• Login
    About WHOAS
    View Item 
    •   WHOAS Home
    • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
    • Academic Programs
    • WHOI Theses
    • View Item
    •   WHOAS Home
    • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
    • Academic Programs
    • WHOI Theses
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of WHOASCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesKeywordsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesKeywords

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    The evolution of the Indian Ocean triple junction and the finite rotation problem

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    Tapscott_Thesis (6.562Mb)
    Date
    1979-06
    Author
    Tapscott, Christopher Robert  Concept link
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Citable URI
    https://hdl.handle.net/1912/1723
    Location
    8°N, 42°W
    Southwest Indian Ridge
    DOI
    10.1575/1912/1723
    Keyword
     Plate tectonics; Sea-floor spreading; Geology; Atlantis II (Ship : 1963-) Cruise AII93-5; Atlantis II (Ship : 1963-) Cruise AII93-6 
    Abstract
    A major goal in the study of plate tectonics is the acquisition of a knowledge of the history of relative motion among the rigid plates of the earth's lithosphere. The three papers of this thesis contribute to this effort and demonstrate that studies of the stability and evolution of triple junctions and of the finite rotations of systems of three plates can yield significantly more accurate tectonic histories than can studies of the relative motions between two plates alone. Topographic and magnetic investigation of the Southwest Indian Ridge and reconstruction of the plate system of the Indian Ocean shows that both Africa and Antarctica are rigid plates and their pole of relative rotation has remained fixed near 8°N, 42°W since the Eocene. A detailed survey of the Indian Ocean triple junction reveals that the Indian Ocean plate motions have remained constant since 10 Ma. The stability conditions of the junction show that the general morphology of the Southwest Indian Ridge results from the evolution of the Indian Ocean triple junction. A method is presented for determining the finite rotations best reconstructing the past relative positions of three plates around a triple junction. The method is illustrated by reconstructions of the plates around the Labrador Sea triple junction at the times of anomalies 24 (56 Ma) and 21 (50 Ma). The region of uncertainty of the Greenland-North America finite pole is mapped for each reconstruction, and it demonstrates that consideration of the three plate system yields more well-constrained results than does a treatment of the two plates alone.
    Description
    Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution June, 1979
    Collections
    • Geology and Geophysics (G&G)
    • WHOI Theses
    Suggested Citation
    Thesis: Tapscott, Christopher Robert, "The evolution of the Indian Ocean triple junction and the finite rotation problem", 1979-06, DOI:10.1575/1912/1723, https://hdl.handle.net/1912/1723
     

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Thumbnail

      Station locations for Atlantis II-73, Atlantis II-77, and Knorr-42 cruises and ALVIN dive tracks in the FAMOUS area 

      Heirtzler, James R.; Hays, Helen C. (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1977-02)
      Lists and positions of stations on cruises ATLANTIS II-73, ATLANTIS II-77, KNORR-42 and ALVIN dives on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge during Project FAMOUS are given. Station lists include those for camera, water temperature, ...
    • Thumbnail

      Preliminary cruise report ATLANTIS II - cruise 8 : International Indian Ocean Expedition, July 5, 1963 - December 20, 1963 

      Miller, Arthur R.; Risebrough, Robert W. (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1963)
      ATLANTIS II was delivered to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on January 31, 1963. After some short cruises she left Woods Hole on July 5 to participate in the International Indian Ocean Expedition, her first ...
    • Thumbnail

      Hydrographic station data : Caribbean Sea, Atlantis II cruise 78 and Knorr cruise 37 

      Metcalf, William G.; Stalcup, Marvel C.; Zemanovic, Marguerite E. (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1974-12)
      During Cruise 37 of the Research Vessel KNORR,91 hydrographic stations were occupied,most of them in the general area of the Windward Passage, eastern Cayman Basin, Mona Passage and across the Caribbean Sea from Puerto ...
    All Items in WHOAS are protected by original copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. WHOAS also supports the use of the Creative Commons licenses for original content.
    A service of the MBLWHOI Library | About WHOAS
    Contact Us | Send Feedback | Privacy Policy
    Core Trust Logo