Reconstructing plate-motion changes in the presence of finite-rotations noise
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Reconstructing plate-motion changes in the presence of finite-rotations noise. / Iaffaldano, Giampiero; Bodin, Thomas; Sambridge, Malcolm.
In: Nature Communications, Vol. 3, 09.2012, p. 1-6.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Reconstructing plate-motion changes in the presence of finite-rotations noise
AU - Iaffaldano, Giampiero
AU - Bodin, Thomas
AU - Sambridge, Malcolm
PY - 2012/9
Y1 - 2012/9
N2 - Understanding lithospheric plate motions is of paramount importance to geodynamicists. Much effort is going into kinematic reconstructions featuring progressively finer temporal resolution. However, the challenge of precisely identifying ocean-floor magnetic lineations, and uncertainties in geomagnetic reversal timescales result in substantial finite-rotations noise. Unless some type of temporal smoothing is applied, the scenario arising at the native temporal resolution is puzzling, as plate motions vary erratically and significantly over short periods (<1 Myr). This undermines our ability to make geodynamic inferences, as the rates at which forces need to be built upon plates to explain these kinematics far exceed the most optimistic estimates. Here we show that the largest kinematic changes reconstructed across the Atlantic, Indian and South Pacific ridges arise from data noise. We overcome this limitation using a trans-dimensional hierarchical Bayesian framework. We find that plate-motion changes occur on timescales no shorter than a few million years, yielding simpler kinematic patterns and more plausible dynamics.
AB - Understanding lithospheric plate motions is of paramount importance to geodynamicists. Much effort is going into kinematic reconstructions featuring progressively finer temporal resolution. However, the challenge of precisely identifying ocean-floor magnetic lineations, and uncertainties in geomagnetic reversal timescales result in substantial finite-rotations noise. Unless some type of temporal smoothing is applied, the scenario arising at the native temporal resolution is puzzling, as plate motions vary erratically and significantly over short periods (<1 Myr). This undermines our ability to make geodynamic inferences, as the rates at which forces need to be built upon plates to explain these kinematics far exceed the most optimistic estimates. Here we show that the largest kinematic changes reconstructed across the Atlantic, Indian and South Pacific ridges arise from data noise. We overcome this limitation using a trans-dimensional hierarchical Bayesian framework. We find that plate-motion changes occur on timescales no shorter than a few million years, yielding simpler kinematic patterns and more plausible dynamics.
U2 - 10.1038/ncomms2051
DO - 10.1038/ncomms2051
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 22948830
VL - 3
SP - 1
EP - 6
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
SN - 2041-1723
ER -
ID: 138731626