Absolute Motion of Plumes and Plates

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The jostling of Earth’s tectonic plates at plate boundaries give rise to natural hazards such as earthquakes and volcanism as observed along the Pacific “Ring of Fire”. This motion represents the surface expression of the Earth’s heat loss by convection currents in the mantle. Thus, the history of plate motions provides fundamental insight into the internal operations of the planet. As a consequence of the changing polarity of the Earth’s magnetic field, magnetic isochrons on either side of spreading ridges can be identified and used to infer relative motions between two or more plates. Armed with a database of magnetic picks and additional constraints on convergence at subduction zones, scientists have produced reconstructions of global plate motions extending back over 200 million years. Yet, observations of ridge spreading and subduction convergence only constrain relative plate motions (RPM) not linked to the deep mantle. In fact, deep mantle forces that propel tectonic plates and the sub-lithospheric deformation that slows them are best understood within the context of absolute plate motions (APM). Most methods for determining APM use observed age progressions along linear island and seamount chains produced by a deep-seated mantle plume bringing hot materials to the surface. If these plumes remain fixed in the mantle then it is possible to directly solve for the APM. However, evidence is mounting that the plumes themselves are also moving and thus do not represent the desired fixed reference frame. A new method has been discovered that may solve for both absolute plate and plume motions simultaneously, and this project will develop this new method and calibrate it with the most comprehensive datasets on seamount chain geometry, age, paleomagnetic latitude, and more. An improved understanding of APMs has broad benefits for other studies of the Earth. It determines a framework for relating the surface to the mantle, which allows other geoscience data, such as geochemistry and seismology, to be linked. The project will train a student in plate kinematics and data analysis. Besides data and software products, the collaborating institutions will offer a joint plate tectonic seminar using remote guest speakers, with recordings made available as video podcasts on YouTube.Observed paleomagnetic anomalies interpreted as plume drift make modeling of APM challenging as direct observations of plume drift are lacking. Using plume drift predictions from mantle circulation models that broadly satisfy observed paleolatitudes has so far been the best approach for deriving APM over moving hotspots. Yet, uncertainties in mantle rheology, temperature, and initial conditions make such models nonunique. A new approach (plume-spotting) has been discovered to address this unresolved problem. It is demonstrated that age progressions along Pacific hotspot trails provide strong constraints on allowable plume motions, making it possible to derive models for relative plume drift from these data alone. Relative plume drifts are estimated from inter-hotspot distances derived from age progressions, but these lack a fixed reference point and azimuthal orientation. Interpolated paleolatitude histories for Hawaii and Louisville add further constraints on plume motion, yet one parameter remains unresolved: a longitude history shared by all plumes beneath the Pacific plate. Thus, it is possible to only resolve the motion of hotspots relative to an unknown longitudinal shift. Consequently, and per Euler’s theorem, resolved APM rotations are therefore corrupted by a corresponding rotation about the north pole. Yet, such APM models still satisfy the data, forcing the use of methods involving RPM as new constraints. One such method is ridge-spotting, a technique that uses RPM models to examine the viability of APM models. Ridge-spotting has reconstructed the Pacific-Farallon ridge since 80 Ma and implies northward migration and monotonic clockwise rotation of the ridge. Some APM models imply large rotations of the ridge system and exhibit intermittent erratic behaviors. These properties suggest ridge- and plume-spotting combined may yield an optimal data-driven APM. The new plume- and ridge-spotting methods will be developed to handle the inconsistencies and uncertainties of plate kinematic data and used to derive data-driven models of plume and plate motions. Hotspot trail age-progressions will be developed and inter-hotspot age-distance curves with confidence limits will be published; these data and paleolatitudes will be used in the plume-spotting inversion. Paleolatitudes uncertainties, true polar wander, and alternative paleomagnetic interpretations will be considered in a Bayesian inversion framework. APM models will be tested for compatibility with RPM models via the ridge-spotting method. Additional considerations, such as geodynamic limits on both plate and plume speeds, net lithospheric rotation, the proximity of plumes to LLSVP edges and plate boundaries, and overall model smoothness will add further constraints to produce a unique model of Pacific absolute plate and plume motions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.