What Drives Plate Motion?

AbstractThe high-speed impact of a droplet onto a flexible substrate is a highly non-linear process of practical importance, which poses formidable modelling challenges in the context of fluid–structure interaction. We present two approaches aimed at investigating the canonical system of a droplet impacting onto a rigid plate supported by a spring and a dashpot: matched asymptotic expansions and direct numerical simulation (DNS). In the former, we derive a generalisation of inviscid Wagner theory to approximate the flow behaviour during the early stages of the impact. In the latter, we perform detailed DNS designed to validate the analytical framework, as well as provide insight into later times beyond the reach of the proposed analytical model. Drawing from both methods, we observe the strong influence that the mass of the plate, resistance of the dashpot, and stiffness of the spring have on the motion of the solid, which undergo forced damped oscillations. Furthermore, we examine how the plate motion affects the dynamics of the droplet, predominantly through altering its internal hydrodynamic pressure distribution. We build on the interplay between these techniques, demonstrating that a hybrid approach leads to improved model and computational development, as well as result interpretation, across multiple length and time scales.

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On the analogy between rigid plate motion and mean momentum transfer in surface gravity waves

AIP Advances ◽

10.1063/5.0043751 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 045114

Author(s):

Jan Erik H. Weber ◽

Kai H. Christensen

Keyword(s):

Momentum Transfer ◽

Gravity Waves ◽

Surface Gravity ◽

Plate Motion ◽

Rigid Plate ◽

Surface Gravity Waves

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A review of the tectonics of the northern Middle East region

Geological Magazine ◽

10.1017/s0016756800030727 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 121 (6) ◽

pp. 577-587 ◽

Cited By ~ 99

Author(s):

P. E. R. Lovelock

Keyword(s):

Late Cretaceous ◽

Kinematic Model ◽

Continental Collision ◽

Dead Sea ◽

Plate Motion ◽

Arabian Plate ◽

Southern Boundary ◽

The North ◽

The Dead ◽

Two Stages

AbstractThe structure of the northern part of the Arabian platform is reviewed in the light of hitherto unpublished exploration data and the presently accepted kinematic model of plate motion in the region. The Palmyra and Sinjar zones share a common history of development involving two stages of rifting, one in the Triassic–Jurassic and the other during late Cretaceous to early Tertiary times. Deformation of the Palmyra zone during the Mio-Pliocene is attributed to north–south compression on the eastern block of the Dead Sea transcurrent system which occurred after continental collision in the north in southeast Turkey. The asymmetry of the Palmyra zone is believed to result from northward underthrusting along the southern boundary facilitated by the presence of shallow Triassic evaporites. An important NW-SE cross-plate shear zone has been identified, which can be traced for 600 km and which controls the course of the River Euphrates over long distances in Syria and Iraq. Transcurrent motion along this zone resulted in the formation of narrow grabens during the late Cretaceous which were compressed during the Mio-Pliocene. To a large extent, present day structures in the region result from compressional reactivation of old lineaments within the Arabian plate by the transcurrent motion of the Dead Sea fault zone and subsequent continental collision.

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Improving global paleogeography since the late Paleozoic using paleobiology

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-14-5425-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 14 (23) ◽

pp. 5425-5439 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Wenchao Cao ◽

Sabin Zahirovic ◽

Nicolas Flament ◽

Simon Williams ◽

Jan Golonka ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ocean Circulation ◽

Plate Motion ◽

Dynamic Topography ◽

Map Projections ◽

Motion Models ◽

Tectonic Reconstruction ◽

Isotope Record ◽

America South ◽

Regional Sea Level ◽

Plate Reconstruction

Abstract. Paleogeographic reconstructions are important to understand Earth's tectonic evolution, past eustatic and regional sea level change, paleoclimate and ocean circulation, deep Earth resources and to constrain and interpret the dynamic topography predicted by mantle convection models. Global paleogeographic maps have been compiled and published, but they are generally presented as static maps with varying map projections, different time intervals represented by the maps and different plate motion models that underlie the paleogeographic reconstructions. This makes it difficult to convert the maps into a digital form and link them to alternative digital plate tectonic reconstructions. To address this limitation, we develop a workflow to restore global paleogeographic maps to their present-day coordinates and enable them to be linked to a different tectonic reconstruction. We use marine fossil collections from the Paleobiology Database to identify inconsistencies between their indicative paleoenvironments and published paleogeographic maps, and revise the locations of inferred paleo-coastlines that represent the estimated maximum transgression surfaces by resolving these inconsistencies. As a result, the consistency ratio between the paleogeography and the paleoenvironments indicated by the marine fossil collections is increased from an average of 75 % to nearly full consistency (100 %). The paleogeography in the main regions of North America, South America, Europe and Africa is significantly revised, especially in the Late Carboniferous, Middle Permian, Triassic, Jurassic, Late Cretaceous and most of the Cenozoic. The global flooded continental areas since the Early Devonian calculated from the revised paleogeography in this study are generally consistent with results derived from other paleoenvironment and paleo-lithofacies data and with the strontium isotope record in marine carbonates. We also estimate the terrestrial areal change over time associated with transferring reconstruction, filling gaps and modifying the paleogeographic geometries based on the paleobiology test. This indicates that the variation of the underlying plate reconstruction is the main factor that contributes to the terrestrial areal change, and the effect of revising paleogeographic geometries based on paleobiology is secondary.

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