scholarly journals 3D Modelling of Earth Kinematics in Palestine for GNSS and Geodetic Time-Dependent Positioning

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 6034-6039
Keyword(s):  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
Geodetic Network ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
Time Dependent ◽  
Relative Positioning ◽  
Jordan Valley ◽  
Local Networks ◽  
Tectonic Plates ◽  
Terrestrial Reference Frames ◽  
Gnss Positioning

The use of GNSS technologies for precise point positioning enabled the calculations for single-point observations or relative positioning of long baselines. The GNSS absolute and relative positioning techniques can be implemented between points within different tectonic plates, while the classical surveying methods start from local reference/triangulation points to near points within a few kilometers. The definition of the kinematic models of the earth has become an important role in GNSS measurements techniques and networks adjustment methods based on international terrestrial reference frames (ITRF), where the reference points can be located in different continents and tectonic plates. Thus, the position calculations in the ITRF systems are time-dependent. To satisfy the requirements of land and cadastral surveying, the bidirectional transformation between classical geodetic networks and GNSS global, regional and local networks is nowadays a primary requirement in modern geodesy. While the classical networks were defined locally assuming a static earth system, the ITRF coordinates by GNSS techniques are defined globally and directly affected by earth kinematics including plate tectonics and local crustal movements. However, Palestine has a special kinematic situation because it is located at the border between two plates; Nubia/Sinai plate and the Arabia plate along the Jordan valley line. Thus, the result is unsteady surface kinematics all over the country, which has a longitudinal shape parallel to the Jordan valley rift. Using the IGS/EUREF stations and GNSS stations data that are freely available on the internet, varying positional velocities were calculated in both magnitude and direction using years of daily available GNSS raw observations. The GNSS precise observation techniques have proven that the points of the classical networks were subjected to a kinematic situation over the years. Therefore, the Palestinian geodetic network has to be revised for kinematic effects for the integration with the modern GNSS positioning. In this work, the effect of surface movements is included in the calculations between the different ITRF coordinate systems and the classical geodetic network of Palestine. To achieve the required transformations between ITRF and the classical network, a velocities model was established and tested utilizing GIS raster interpolation. The accuracy of the modeled velocities could support 1cm in static or real-time GNSS positioning. This made it possible for the integration between geodetic measurements between different time epochs.

scholarly journals What drives tectonic plates?

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (10) ◽  
pp. eaax4295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Coltice ◽  
Laurent Husson ◽  
Claudio Faccenna ◽  
Maëlis Arnould
Keyword(s):  
Mantle Convection ◽  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
Dynamic Models ◽  
Dynamic Balance ◽  
Mantle Flow ◽  
Consistent System ◽  
Tectonic Plates ◽  
Slowing Down ◽  
Ill Posed

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.

scholarly journals Principles of structural geology on rocky planets

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (12) ◽  
pp. 1437-1457
Author(s):  
Christian Klimczak ◽  
Paul K. Byrne ◽  
A.M. Celâl Şengör ◽  
Sean C. Solomon
Keyword(s):  
Structural Geology ◽  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The Other ◽  
Tectonic Structures ◽  
Tectonic Plates ◽  
Tectonic Processes ◽  
Planetary Tectonics ◽  
Rocky Planets ◽  
Mechanisms Of Deformation

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.

Geochemical and metallogenic relations in volcanic rocks of the southern Slave Province: implications for late Neoarchean tectonics

2006 ◽  
Vol 43 (12) ◽  
pp. 1835-1857 ◽  
Author(s):  
A M Goodwin ◽  
M B Lambert ◽  
O Ujike
Keyword(s):  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Volcanic Belt ◽  
Gold Deposits ◽  
Tectonic Plates ◽  
Slave Province ◽  
Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide ◽  
Lode Gold Deposits ◽  
Volcanic Belts

Late Neoarchean volcanic belts in the southern Slave Province include (1) in the east, the Cameron River – Beaulieu River belts, which are characterized by stratigraphically thin, flow-rich, classic calc-alkaline, arc-type sequences with accompanying syngenetic volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits; and (2) in the west, the Yellowknife belt, which is characterized by stratigraphically thick, structurally complex, pyroclastic-rich, adakitic, back-arc basin-type sequences, with accompanying epigenetic lode-gold deposits. The volcanic belt association bears persuasive chemical evidence of subduction-initiated magma generation. However, the greenstone belts, together with coeval matching patterned belts in Superior Province of the southern Canadian Shield, bear equally persuasive evidence of prevailing autochthonous–parautochthonous relations with respect to component stratigraphic parts and to older gneissic basement. The eastern and western volcanic belts in question are petrogenetically ascribed to a "westerly inclined" (present geography) subduction zone(s) that produced shallower (east) to deeper (west), slab-initiated, mantle wedge-generated, parent magmas. This early stage microplate tectonic process involved modest mantle subduction depths, small tectonic plates, and small sialic cratons. In the larger context of Earth's progressively cooling, hence subduction-deepening mantle, this late Neoarchean greenstone belt development (2.73–2.66 Ga) merged with the massive end-Archean tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite–granite (TTGG) "bloom" (2.65–2.55 Ga), resulting in greatly enhanced craton stability. Successive subduction-deepening, plate-craton-enlarging stages, with appropriate metallotectonic response across succeeding Proterozoic time and beyond, led to modern-mode plate tectonics.

High-precision GNSS-positioning in GSK-2011 reference frame

2019 ◽  
Vol 944 (2) ◽  
pp. 2-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.A. Bovshin
Keyword(s):  
Reference Frame ◽  
High Precision ◽  
Reference Frames ◽  
Geodetic Network ◽  
Terrestrial Reference Frame ◽  
Reference Station ◽  
Gnss Positioning ◽  
Processing Procedure ◽  
Gnss Observations ◽  
Correct Processing

The paper deals with a high-precision geodetic network densification by means of GNSS based geodetic solutions, in the view of the fact that the initial data are represented in different reference frames. Indeed, reference station positions are represented in GSK-2011 terrestrial reference frame whereas GNSS satellites` ephemeris are represented in other reference frames, such as ITRFs, WGS84, etc. Two methods are considered in the paper to provide GNSS observations with a correct processing procedure

The Tectonic Plates are Moving!

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy Livermore
Keyword(s):  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Short Article ◽  
Tectonic Plates ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Deep Interior ◽  
Two Generations ◽  
The 1960S

Written in a witty and informal style, this book explains modern plate tectonics in a non-technical manner, showing not only how it accounts for phenomena such as great earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions, but also how it controls conditions at the Earth’s surface, including global geography and climate, making it suitable for life. The book presents the advances that have been made since the establishment of plate tectonics in the 1960s, highlighting, on the fiftieth anniversary of the theory, the contributions of a small number of scientists who have never been widely recognized for their discoveries. Beginning with the publication of a short article in Nature by Vine and Matthews, the book traces the development of plate tectonics through two generations of the theory. First-generation plate tectonics covers the exciting scientific revolution of the 1960s, its heroes, and its villains. The second generation includes the rapid expansions in sonar, satellite, and seismic technologies during the 1980s and 1990s that provided a truly global view of the plates and their motions, and an appreciation of the role of their within the Earth system. Arriving at the cutting edge of the science, the latest results from studies using techniques such as seismic tomography and mineral physics to probe the deep interior are discussed and the prospects for finding plate tectonics on other planets assessed. Ultimately, the book leads to the startling conclusion that, without plate tectonics, the Earth would be as lifeless as Venus.

Plate Tectonics

2021 ◽  
pp. 82-113
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Ervin-Blankenheim
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
Continental Drift ◽  
Ocean Floor ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
World War ◽  
Tectonic Plates ◽  
The World ◽  
Geologic Time Scale ◽  
Viable Mechanism

This chapter illustrates the most significant revolution in the understanding of the Earth discovered in the last 75 years, plate tectonics. The theory of plate tectonics is the second overarching precept of the field of geology (after the geologic time scale). Plate tectonics and its history as a theory are traced in this chapter. Early explorers and others had noticed the apparent fit in the shapes of the continents, but these ideas were not explicitly stated until Alfred Wegener detailed his evidence for the drift of the continents, though he had no viable mechanism on how the drift would have occurred. World War II technology, including sonar and radar, allowed scientists to understand the ocean floor. Rather than a flat, featureless plain, they found a vast undersea mountain range known as the mid-oceanic ridge that wraps around the world like seams on a baseball. Harry Hess proposed a new mechanism for continental drift through mantle convection cells, causing seafloor spreading. These ideas were confirmed by magnetic surveys and subsequent research, leading to the theory of plate tectonics. A final section looks at the maturation of the theory as geologists continue to learn more details about the movement and intricacies of the tectonic plates.

scholarly journals Multi-GNSS Relative Positioning with Fixed Inter-System Ambiguity

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hua Chen ◽  
Weiping Jiang ◽  
Jiancheng Li
Keyword(s):  
Double Difference ◽  
Relative Positioning ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Gnss Positioning ◽  
Ambiguity Fixing ◽  
Single Difference ◽  
Phase Bias ◽  
System Phase

In multi-GNSS cases, two types of Double Difference (DD) ambiguity could be formed including an intra-system ambiguity and an inter-system ambiguity, which are identified as the DD ambiguity between satellites from the same and from different GNSS systems, respectively. We studied the relative positioning methods using intra-system DD observations and using Un-Difference (UD) observations, and developed a frequency-free approach for fixing inter-system ambiguity based on UD observations for multi-GNSS positioning, where the inter-system phase bias is calculated with the help of a fixed Single-Difference (SD) ambiguity. The consistency between the receiver-end uncalibrated phase delays (RUPD) and the SD ambiguity were investigated and the positioning performance of this new approach was assessed. The results show that RUPD could be modeled as a constant if the receiver were tracking satellites continuously. Furthermore, compared to the method using DD observations with only an intra-system DD ambiguity fixed, the new ambiguity fixing approach has a better performance, especially in hard environments with a large cut-off angle or serve signal obstructions.

scholarly journals Faunal breaks and species composition of Indo-Pacific corals: the role of plate tectonics, environment and habitat distribution

2013 ◽  
Vol 280 (1763) ◽  
pp. 20130818 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. A. Keith ◽  
A. H. Baird ◽  
T. P. Hughes ◽  
J. S. Madin ◽  
S. R. Connolly
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
Depth Range ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Tectonic Plates ◽  
Geological Features ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
Colonization Ability ◽  
Multiple Species

Species richness gradients are ubiquitous in nature, but the mechanisms that generate and maintain these patterns at macroecological scales remain unresolved. We use a new approach that focuses on overlapping geographical ranges of species to reveal that Indo-Pacific corals are assembled within 11 distinct faunal provinces. Province limits are characterized by co-occurrence of multiple species range boundaries. Unexpectedly, these faunal breaks are poorly predicted by contemporary environmental conditions and the present-day distribution of habitat. Instead, faunal breaks show striking concordance with geological features (tectonic plates and mantle plume tracks). The depth range over which a species occurs, its larval development rate and genus age are important determinants of the likelihood that species will straddle faunal breaks. Our findings indicate that historical processes, habitat heterogeneity and species colonization ability account for more of the present-day biogeographical patterns of corals than explanations based on the contemporary distribution of reefs or environmental conditions.

scholarly journals Olivine anisotropy suggests Gutenberg discontinuity is not the base of the lithosphere

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (38) ◽  
pp. 10503-10506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars N. Hansen ◽  
Chao Qi ◽  
Jessica M. Warren
Keyword(s):  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Flow Model ◽  
Seismic Anisotropy ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Tectonic Plates ◽  
Midocean Ridges ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Lithospheric Plates

Tectonic plates are a key feature of Earth’s structure, and their behavior and dynamics are fundamental drivers in a wide range of large-scale processes. The operation of plate tectonics, in general, depends intimately on the manner in which lithospheric plates couple to the convecting interior. Current debate centers on whether the transition from rigid lithosphere to flowing asthenosphere relates to increases in temperature or to changes in composition such as the presence of a small amount of melt or an increase in water content below a specified depth. Thus, the manner in which the rigid lithosphere couples to the flowing asthenosphere is currently unclear. Here we present results from laboratory-based torsion experiments on olivine aggregates with and without melt, yielding an improved database describing the crystallographic alignment of olivine grains. We combine this database with a flow model for oceanic upper mantle to predict the structure of the seismic anisotropy beneath ocean basins. Agreement between our model and seismological observations supports the view that the base of the lithosphere is thermally controlled. This model additionally supports the idea that discontinuities in velocity and anisotropy, often assumed to be the base of the lithosphere, are, instead, intralithospheric features reflecting a compositional boundary established at midocean ridges, not a rheological boundary.

scholarly journals Tectonic plates in 3D mantle convection model with stress- history-dependent rheology

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takehiro Miyagoshi ◽  
Masanori Kameyama ◽  
Masaki Ogawa
Keyword(s):  
Mantle Convection ◽  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Vertical Component ◽  
Plate Motion ◽  
Stress History ◽  
Tectonic Plates ◽  
Convection Model ◽  
Narrow Plate ◽  
Narrow Bands

Abstract Plate tectonics is a key feature of the dynamics of the Earth’s mantle. By taking into account the stress-history-dependent rheology of mantle materials, we succeeded in realistically producing tectonic plates in our numerical model of mantle convection in a three-dimensional rectangular box. The calculated lithosphere is separated into several pieces (tectonic plates) that rigidly move. Deformation of the lithosphere caused by the relative motion of adjacent plates is concentrated in narrow bands (plate margins) where the viscosity is substantially reduced. The plate margins develop when the stress exceeds a threshold and the lithosphere is ruptured. Once formed, the plate margins persist, even after the stress is reduced below the threshold, allowing the plates to stably move over geologic time. The vertical component of vorticity takes a large value in the narrow plate margins. Secondary convection occurs beneath old tectonic plates as two-dimensional rolls with their axes aligned to the direction of plate motion. The surface heat flow decreases with increasing distance from divergent plate margins (ridges) in their vicinity in the way the cooling half-space model predicts, but it tends towards a constant value away from ridges as observed for the Earth because of the heat transport by the secondary convection.

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