.
Full textAbstract:
Plate tectonics caused a revolution within earth sciences which then was transposed into science textbooks. The main objective of this paper is to explore how plate tectonics influenced Portuguese and Spanish science textbooks published from the 1960s through the 1980s. For this purpose, a qualitative method based on the concept of didactic transposition is used. The didactic transposition of seafloor spreading evidence such as ridges, rifts and trenches, transform faults, seafloor sediments, the age of seafloor basaltic rocks, the magnetic anomalies on the seafloor, the Benioff zones and the subduction process, and also the didactic transposition of the formation of mountains ranges and island arcs, convection currents, plate tectonics concepts, boundaries and motion, and plate tectonics acceptance are studied in a comprehensive sample of science textbooks. The analysis of textbooks shows that the didactic transposition of seafloor spreading, and plate tectonics started mainly in 1970s Portuguese and Spanish textbooks and had a strong development in 1980s textbooks. No major differences were found between the approaches to plate tectonics in similar age Portuguese and Spanish textbooks. At the beginning of the 1970s, textbooks presented partial evidence for seafloor spreading, such as magnetic anomalies and the characteristics of ridges, rifts and trenches. They also addressed convection currents but only those that were related to geosynclines. In the mid 1970s and in the 1980s, textbooks presented more comprehensive evidence of seafloor spreading, by adding didactical transpositions of transform faults, seafloor sediments and the age of seafloor rocks. They also presented in more detail topics such as magnetic anomalies, the Benioff zones, orogenic processes and the tectonic significance of ridges, rifts and trenches. Plate tectonic theory was presented in major textbooks as widely accepted, and discussions about speculative facts or processes were rare.
37
Y. Al-Ghalibi, Furat, and Laith Kh. Al-Hadithy. "Halabjah-Iraq Earthquake, Comparisons and General Review." International Journal of Engineering & Technology 7, no. 4.20 (2018): 190. http://dx.doi.org/10.14419/ijet.v7i4.20.25924.
Full textAbstract:
The collapsed seismic force level depends on region nature where the construction is to be built because of an earthquake released an energy which generated by a sudden randomly movement of earth segments (plate tectonics). Structure geographic location plays a major role in seismic analysis and design of structures because of the global seismicity influenced by the earthquake hypocenter and plate tectonics nature. An earthquake will occur if earth tectonic plate shaft and the mass of earth materials moved with plates stress interface and energy released because of ground vibration which its amplitude reduced with rupture distance. Also the earth vibration generates a large random inertia force that should carried by the structural components safety. In the present study, a comparisons of Halabjah-Iraq Earthquake with many world earthquake is investigated, generally Halabjah earthquake classified as medium risk earthquake
38
Royer, Jean-Yves. "When an oceanic tectonic plate cracks." Nature 490, no. 7419 (2012): 183–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/490183a.
Full text
39
Greiner, B. "Euler rotations in plate-tectonic reconstructions." Computers & Geosciences 25, no. 3 (1999): 209–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0098-3004(98)00160-5.
Full text
40
Scotese, Christopher R. "Jurassic and cretaceous plate tectonic reconstructions." Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 87, no. 1-4 (1991): 493–501. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0031-0182(91)90145-h.
Full text
41
Price, N. J., and M. G. Audley-Charles. "Tectonic collision processes after plate rupture." Tectonophysics 140, no. 2-4 (1987): 121–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0040-1951(87)90224-1.
Full text
42
Santosh, M., and S. Omori. "CO2 flushing: A plate tectonic perspective." Gondwana Research 13, no. 1 (2008): 86–102. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2007.07.003.
Full text
43
Kirkwood, Bessie H., and Ted Chang. "Combining Estimates of Tectonic Plate Rotations:." Journal of Multivariate Analysis 65, no. 1 (1998): 71–108. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jmva.1997.1723.
Full text
44
Biancale, R., A. Cazenave, and K. Dominh. "Tectonic plate motions derived from LAGEOS." Earth and Planetary Science Letters 103, no. 1-4 (1991): 379–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0012-821x(91)90174-g.
Full text
45
West, Gordon F., Ron M. Farquhar, George D. Garland, Henry C. Halls, Lawrence W. Morley, and R. Don Russell. "John Tuzo Wilson: a man who moved mountains." Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 51, no. 3 (2014): xvii—xxxi. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2013-0175.
Full textAbstract:
Fifty years ago, the world’s Earth Scientists experienced the so-called “Revolution in the Earth Sciences”. In the decade from 1960 to 1970, a massive convergence took place from many diverse and contradictory theories about the tectonic processes operating on Earth (then loosely called “mountain building”) to a single widely accepted paradigm now called Plate Tectonics. A major player in leading the international “Revolution” was Canadian geophysicist J. Tuzo Wilson. This tribute reviews how he helped define and promote the Plate Tectonic paradigm, and also, from 1946 to 1967, how he led a rapid expansion of the role of geophysics in Canadian and international earth science. Wilson was a controversial figure before and during the “Revolution”, but his influence was large. It was not coincidental that earth science research in Canada grew by 1964 to the point where the National Research Council of Canada could add the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences to its group of Canadian research journals.
46
Ross, M. I. "INFLUENCE OF PLATE TECTONIC RE-ORGANISATIONS AND TECTONIC SUBSIDENCE ON THE MESOZOIC STRATIGRAPHY OF NORTHWESTERN AND SOUTHEASTERN AUSTRALIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHIC ANALYSIS." APPEA Journal 35, no. 1 (1995): 253. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/aj94016.
Full textAbstract:
Determining and predicting the interplay of plate tectonic events, subsidence, flexure and depositional systems is important in frontier exploration, play concept development, and maturation modelling. A circum-Australian plate tectonic model is here tied to an internally consistent global plate tectonic model to determine the timing and orientation of changes in the lithospheric stress regime induced by plate tectonic changes. One-and three-dimensional geohistory results for the Otway Basin and North West Shelf/Exmouth Plateau are presented, based on an integrated sequence stratigraphic framework. These geohistory results compare the timing and types of changes in subsidence rate to the changes in lithospheric stress due to plate tectonic changes. Changes in tectonic subsidence rate appear to be discrete events related to plate tectonic changes; subsidence events bound major transgressive-regressive facies cycle packages ('supersequences') in a basin. The recognition of sequence system tracts and especially system tract boundaries within a 'supersequence' is enhanced or diminished by processes occurring only during certain phases of the supersequences. Recognition of lowstand systems tracts and sequence boundaries is improved due to erosion during the regressive phase of the supersequence. Conversely, during the transgressive phase of the supersequence, transgressive and highstand system tracts are emphasised and recognition of flooding surfaces improved. Good reservoir sands form during enhanced lowstands, while good source and sealing shales form during enhanced transgressions.In the southeastern Australian Otway Basin, every perturbation of the tectonic subsidence rate during the Late Cretaceous can be correlated directly to a local and/or global plate tectonic event, and each supersequence is bounded by tectonic events. In the North West Shelf/Exmouth Plateau region of Western Australia, the situation is complicated during the Berriasian by uncompensated f lexural load effects related to the rapid formation and filling of multiple Barrow Delta depocentres. Two supersequences correlate to tectonic events, while one supersequence is bounded by a f lexural subsidence event unrelated to regional or global plate tectonic events. Hence not all perturbations of the tectonic subsidence curve are related to tectonic events, and not all supersequences are bound by tectonic events. Without three-dimensional geohistory techniques, it is impossible to isolate the flexural load effects from the effects of plate tectonic events.
47
Peace, Alexander L. "Beyond ‘crumple zones’: recent advances, applications and future directions in deformable plate tectonic modelling." Geological Magazine 158, no. 9 (2021): 1704–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0016756821000534.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractThe recent proliferation of deformable plate tectonic modelling techniques has provided a new direction in the study of plate tectonics with substantial implications for our understanding of plate deformation and past kinematics. Such models account for intraplate deformation, yet are highly variable in their inputs, capabilities and applications. The aim of this commentary is to review recent contributions to this topic, and to consider future directions and major omissions. Through this review it is apparent that the current published deformable models can be subdivided into those that as an input either: (1) solely use plate motions to drive deformation, or (2) require stretching or beta factor. Deformable models are resolving some outstanding issues with plate reconstructions, but major simplifications and modelling assumptions remain. Primarily, obtaining model constraints on the spatio-temporal evolution of deformation is an outstanding problem. Deformable plate models likely work best when the kinematics of smaller plates are included. However, questions remain regarding how to define such blocks, and their kinematic histories, whilst some work suggests that inclusion of such entities is negated through quantitative restorations.
48
Seebeck, Hannu, Dominic Strogen, Peter King, Andrew Nicol, Ben Hines, and Grant O'Brien. "Cretaceous to present-day tectonic reconstructions of Zealandia." APPEA Journal 58, no. 2 (2018): 852. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/aj17117.
Full textAbstract:
Reconstructions of the past relative positions of northern and southern Zealandia provide important constraints on the orientation and amount of strain accumulated between rigid plates within the Australia–Pacific plate tectonic circuit. This configuration of plates ultimately determines how, where and when sedimentary basins formed during and since continental breakup along the eastern margin of Gondwana. Although the first-order geometry of Zealandia is well established, uncertainty remains regarding plate motions through the latest Cretaceous to Eocene. Recent reconstructions are, in some cases, inconsistent with geological observations at key time intervals, highlighting uncertainties inherent in plate reconstructions for the south-west Pacific. Building on previous tectonic reconstructions and incorporating published seafloor magnetic interpretations, paleomagnetic observations and geological constraints (e.g. terrane geometry and distribution), we developed a tectonic framework to reconstruct Zealandia back through to the latest Cretaceous. Using GPlates, we use a simple double-hinge slat concept to describe Neogene deformation within the New Zealand plate boundary zone, while the geometry of northern and southern Zealandia during the Eocene is modified from recently published models based on geologic considerations. This study ultimately highlights the need for integrated studies of the Zealandia plate circuit.
49
ΜΟΥΝΤΡΑΚΗΣ, Δ. "Tectonic evolution of the Hellenic Orogen. Geometry and kinematics of deformations." Bulletin of the Geological Society of Greece 34, no. 6 (2002): 2113. http://dx.doi.org/10.12681/bgsg.16853.
Full textAbstract:
The Hellenic orogen consists of three orogenic belts: 1) the Cimmerian orogenic belt, including Rhodopian, Serbomacedonian, Circum Rhodope, Axios and Pelagonian zones, is the internal belt which has been created in pre-Late Jurassic times as a result of the northward drift of Cimmerian contrinental fragments from Gondwana towards Eurasia. Ophiolites from small ocean basins were mainly emplaced onto the Cimmerian continental margins in Middle Jurassic. 2) the Alpine orogenic belt, including External Hellenides and Pindos-Subpelagonian ophiolites and oceanic sediments (Neo-Tethyan), which has been created in Cretaceous-Paleogene times after the subduction of the Neotethyan oceanic crust beneath the Cimmerian-Eurasian plate and the collision of the Apulian microplate to the later, 3) the Mesogean orogenic belt along the External Hellenic orogenic arc as a result of the Mesogean-African underplate beneath the unique Alpine-Cimmerian-Eurasian plate in Miocen- Pliocene times and the exhumation of the Cretan-Southern Peloponesus tectonic windows. Structural analysis and detailed studies of the geometry and kinematics suggest that during Alpine-Mesogean orogenic process a SW-ward migration of successive complessional and extensional tectonic events took place resulted of successive subductions. Thus, crustal thickening produced by compressional tectonics in each area was followed by an extensional exhumation of underplate rocks as tectonic windows.
50
Rahmadani, Suchi, Irwan Meilano, Dina A. Sarsito, and Susilo. "Crustal deformation of Eastern Indonesia regions derived from 2010-2018 GNSS Data." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 873, no. 1 (2021): 012089. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/873/1/012089.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Eastern Indonesia lies in a complex tectonic region due to the interaction of four major tectonic plates: the Australian Plate, Pacific Plate, Philippine Sea Plate, and Sunda Block. Therefore, this region hosted some destructive seismic activities as well as tectonic deformation, such as the Mw 7.5 Palu Earthquake, the sequences of the 2018 Lombok Earthquake, and the Mw 6.5 Ambon Earthquake in 2019. Our work proposes a recent study on crustal deformation in Eastern Indonesia inferred from Global Positioning System (GPS) velocity field. We used GPS data from the observations of 49 permanent and 61 campaign stations from 2010 to 2018. Here, our velocity field result represents long-term tectonic deformation regions in Eastern Indonesia continuously, from Bali in the west to Papua in the east, demonstrated both in the ITRF 2008 and the Sunda reference frames. The spatial pattern of velocity field map collected from this research will give an initial insight into the present-day tectonic condition in Eastern Indonesia and then can be used to improve our ability to assess this area’s earthquake potential.