Non-random distribution of euler poles: is plate tectonics subject to rotational effects?

• Published in: Terra nova (Oxford, England) Vol. 24; no. 6; pp. 467 - 476
• Main Authors: Vérard, Christian, Hochard, Cyril, Stampfli, Gérard
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.12.2012
• Subjects: Earth science; Geochemistry; Plate tectonics
• ISSN: 0954-4879; 1365-3121
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3121.2012.01085.x

Terra Nova, 24, 467–476, 2012 A full global, physically coherent geodynamical model over 600 Ma has been developed at the University of Lausanne during the past 20 years, based on the PaleoDyn database, compiling information of geodynamical interest. One of the outstanding results, presented herein, is the distribution of Euler poles (axis around which tectonic plates are moving on the Earth’s surface from one reconstruction to another), which are not randomly distributed, but smeared out along a weakly developed girdle. The scattering reflects the tendency of plates to follow a random evolution. However, the distribution along a preferential plane (‘best‐fitted’ plane) suggests a long‐term influence on plate motion. The fact that the poles predominantly lie within the inter‐tropical zone together with the computed net rotation throughout the Phanerozoic indicating a ‘westward drift’, suggest a long‐term influence of rotational effects.