Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems – Constraining the Jurassic extent of Greater India: Tectonic evolution of the West Australian margin

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Gibbons, A. D., Barckhausen, U., den Bogaard, P., Hoernle, K., Werner, R., Whittaker, J. M., & Müller, R. D. (2012). Constraining the Jurassic extent of Greater India: Tectonic evolution of the West Australian margin. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 13(5). doi:10.1029/2011GC003919. Download the paper – pdf

An open-source software environment for visualizing and refining plate tectonic reconstructions using high-resolution geological and geophysical data sets

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GSA Today Cover-1We describe a powerful method to explore spatio-temporal relationships within geological and geophysical data sets by analyzing the data within the context of tectonic reconstructions. GPlates is part of a new generation of plate reconstruction software that incorporates functionality familiar from GIS software with the added dimension of geological time. Here we use GPlates to reconstruct geological terranes, geophysical grids, and paleomagnetic data within alternative tectonic models of the assembly of Western Australia and the configuration of Rodinia. With the ability to rapidly visualize a diverse range of geological and geophysical constraints within different reconstructions, users can easily investigate the implications of different tectonic models for reconciling a variety of observations and make more informed choices between different models and data. … Read more…

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Earth and Planetary Science Letters – Reconstructing Ontong Java Nui: Implications for Pacific absolute plate motion, hotspot drift and true polar wander

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Chandler, M. T., Wessel, P., Taylor, B., Seton, M., Kim, S. S., & Hyeong, K. (2012). Reconstructing Ontong Java Nui: Implications for Pacific absolute plate motion, hotspot drift and true polar wander. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 331, 140-151. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2012.03.017. Download the paper – pdf

Insights on the kinematics of the India-Eurasia collision from global geodynamic models

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Image 002We present the input plate motion models and results from the study by Zahirovic et al. (2012) on the India-Eurasia collision using linked kinematic and geodynamic models.

Two end-member scenarios of the India-Eurasia collision were tested. The conventional model invokes long-lived Andean-style subduction along southern Eurasia until continental collision between a maximum extent Greater India and Lhasa at ~60 Ma. … Read more…

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G-Cubed – Insights on the kinematics of the India-Eurasia collision from global geodynamic models

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Zahirovic, S., Müller, R. D., Seton, M., Flament, N., Gurnis, M., & Whittaker, J. (2012). Insights on the kinematics of the India‐Eurasia collision from global geodynamic models. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 13(4). doi:10.1029/2011GC003883. Download the paper – pdf

GSA Today – An open-source software environment for visualizing and refining plate tectonic reconstructions using high resolution geological and geophysical data sets

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Williams, S. E., Müller, R. D., Landgrebe, T. C., & Whittaker, J. M. (2012). An open-source software environment for visualizing and refining plate tectonic reconstructions using high-resolution geological and geophysical data sets.GSA Today, 22(4/5), 4-9. doi:10.1130/GSATG139A.1. Download the paper – pdf

Grace Shephard invited to the 62nd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting

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Congratulations to Grace Shephard for being selected to participate in the 62nd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, which is dedicated to Physics this year. Only the 592 most qualified Young Researchers can be given the opportunity to enrich and share the unique atmosphere of the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings. Congratulations Grace! Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings website

Kara Matthews is awarded the Chris Powell Medal

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Congratulations to Kara Matthews who has been awarded the prestigious Chris Powell Medal for Postgraduate Research in Tectonics and Structural Geology from the Geological Society of Australia. She was presented her medal at a meeting of the Specialist Group in Tectonics & Structural Geology in Waratah Bay, Victoria. Well done Kara! Download the paper – … Read more…

Australian Journal of Earth Sciences – Australian paleo-stress fields and tectonic reactivation over the past 100 Ma

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Müller, R. D., Dyksterhuis, S., & Rey, P. (2012). Australian paleo-stress fields and tectonic reactivation over the past 100 Ma. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, 59(1), 13-28. doi:10.1080/08120099.2011.605801. Download the paper – pdf

SW Pacific IODP workshop approved

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An IODP workshop on the SW Pacific to be hosted ay the University of Sydney has been approved. The workshop, led by Neville Exon, Stephen Gallagher and Maria Seton will see ~70 scientists from around the world come to USyd for a 4-day workshop in October 2012. Date and time: 2012 October 9-11 Venue: Veterinary … Read more…

Gondwana Research Letters – Dynamic topography and anomalously negative residual depth of the Argentine Basin

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Shephard, G. E., Liu, L., Müller, R. D., & Gurnis, M. (2012). Dynamic topography and anomalously negative residual depth of the Argentine Basin.Gondwana Research, 22(2), 658-663. doi:10.1016/j.gr.2011.12.005. Download the paper – pdf

Computers and Geosciences – Plate Reconstructions with Continuously Closing Plates

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Gurnis, M., Turner, M., Zahirovic, S., DiCaprio, L., Spasojevic, S., Müller, R. D., … & Bower, D. J. (2012). Plate tectonic reconstructions with continuously closing plates. Computers & Geosciences, 38(1), 35-42. doi:10.1016/j.cageo.2011.04.014. We present a new algorithm for modeling a self-consistent set of global plate polygons. Each plate polygon is composed of a finite list … Read more…

Earth and Planetary Science Letters – Testing absolute plate reference frames and the implications for the generation of geodynamic mantle heterogeneity structure

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Shephard, G. E., Bunge, H. P., Schuberth, B. S., Müller, R. D., Talsma, A. S., Moder, C., & Landgrebe, T. C. W. (2012). Testing absolute plate reference frames and the implications for the generation of geodynamic mantle heterogeneity structure. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 317, 204-217. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2011.11.027. Download the paper – pdf

Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors – Signatures of downgoing plate-buoyancy driven subduction in Cenozoic plate motions

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Goes, S., Capitanio, F. A., Morra, G., Seton, M., & Giardini, D. (2011). Signatures of downgoing plate-buoyancy driven subduction in Cenozoic plate motions. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 184(1), 1-13. doi:10.1016/j.pepi.2010.10.007. Link to download the paper from Science Direct

Testing hotspot fixity in the Indian and Atlantic oceans

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Project Summary
We have developed a novel interactive evolutionary inversion approach for computing absolute tectonic plate motions and their uncertainties based on hotspot tracks through time. We use a modified criterion of fit for inverting hotspot-track data, following an approach previously developed by Chang and co-workers for relative plate motions. Using this method, we derive covariance matrices for absolute plate rotations for the last 120 million years for the first time, using dated hotspot tracks in the Atlantic-Indian oceans. This represents a major advance in quantitatively constraining paleogeographic maps for the last 130 million years.  … Read more…

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