Absolute plate motions since 130 Ma constrained by subduction zone kinematics

This data collection is associated with the publication: Williams, S., Flament, N., Müller, R. D., & Butterworth, N. (2015). Absolute plate motions since 130 Ma constrained by subduction zone kinematics. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 418, 66-77. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2015.02.026
Publication Abstract
The absolute motions of the lithospheric plates relative to the Earth's deep interior are commonly constrained using observations from paleomagnetism and age-progressive seamount trails. In contrast, an absolute plate motion (APM) model linking surface plate motions to subducted slab remnants mapped from seismic tomography has recently been proposed. Absolute plate motion models (or “reference frames”) derived using different methodologies, different subsets of hotspots, or differing assumptions of hotspot motion, have contrasting implications for parameters that describe the long term state of the plate–mantle system, such as the balance between advance and retreat of subduction zones, plate velocities, and net lithospheric rotation. Previous studies of contemporary plate motions have used subduction zone kinematics as a constraint on the most likely APM model. Here we use a relative plate motion model to compute these values for the last 130 Myr for a range of alternative reference frames, and quantitatively compare the results. We find that hotspot and tomographic slab-remnant reference frames yield similar results for the last 70 Myr. For the 130–70 Ma period, where hotspot reference frames are less well constrained, these models yield a much more dispersed distribution of slab advance and retreat velocities. By contrast, plate motions calculated using the slab-remnant reference frame, or using a reference frame designed to minimise net rotation, yield more consistent subduction zone kinematics for times older than 70 Ma. Introducing the global optimisation of trench migration characteristics as a key criterion in the construction of APM models forms the foundation of a new method of constraining APMs (and in particular paleolongitude) in deep geological time.
Authors and Institutions
Simon Williams - EarthByte Research Group, School of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, Australia. ORCID: 0000-0003-4670-8883
Nicolas Flament - EarthByte Research Group, School of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, Australia. ORCID: 0000-0002-3237-0757
R. Dietmar Müller - EarthByte Research Group, School of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, Australia. ORCID: 0000-0002-3334-5764
Nathaniel Butterworth - EarthByte Research Group, School of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, Australia
Overview of Resources Contained
This data collection includes both the Euler rotations and plate polygons for each of the 8 plate reconstructions that were tested in the publication. For each scenario the relative plate motion (RPM) model is unchanged; the differences lie in the absolute plate motion (APM) model.
List of Resources
Note: For details on the files included in this data collection, see “Description_of_Resources.txt”.
Note: For information on file formats and what programs to use to interact with various file formats, see “File_Formats_and_Recommended_Programs.txt”.

Model of Shephard et al. (2013) with not-net rotation, 'NNR' (.gpml, .rot, total 27.8 MB)
Model of Muller et al. (1993), 'M1993' (.gpml, .rot, total 27.8 MB)
Model of O'Neill et al. (2005), 'O2005' (.gpml, .rot, total 27.8 MB)
Model of Schettino and Scotese (2005), 'S2005' (.gpml, .rot, total 27.8 MB)
Model of Torsvik et al. (2008), 'T2008' (.gpml, .rot, total 27.8 MB)
Model of Van der Meer et al (2010), 'V2010' (.gpml, .rot, total 27.8 MB)
Model of Torsvik et al. (2012), 'T2012' (.gpml, .rot, total 27.8 MB)
Model of Doubrovine et al. (2012), 'D2012' (.gpml, .rot, total 27.8 MB)
Additional geometry files (coastlines and static polygons) (.gpml, total 53.5 MB)

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本数据集关联的学术论文为：Williams, S., Flament, N., Müller, R. D., & Butterworth, N. (2015). 基于俯冲带运动学约束的1.3亿年以来的绝对板块运动. 《地球与行星科学通讯》, 418, 66-77. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2015.02.026

论文摘要
岩石圈板块相对于地球深部内部的绝对运动，通常通过古地磁学（paleomagnetism）观测与年龄渐进式海山链（seamount trails）数据进行约束。与之不同，近年来研究者提出了一种将地表板块运动与地震层析成像（seismic tomography）所识别的俯冲板片残余体（subducted slab remnants）相联系的绝对板块运动（absolute plate motion, APM）模型。基于不同方法、不同热点（hotspot）子集或不同热点运动假设所构建的绝对板块运动模型（或称“参考框架（reference frame）”），对于描述板块-地幔系统（plate-mantle system）长期状态的参数（如俯冲带进退平衡、板块运动速率、岩石圈净旋转等）会给出截然不同的结果。以往针对现代板块运动的研究，曾将俯冲带运动学作为筛选最可靠APM模型的约束条件。本文基于相对板块运动（relative plate motion, RPM）模型，针对一系列备选参考框架，计算了过去1.3亿年的相关参数，并对结果进行了定量对比。研究发现，在过去7000万年中，基于热点与层析板片残余体的参考框架所得结果较为一致。而在1.3亿至7000万年前这一时期，由于热点参考框架的约束性较弱，相关模型给出的板片进退速率分布更为离散。与之相对，基于板片残余体参考框架，或基于最小化净旋转设计的参考框架所计算的板块运动，在7000万年前更早的时期能得到更一致的俯冲带运动学结果。将海沟迁移（trench migration）特征的全局优化作为构建APM模型的核心准则，为深部地质时期绝对板块运动（尤其是古经度（paleolongitude））的约束提供了全新方法的基础。

作者与机构
西蒙·威廉姆斯（Simon Williams）——澳大利亚悉尼大学地球科学学院EarthByte研究组，ORCID: 0000-0003-4670-8883
尼古拉·弗拉芒（Nicolas Flament）——澳大利亚悉尼大学地球科学学院EarthByte研究组，ORCID: 0000-0002-3237-0757
R. 迪特马尔·米勒（R. Dietmar Müller）——澳大利亚悉尼大学地球科学学院EarthByte研究组，ORCID: 0000-0002-3334-5764
纳撒尼尔·巴特勒沃思（Nathaniel Butterworth）——澳大利亚悉尼大学地球科学学院EarthByte研究组

资源包含概述
本数据集包含论文中测试的8种板块重建方案对应的欧拉旋转（Euler rotations）与板块多边形（plate polygons）数据。所有场景下的相对板块运动模型均保持一致，差异仅体现在绝对板块运动模型的不同。

资源列表
注意：本数据集包含的文件详情，请参阅"Description_of_Resources.txt"。
注意：关于文件格式以及可用于处理各类格式文件的推荐软件，请参阅"File_Formats_and_Recommended_Programs.txt"。

1. 谢泼德等人（2013）模型，简称“NNR”（无净旋转模型），文件格式为.gpml、.rot，总大小27.8 MB
2. 米勒等人（1993）模型，简称“M1993”，文件格式为.gpml、.rot，总大小27.8 MB
3. 奥尼尔等人（2005）模型，简称“O2005”，文件格式为.gpml、.rot，总大小27.8 MB
4. 斯凯蒂诺与斯科塞斯（2005）模型，简称“S2005”，文件格式为.gpml、.rot，总大小27.8 MB
5. 托尔斯维克等人（2008）模型，简称“T2008”，文件格式为.gpml、.rot，总大小27.8 MB
6. 范德米尔等人（2010）模型，简称“V2010”，文件格式为.gpml、.rot，总大小27.8 MB
7. 托尔斯维克等人（2012）模型，简称“T2012”，文件格式为.gpml、.rot，总大小27.8 MB
8. 杜布罗文等人（2012）模型，简称“D2012”，文件格式为.gpml、.rot，总大小27.8 MB
额外几何文件（海岸线与静态多边形），文件格式为.gpml，总大小53.5 MB

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