Collaborative Research: Thermal Contraction, Oceanic Intraplate Deformation, and Plate Circuit Closure

板块构造学--发现地球表面是由运动中的刚性板块镶嵌而成的，大多数重大事件如地震和火山爆发都是沿着板块边界发生的。是关于地球运行的最重要的理论如果板块确实是刚性的，那么在三个板块相交的地方，它们的运动之和必然为零，但观测清楚地表明，这个条件并不满足。这个尚未解决的问题对我们理解板块构造具有根本的重要性。一种可能的解释是，随着年龄的增长，板块的形状会因热收缩而略有变化。该项目的目的是通过量化在重新评估太平洋-科科斯-纳斯卡和太平洋-北美板块回路中热收缩的影响来验证这一假设。这些结果将有助于我们了解地球的运行。该项目将支持一名年轻的调查员和一名研究生，其结果将在学生的课程中和通过教育宣传与学生分享。

Plate tectonics - the discovery that the Earth's surface is composed of a mosaic of rigid plates in motion, and that most significant events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur along the plate boundaries ? is the single most important theory about how he Earth works. If plates are truly rigid, it follows that where three plates meet, the sum of their motions must be zero, but observations clearly demonstrate that this condition is not met. This unresolved problem is of fundamental importance to our understanding of plate tectonics. One possible explanation is that the shapes of plates are slightly modified by thermal contraction as they age. This project has the aim of testing that hypothesis by quantifying the effects of the thermal contraction in a re-evaluation of the Pacific-Cocos-Nazca and Pacific-North America plate circuits. The results will contribute to our understanding ofht e workings of the Earth. The project will support a young investigator, and a graduate student, and the results will be shared with students in their coursework and through educational outreach.