Seafloor Age - tectonics.caltech.edutectonics.caltech.edu/images/maps/seafloor_age.pdfThailand...
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E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E & & & & F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F 30 mm/yr 27 mm/yr 44 mm/yr 15 mm/yr 75 mm/yr 72 mm/yr 70 mm/yr 50 mm/yr 86 mm/yr 59 mm/yr 94 mm/yr 15 mm/yr 14 mm/yr 35 mm/yr 35 mm/yr 25 mm/yr 23 mm/yr 18 mm/yr 23 mm/yr 151 mm/yr 151 mm/yr 45 mm/yr 47 mm/yr 40 mm/yr Nicaragua NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN INDIAN OCEAN SOUTHERN OCEAN SOUTHERN OCEAN ARCTIC OCEAN ARCTIC OCEAN 92 mm/yr 27 mm/yr 9 mm/yr 120W 105W 125W 100W 115W 110W 130W 135W 140W 145W 150W 155W 160W 95W 90W 165W 85W 170W 80W 175W 75W 180E-W 70W 65W 60W 175E 55W 170E 50W 165E 45W 160E 40W 155E 35W 150E 30W 145E 25W 140E 20W 135E 15W 130E 10W 125E 120E 115E 105E 110E 100E 10E 15E 5W 20E 25E 30E 35E 95E 40E 90E 45E 85E 50E 80E 55E 75E 60E 70E 65E 5E 0 85N 85S 80N 80S 75N 75S 70N 70S 65N 65S 60N 60S 55N 55S 50N 50S 45N 40N 45S 35N 40S 30N 35S 25N 20N 30S 15N 10N 25S 20S 15S 10S 5N 5S 0 85N 85S 80N 80S 75N 75S 70N 70S 65N 65S 60N 60S 55N 55S 50N 50S 45N 40N 45S 35N 40S 30N 35S 25N 20N 30S 15N 10N 25S 20S 15S 10S 5N 5S 0 180E-W 70E 65E 120W 105W 125W 100W 115W 110W 130W 135W 140W 145W 150W 155W 160W 95W 90W 165W 85W 170W 80W 175W 75W 70W 65W 60W 175E 55W 170E 50W 165E 45W 160E 40W 155E 35W 150E 30W 145E 25W 140E 20W 135E 15W 130E 10W 125E 120E 115E 105E 110E 100E 10E 15E 5W 20E 25E 30E 35E 95E 40E 90E 45E 85E 50E 80E 55E 75E 60E 5E 0 Canada United States Mexico Brazil Argentina Peru Bolivia Colombia Venezuela Chile Paraguay Ecuador Guyana Uruguay Suriname French Guiana Antarctica Greenland Iceland Iran Sudan Algeria Libya Mali Chad Niger Egypt Angola Saudi Arabia Ethiopia Turkey Nigeria Iraq South Africa Spain Namibia Zambia Mauritania Kenya Somalia Yemen Botswana Syria Gabon Guinea Italy Democratic Republic of the Congo Mozambique Oman Morocco Madagascar Cameroon Zimbabwe Ghana United Republic of Tanzania Uganda Senegal Cote d’Ivoire Central African Republic Tunisia Burkina Faso Western Sahara Liberia Portugal Sierra Leone France Ukraine Sweden Finland Poland Belarus Norway Germany Romania United Kingdom Serbia Bulgaria Austria Latvia Hungary Lithuania Croatia Estonia Slovakia Czech Republic Belgium Russia Uzbekistan Turkmenistan Afghanistan Kazakhstan Pakistan Ireland Russia China Australia India Mongolia Pakistan Thailand Indonesia Laos Japan Myanmar (Burma) Nepal Malaysia Papua New Guinea Kyrgyzstan Cambodia New Zealand Philippines Sri Lanka South Korea Taiwan North Korea Kazakhstan 94 mm/yr 70 mm/yr 48 mm/yr 78 mm/yr 18 mm/yr 20 mm/yr 79 mm/yr 61 mm/yr 88 mm/yr 63 mm/yr 78 mm/yr 73 mm/yr 58 mm/yr 39 mm/yr 123 mm/yr 106 mm/yr 237 mm/yr ARABIA PLATE TIMOR PLATE BIRD’S HEAD PLATE MOLUCCA SEA PLATE BANDA SEA PLATE CONWAY REEF PLATE EASTER PLATE ALTIPLANO PLATE JUAN FERNANDEZ PLATE GALAPAGOS PLATE SANDWICH PLATE PANAMA PLATE SUNDA PLATE JUAN DE FUCA PLATE KERMADEC PLATE TONGA PLATE NIUAFO`OU PLATE WOODLARK PLATE MAOKE PLATE SOUTH BISMARCK PLATE SOLOMON SEA PLATE NORTH BISMARCK PLATE NEW HEBRIDES PLATE CARIBBEAN PLATE COCOS PLATE OKHOTSK PLATE BALMORAL REEF PLATE NORTH ANDES PLATE OKINAWA PLATE PHILIPPINE SEA PLATE AMUR PLATE CAROLINE PLATE MARIANA PLATE FUTUNA PLATE SCOTIA PLATE AEGEAN SEA PLATE ANATOLIA PLATE YANGTZE PLATE BURMA PLATE RIVERA PLATE ANTARCTICA PLATE SOMALIA PLATE INDIA PLATE AUSTRALIA PLATE EURASIA PLATE SOUTH AMERICA PLATE NAZCA PLATE PACIFIC PLATE EURASIA PLATE NORTH AMERICA PLATE NUBIA PLATE SEAFLOOR AGE SEAFLOOR AGE Plate Boundary - Referenced from Bird, Peter (2003) An updated digital model of plate boundaries. (Orogen boundaries omitted.) Plate Convergence Vectors - Referenced from United States Geological Survey: Convergence data are shown by arrows describing direction and speed, relative to the plate across the boundary. Plate Divergence Vectors - Referenced from Digital Tectonic Activity Map: Divergence data are shown by double arrows describing direction and speed. Seafloor Age - Referenced from Muller, R.D., M. Sdrolias, C. Gaina, and W.R. Roest 2008. Age, spreading rates and spreading symmetry of the world’s ocean crust, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 9, Q04006, doi:10.1029/2007GC001743. Projection: Robinson (World) Seafloor Age (millions of years) 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 8 This map builds on the Tectonic Plates map by adding seafloor age data. Note that the youngest seafloor ages are found at the mid-ocean spreading ridges, where new rock is constantly coming up from under the crust to heal the rifts formed as tectonic plates move away from one another. Most new crust forms at these mid-ocean spreading ridges. The crust ages as it moves away from the spreading ridges, and eventually gets pushed back into the Earth in a subduction zone. Because oceanic crust subducts more easily than continental crust, all of the seafloor eventually is recycled by subduction while very little continental crust is consumed in subduction. The result is that the oldest oceanic crust is still much younger than the oldest continental crust. The oldest seafloor in the world is found in the Mediterranean Sea. The next oldest seafloor ages are found in the northeastern Atlantic and the northeastern Pacific, far from any spreading ridges. The northeastern Pacific also has a long convergent boundary, where some of the oldest seafloor is now being subducted back into the interior of the Earth. In areas where spreading rates are slow, seafloor age changes quickly as you move away from the spreading ridge. Conversely, in areas where spreading rates are fast, seafloor age changes more slowly as you move away from the spreading ridge. April 2009 TRANSFORM & F DIVERGENCE E CONVERGENCE PLATE BOUNDARY Converging Diverging Transform Produced by California Institute of Technology Tectonics Observatory
Transcript of Seafloor Age - tectonics.caltech.edutectonics.caltech.edu/images/maps/seafloor_age.pdfThailand...
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ARABIAPLATE
TIMORPLATE
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SEAFLOOR AGESEAFLOOR AGEPlate Boundary -Referenced from Bird, Peter (2003) An updated digital model of plate boundaries. (Orogen boundaries omitted.)
Plate Convergence Vectors - Referenced from United States Geological Survey: Convergence data are shown by arrows describing direction and speed, relative to the plate across the boundary.
Plate Divergence Vectors - Referenced from Digital Tectonic Activity Map: Divergence data are shown by double arrows describing direction and speed.
Seafloor Age - Referenced from Muller, R.D., M. Sdrolias, C. Gaina, and W.R. Roest 2008. Age, spreading rates and spreading symmetry of the world’s ocean crust, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 9, Q04006, doi:10.1029/2007GC001743.
Projection: Robinson (World)
Seafloor Age (millions of years)
0 20 40 60 80 100
120
140
160
180
200
220
240
260
280
8This map builds on the Tectonic Plates map by adding seafloor age data. Note that the youngest seafloor ages are found at the mid-ocean spreading ridges, where new rock is constantly coming up from under the crust to heal the rifts formed as tectonic plates move away from one another. Most new crust forms at these mid-ocean spreading ridges.
The crust ages as it moves away from the spreading ridges, and eventually gets pushed back into the Earth in a subduction zone. Because oceanic crust subducts more easily than continental crust, all of the seafloor eventually is recycled by subduction while very little continental crust is consumed in subduction. The result is that the oldest oceanic crust is still much younger than the oldest continental crust.
The oldest seafloor in the world is found in the Mediterranean Sea. The next oldest seafloor ages are found in the northeastern Atlantic and the northeastern Pacific, far from any spreading ridges. The northeastern Pacific also has a long convergent boundary, where some of the oldest seafloor is now being subducted back into the interior of the Earth. In areas where spreading rates are slow, seafloor age changes quickly as you move away from the spreading ridge. Conversely, in areas where spreading rates are fast, seafloor age changes more slowly as you move away from the spreading ridge. April 2009
TRANSFORM&
F DIVERGENCE
E CONVERGENCE
PLATE BOUNDARY
Converging
Diverging
Transform
Produced by California Institute of Technology Tectonics Observatory
