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

板块构造-发现地球表面是由运动的刚性板块组成的马赛克，以及最重要的事件，如地震和火山喷发发生在板块边界上？是关于地球如何工作的唯一最重要的理论。如果板块真的是刚性的，那么三个板块相交的地方，它们的运动之和一定为零，但观察清楚地表明，这一条件是不满足的。这一悬而未决的问题对我们理解板块构造具有重要意义。一种可能的解释是，随着年龄的增长，板材的形状会受到热收缩的轻微影响。该项目的目的是通过在重新评估太平洋-可可-纳斯卡和太平洋-北美板块电路时量化热收缩的影响来验证这一假设。这一结果将有助于我们理解地球的运行方式。该项目将支持一名年轻的研究人员和一名研究生，并将通过教育宣传与学生在课程中分享结果。

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.