gravity

Birth of the viru microplate triggered by Pacific-Farallon plate reorganization

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Satellite gravity map of the southeastern Pacific Ocean showing spreading ridges, fracture zones and the Viru Microplate study area.

The Viru Microplate study uses high-resolution satellite gravity data together with new shipboard bathymetry to reveal a previously unknown episode of chaotic seafloor spreading between 44 and 28 million years ago at the Pacific-Farallon plate boundary. This episode produced a newly identified microplate, named the Viru Microplate, along with ridge jumps and propagating spreading ridges. … Read more…

5.8 magnitude Mansfield earthquake reflects compressive intraplate stress reactivating deep faults

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Forces acting along the edges of tectonic plates, particularly compressive forces caused by plate convergence and orogeny, propagate into the interior of plates and cause deformation within continents. Forces acting on the edges of plates include compressive forces due to plate collisions and mountain building, so-called “ridge push” forces caused by the excess gravitational potential … Read more…