Abstract
Individual aseismic areas move as rigid plates on the surface of a sphere. Application of the Mercator projection to slip vectors shows that the paving stone theory of world tectonics is correct and applies to about a quarter of the Earth's surface.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Vine, F. J., and Matthews, D. H., Nature, 199, 947 (1963).
Vine, F. J., Science, 154, 1405 (1966).
Hess, H. H., in Petrologic Studies (edit. by Engel, A. E. J., James, H. L., and Leonard, B. F.) (Geol. Soc. Amer., New York, 1962).
Matthews, D. H., and Bath, J., Geophys. J., 13, 349 (1967).
Sykes, L. R., J. Geophys. Res., 68, 5999 (1963).
Sykes, L. R., J. Geophys. Res., 72, 2131 (1967).
Bullard, E. C., Everett, J. E., and Smith, A. G., Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc., A, 258, 41 (1965).
Wilson, J. T., Nature, 207, 343 (1965).
Goldstein, H., Classical Mechanics (Addison–Wesley, 1950).
Gutenberg, B., and Richter, C. F., Seismicity of the Earth and Associated Phenomena (Princeton University Press, 1954).
Stauder, W., Bull. Seism. Soc. Amer., 50, 293 (1960).
Stauder, W., and Udias, A., Bull. Seism. Soc. Amer., 53, 59 (1963).
Udias, A., and Stauder, W., Bull. Seism. Soc. Amer., 54, 2049 (1964).
Stauder, W., and Bollinger, G. A., Bull. Seism. Soc. Amer., 54, 2198 (1964).
McEvilly, T. V., Bull. Seism. Soc. Amer., 56, 967 (1966).
Stauder, W., and Bollinger, G. A., J. Geophys. Res., 71, 5283 (1966).
Stauder, W., and Bollinger, G. A., Bull. Seism. Soc. Amer., 56, 1363 (1966).
Tocher, D., Bull. Seism. Soc. Amer., 50, 267 (1960).
Hill, M. L., and Dibblee, jun., T. W., Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer., 64, 443 (1953).
Allen, C. R., Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc., A, 258, 82 (1965).
Wilson, J. T., Science, 150, 482 (1965).
Berg, J. W., and Baker, C. D., Bull. Seism. Soc. Amer., 53, 95 (1963).
Bolt, B. A., and Nuttli, O. W., J. Geophys. Res., 71, 5977 (1966).
Oliver, J., and Isacks, B., J. Geophys. Res., 72, 4259 (1967).
Ludwig, W. J., Ewing, J. I., Ewing, M., Murauchi, S., Den, N., Asano, S., Hotta, H., Hayakawa, M., Ichikawa, K., and Noguchi, I., J. Geophys. Res., 71, 2121 (1966).
Gates, O., and Gibson, W., Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer., 67, 127 (1956).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McKENZIE, D., PARKER, R. The North Pacific: an Example of Tectonics on a Sphere. Nature 216, 1276–1280 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/2161276a0
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2161276a0
This article is cited by
-
Thermodynamics of continental deformation
Scientific Reports (2023)
-
Analyzing the horizontal orientation of the crustal stress adjacent to plate boundaries
Scientific Reports (2023)
-
Deconstructing plate tectonic reconstructions
Nature Reviews Earth & Environment (2023)
-
Feedback between megathrust earthquake cycle and plate convergence
Scientific Reports (2023)
-
Plate divergent-convergent coupling system and dynamic mechanism of continental orogenic belts
Science China Earth Sciences (2023)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
