Capricorn plate

Last updated
Capricorn plate
CapricornPlate.png
Type Minor (proposed)
Movement1north-east
Speed159 mm (2.3 in)/year
Features Indian Ocean
1Relative to the African Plate

The Capricorn Plate is a proposed[ clarification needed ] minor tectonic plate lying beneath the Indian Ocean basin in the southern and eastern hemispheres.

The original theory of plate tectonics, as accepted by the scientific community in the 1960s, assumed fully rigid plates and relatively narrow, distinct plate boundaries. However, research in the late 20th and early 21st centuries suggests that certain plate junctions are diffuse across several dozen or even hundreds of kilometres. [1]

The Capricorn Plate is a relatively rigid piece of oceanic crust along the far western edge of the former Indo-Australian Plate. The Capricorn Plate was once joined with the Indian Plate and the Australian Plate to form the Indo-Australian Plate, but recent studies suggest that the Capricorn Plate began separating from the Indian and Australian Plates between 18  million years ago and 8  million years ago along a wide, diffuse boundary. [2]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indo-Australian plate</span> Major tectonic plate formed by the fusion of the Indian and Australian plates

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian plate</span> Major tectonic plate separated from Indo-Australian Plate about 3 million years ago

The Australian Plate is a major tectonic plate in the eastern and, largely, southern hemispheres. Originally a part of the ancient continent of Gondwana, Australia remained connected to India and Antarctica until approximately 100 million years ago when India broke away and began moving north. Australia and Antarctica had begun rifting by 96 million years ago and completely separated a while after this, some believing as recently as 45 million years ago, but most accepting presently that this had occurred by 60 million years ago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burma plate</span> Minor tectonic plate in Southeast Asia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somali plate</span> Minor tectonic plate including the east coast of Africa and the adjoining seabed

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southeast Indian Ridge</span> Mid-ocean ridge in the southern Indian Ocean

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macquarie Triple Junction</span> Place where the Indo-Australian Plate, Pacific Plate, and Antarctic Plate meet

The Macquarie Triple Junction is a geologically active tectonic boundary located at 61°30′S161°0′E at which the historic Indo-Australian Plate, Pacific Plate, and Antarctic Plate collide and interact. The term Triple Junction is given to particular tectonic boundaries at which three separate tectonic plates meet at a specific, singular location. The Macquarie Triple Junction is located on the seafloor of the southern region of the Pacific Ocean, just south of New Zealand. This tectonic boundary was named in respect to the nearby Macquarie Island, which is located southeast of New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macquarie Fault Zone</span> Lateral-moving transform fault south of New Zealand

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lwandle plate</span> Mainly oceanic tectonic microplate off the southeast coast of Africa

The Lwandle Plate is one of three tectonic microplates, along with the Rovuma Plate and Victoria Plate, that make up the African Plate with the Somali Plate and the Nubian Plate. Its discovery is very recent, so the velocity of the plate is neither well known nor well understood. Many experiments are ongoing to quantify this. The Lwandle Plate lies between 30°E and 50°E, sharing a boundary with the Nubian, Somali, and Antarctic Plates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geology of Myanmar</span>

The geology of Myanmar is shaped by dramatic, ongoing tectonic processes controlled by shifting tectonic components as the Indian Plate slides northwards and towards Southeast Asia. Myanmar spans across parts of three tectonic plates separated by north-trending faults. To the west, a highly oblique subduction zone separates the offshore Indian Plate from the Burma microplate, which underlies most of the country. In the center-east of Myanmar, a right lateral strike slip fault extends from south to north across more than 1,000 km (620 mi). These tectonic zones are responsible for large earthquakes in the region. The India-Eurasia plate collision which initiated in the Eocene provides the last geological pieces of Myanmar, and thus Myanmar preserves a more extensive Cenozoic geological record as compared to records of the Mesozoic and Paleozoic eras. Myanmar is physiographically divided into three regions: the Indo-Burman Range, Myanmar Central Belt and the Shan Plateau; these all display an arcuate shape bulging westwards. The varying regional tectonic settings of Myanmar not only give rise to disparate regional features, but also foster the formation of petroleum basins and a diverse mix of mineral resources.

Richard G. Gordon is an American geophysicist, known for his research on global tectonics, including global plate motions and palaeomagnetism. He is noteworthy for leading two global plate motion projects: NUVEL and MORVEL. In the geosciences, NUVEL and MORVEL are standard models for global plate motions.

References

  1. Royer, Jean-Yves; Gordon, Richard G. (August 1997). "The Motion and Boundary Between the Capricorn and Australian Plates". Science. 277 (5330): 1268–1274. doi:10.1126/science.277.5330.1268.
  2. Gordon, Richard G. (March 2009). "Lithospheric Deformation in the equatorial Indian Ocean: Timing and Tibet". Geology. 37 (3): 287–288. Bibcode:2009Geo....37..287G. doi: 10.1130/focus032009.1 .