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English: How Earth's tectonic plates and lands may have been positioned and moved in the past: an animated video of a full-plate tectonic model extended one billion years into the past. It is a result of the 2020 study "Extending full-plate tectonic models into deep time".
Plate tectonics (from Latin tectonicus, from Ancient Greek τεκτονικός (tektonikós) 'pertaining to building') [1] is the scientific theory that Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago.
When numerous subsequent compressional tectonic phases share the same geodynamic cause (usually some plate tectonic mechanism) this is called an orogeny. During an orogeny tectonic phases lead to mountain building, which causes deformation and metamorphism of rocks. In most Phanerozoic orogenies many tectonic phases are distinguished.
Obduction zones occurs when the continental plate is pushed under the oceanic plate, but this is unusual as the relative densities of the tectonic plates favours subduction of the oceanic plate. This causes the oceanic plate to buckle and usually results in a new mid-ocean ridge forming and turning the obduction into subduction. [citation needed]
For purposes of this list, a major plate is any plate with an area greater than 20 million km 2 (7.7 million sq mi) African plate – Tectonic plate underlying Africa – 61,300,000 km 2 (23,700,000 sq mi) Antarctic plate – Major tectonic plate containing Antarctica and the surrounding ocean floor – 60,900,000 km 2 (23,500,000 sq mi)
The work is reported in a new paper, ‘The importance of continents, oceans and plate tectonics for the evolution of complex life: implications for finding extraterrestrial civilizations ...
The Wilson cycle theory is based upon the idea of an ongoing cycle of ocean closure, continental collision, and a formation of new ocean on the former suture zone.The Wilson Cycle can be described in six phases of tectonic plate motion: the separation of a continent (continental rift), formation of a young ocean at the seafloor, formation of ocean basins during continental drift, initiation of ...
Thin-skinned deformation is a style of deformation in plate tectonics at a convergent boundary which occurs with shallow thrust faults that only involves cover rocks (typically sedimentary rocks), and not deeper basement rocks. [1]