Plate kinematic constraints on driving forces associated with the Reunion plume head

在20世纪60年代，板块构造学的出现彻底改变了我们对地球运行方式的理解？为什么地震和火山会在它们发生的地方发生，而且很大程度上与金属矿床有关，等等。众所周知，推动板块运动的主要力量是重力对板块的拉力，板块落入地球内部？？S，但长期以来人们一直怀疑，内部上升的地幔物质柱(地幔热柱)也影响板块运动。这项提议的支持者发现，有证据表明，导致印度洋留尼汪岛热点的羽流也产生了影响印度和非洲运动的力量。这个项目采用了一种新的方法来分析历史板块运动，特别是非洲，以评估羽流的影响。这项工作的主要更广泛的影响将是更好地了解塑造地球整体的力量，特别是非洲和南亚的构造演化。

In the 1960s the advent of plate tectonics revolutionized our understanding of how the Earth works ? why earthquakes and volcanoes occur where they do, and much about metal deposits, among other things. The primary force that moves plates is known to be gravity tugging on plates where the plunge into the Earth?s interior, but it has long been suspected that rising columns of mantle material (mantle plumes) in the interior also affect plate motions. The proponents of this proposal have uncovered evidence that that the plume that gave rise to the Reunion hotspot in the Indian Ocean also produced forces that affected the motions of India and Africa. This project takes a novel approach to analyzing the history plate motions, particularly Africa, to assess the influence of the plume. The principal broader impacts of this work will be a better understanding of the forces that shape the Earth in general and the tectonic evolution of Africa and southern Asia in particular.