Geotectonic bipolarity, evidence from the pattern of active oceanic ridges bordering the Pacific and African plates |
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| Authors: | N Pavoni M V Müller |
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| Abstract: | Active oceanic ridges are part of the global system of diverging plate boundaries encircling the Earth. They represent weak zones of the lithosphere. They are isostatically equilibrated. The system as a whole is considered to be well adapted to the present field of plate driving forces. The search for regularities in the pattern of active oceanic ridges may, therefore, provide valuable information as to the large-scale characteristics of structures and processes in the Earth’s mantle. Two large belts of active oceanic ridges are envisaged: (1) The semi-circular belt bordering the Pacific plate which extends from South of Tasmania to Northwest of Vancouver Island over a length of 20,000 km. It appears to encircle a center P1 in the central Pacific region. (2) The circum-African belt bordering the African plate which extends from the Azores to the Gulf of Aden over a length of 24,000 km. It appears to encircle a center A1 in central Africa. The attempt is made to determine the position of these centers. Extent and position of the ridge systems are described by 34 fixed points. Points R01–R20 mark the circum-African ridge system, points R21-R34 the Pacific ridge system. A least-squares adjustment is used to determine the optimum position of the centers P1 and A1. Center P1 of the Pacific ridge system is located at 169.8°W/2.6°S. Center A1 of the circum-African ridge system is located at 11.6°E/2.4°N. The location error of the centers is less than 2.8°. In view of the great extent of the ridge systems, and considering the fact that the location of P1 and A1 is based on independent data sets, the nearly antipodal and equatorial position of the centers is remarkable. The newly defined centers P1 and A1 are located close to the Pacific pole P, at 170°W/0°N, and the African pole A, at 10°E/0°N. Within the limits of error the center P1 coincides with pole P, the center A1 with pole A. Originally, these poles were introduced in order to describe a fundamental hemispherical symmetry which is apparent in the evolution of the Earth’s lithosphere during the last 180 Ma. The new results confirm the unique position of poles P and A in the global tectonic framework. |
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