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NNR‐MORVEL56, which is a set of angular velocities of 56 plates relative to the unique reference frame in which there is no net rotation of the lithosphere, is determined. The relative angular velocities of 25 plates constitute the MORVEL set of geologically current relative plate angular velocities; the relative angular velocities of the other 31 plates are adapted from Bird (2003). NNR‐MORVEL, a set of angular velocities of the 25 MORVEL plates relative to the no‐net rotation reference frame, is also determined. Incorporating the 31 plates from Bird (2003), which constitute 2.8% of Earth's surface, changes the angular velocities of the MORVEL plates in the no‐net‐rotation frame only insignificantly, but provides a more complete description of globally distributed deformation and strain rate. NNR‐MORVEL56 differs significantly from, and improves upon, NNR‐NUVEL1A, our prior set of angular velocities of the plates relative to the no‐net‐rotation reference frame, partly due to differences in angular velocity at two essential links of the MORVEL plate circuit, Antarctica‐Pacific and Nubia‐Antarctica, and partly due to differences in the angular velocities of the Philippine Sea, Nazca, and Cocos plates relative to the Pacific plate. For example, the NNR‐MORVEL56 Pacific angular velocity differs from the NNR‐NUVEL1A angular velocity by a vector of length 0.039 ± 0.011° a−1 (95% confidence limits), resulting in a root‐mean‐square difference in velocity of 2.8 mm a−1. All 56 plates in NNR‐MORVEL56 move significantly relative to the no‐net‐rotation reference frame with rotation rates ranging from 0.107° a−1 to 51.569° a−1. Key Points 31 plates are added to MORVEL to describe geologically current plate motion The no‐net‐rotation frame for these plates, NNR‐MORVEL56, is determined NNR‐MORVEL56 differs significantly from NNR‐NUVEL1A and other realizations

The interaction of the northern Nazca and southwestern Caribbean oceanic plates with northwestern South America (NWSA) and the collision of the Panama‐Choco arc (PCA) have significant implications on the evolution of the northern Andes. Based on a quantitative kinematic reconstruction of the Caribbean and Farallon/Farallon‐derived plates, we reconstructed the subducting geometries beneath NWSA and the PCA accretion to the continent. The persistent northeastward migration of the Caribbean plate relative to NWSA in Cenozoic time caused the continuous northward advance of the Farallon‐Caribbean plate boundary, which in turn resulted in its progressive concave trench bending against NWSA. The increasing complexity during the Paleogene included the onset of Caribbean shallow subduction, the PCA approaching the continent, and the forced shallow Farallon subduction that ended in the fragmentation of the Farallon Plate into the Nazca and Cocos plates and the Coiba and Malpelo microplates by the late Oligocene. The convergence tectonics after late Oligocene comprised the accretional process of the PCA to NWSA, which evolved from subduction erosion of the forearc to collisional tectonics by the middle Miocene, as well as changes of convergence angle and slab dip of the Farallon‐derived plates, and the attachment of the Coiba and Malpelo microplates to the Nazca plate around 9 Ma, resulting in a change of convergence directions. During the Pliocene, the Nazca slab broke at 5.5°N, shaping the modern configuration. Overall, the proposed reconstruction is supported by geophysical data and is well correlated with the magmatic and deformation history of the northern Andes. Plain Language Summary The tectonic reconstruction in convergent triple junctions is a particularly challenging task as the relative motion between plates could define highly changing boundaries. Indeed, the resulting interaction between these convergent plates may induce important changes in the disposition of the trenches, and in turn in the three‐dimensional geometry of the subducting plates. Therefore, these highly dynamic conditions throughout geological time may be accommodated by different phases of plate fragmentation and reorganization. These factors could explain the complex spatial‐temporal distribution of subduction‐related magmatism and the different episodes of deformation in the upper plates. This reasoning is validated in the northwestern corner of South America (SA), where the continent has been converging against the Caribbean and Farallon‐derived oceanic plates since Cretaceous time. Additionally, we study the effects of the collision and accretion of the Panama‐Choco arc with SA. To accomplish that, we review the kinematic history of the Farallon/Nazca and Caribbean oceanic plates relative to stable Guiana Craton (SA) and integrate these results with the magmatic and deformation evolution of the northern Andes, which allow us to propose a model of the geometrical evolution of the subducting slabs. The obtained model is additionally constrained by seismological data and published velocity anomalies. Key Points The tectonics of convergent triple junctions is complicated by the relative plate motion and interaction of the involved plates We propose a model for the kinematic and geometric evolution of the Farallon/Nazca and Caribbean plates throughout the Cenozoic The interaction between the Caribbean, Nazca and South American plates is closely related to the deformation history in the Northern Andes

Thirty-six artists from the Arab world experiment with the ceramic medium. Born as an initiative of the Kinda Foundation for Contemporary Arab Art, 'Objects of Imagination' is a unique collaboration of 36 artists from across the Arab World, in which both traditional and innovative techniques were used to create a body of ceramic artworks.

Reviews and describes both the fundamental and practical design procedures for the ultimate limit state design of ductile steel plated structures The new edition of this well-established reference reviews and describes both fundamentals and practical design procedures for steel plated structures. The derivation of the basic mathematical expressions is presented together with a thorough discussion of the assumptions and the validity of the underlying expressions and solution methods. Furthermore, this book is also an easily accessed design tool, which facilitates learning by applying the concepts of the limit states for practice using a set of computer programs, which can be downloaded. Ultimate Limit State Design of Steel Plated Structures provides expert guidance on mechanical model test results as well as nonlinear finite element solutions, sophisticated design methodologies useful for practitioners in industries or research institutions, and selected methods for accurate and efficient analyses of nonlinear behavior of steel plated structures both up to and after the ultimate strength is reached. * Covers recent advances and developments in the field * Includes new topics on constitutive equations of steels, test database associated with low/elevated temperature, and strain rates * Includes a new chapter on a semi-analytical method * Supported by a companion website with illustrative example data sheets * Provides results for existing mechanical model tests * Offers a thorough discussion of assumptions and the validity of underlying expressions and solution methods Designed as both a textbook and a handy reference, Ultimate Limit State Design of Steel Plated Structures, Second Edition is well suited to teachers and university students who are approaching the limit state design technology of steel plated structures for the first time. It also meets the needs of structural designers or researchers who are involved in civil, marine, and mechanical engineering as well as offshore engineering and naval architecture.

Reconstructions of motions of the Nazca, South American, and Indian plates record short‐duration (≲10 Myr) variations in angular velocity, which enable a vector‐based test of the hypothesis that mountain uplift can cause changes in plate motion. Reductions in velocity of Nazca and South America between ∼12 and 6 Ma coincide with a phase of rapid surface uplift in the Central Andes. Decrease in the rate of India's convergence with Eurasia between ∼20 and 10 Ma corresponds to an increase in gravitational potential energy per unit area (GPE) within Tibet, marked by a transition from crustal thickening to thinning. The vectorial test shows that, in each case, the only change in driving force capable of balancing the change in basal drag is an increased resistance along the convergent boundary to the plate. Changes in GPE associated with mountain uplift provide a calibration for basal drags on plates. Basal tractions of ∼0.1–1 MPa provide resisting forces comparable in magnitude to driving forces from GPE variation in ocean lithosphere. The rapid change in motion of the Indian plate between about 48 and 41 Ma is explained by the juxtaposition of the Indian continent against the Andean‐type margin of the Transhimalaya and reduction in driving force due to loss of the slab. The net slab driving force lost was ∼2–4 TN m−1, in agreement with previous studies suggesting that forces resisting slabs' penetration into the mantle largely offset their negative buoyancy. Key Points Calculation of forces required to cause rapid changes in plate motion test the hypothesis that some stem from increase in gravitational potential energy (GPE) of mountains Rapid decreases in velocity of Nazca, South American, and Indian plates require increases in resistance at their convergent boundaries Geological evidence shows that the Miocene decreases in velocity were contemporaneous with increases in GPE of the Andes and Tibet

The Jiamusi and Songnen blocks converged in the easternmost segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt as a result of the subduction and subsequent closure of the Mudanjiang oceanic plate during the Permian–Jurassic. The Mudanjiang suture zone was later directly affected by subductions of the Paleo-Pacific plate and Pacific plate and is therefore an ideal place to study the subduction polarity and later transformation of a paleo-suture zone. Using three-dimensional inversion of magnetotelluric data collected along a 160-km-long profile across the Mudanjiang suture zone, we established a resistivity model of the suture zone and adjacent area. Our results reveal the subduction polarity and subduction trace of the Mudanjiang oceanic plate and provide geoelectrical evidence for reactivation of the Mudanjiang suture zone induced by the (Paleo-)Pacific plate subduction. The suture zone shows a complex conductive structure. The west-dipping crustal-scale conductor beneath the Songnen-Jiamusi collision zone represents the fossil subduction zone and indicates the westward subduction polarity of the Mudanjiang oceanic plate. Furthermore, the Mudanjiang fault identified by surface geology does not fully represent the deep structure of the Mudanjiang suture zone. The definition of the suture zone should be extended to the whole conductive region with a lateral extent of ∼70 km. Solid conductive minerals beneath the arc in front of the subduction zone were exhumated up from deep to the upper crust. The “chimney”-shaped conductor connected with the mantle represents the intrusive pathways of mantle-derived materials, suggesting that the Mudanjiang suture zone was reactivated by subductions of the Paleo-Pacific plate and Pacific plate, leading to remelting of the cooled and crystallized materials in the pathways. Therefore, subduction of the (Paleo-)Pacific plate destroyed the lithospheric structure of the paleo collision zone in the eastern segment of the Central Asian orogenic belt, and the large-scale crustal conductor beneath the suture zone reflects reactivation of the paleo-suture zone.

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) provides constraints on lithospheric kinematics at high spatial resolution. Interpreting InSAR‐derived deformation maps at continental scales is challenged by long‐wavelength correlated noise and the inherent limitation of measuring relative displacements within the data footprint. We address these issues by applying corrections to InSAR time series to estimate ground velocity fields with millimeter‐per‐year precision over hundreds of kilometers. We use these velocity fields to determine the angular velocity of the local tectonic plate, assuming negligible long‐wavelength vertical and intra‐plate deformation. The uncertainty of the angular velocity is primarily influenced by observational errors and the limited imaging geometries available. Using the Arabian plate as an example, this work demonstrates the potential to improve plate motion models and evaluate intra‐plate deformation in regions with sparse ground‐based instrumentation.

The detachment (i.e., break‐off) of down‐going subducting oceanic slabs is a major geodynamic event with far‐reaching consequences, one of which is the reduction of the slab pull force acting on the trailing plate. We investigate the motion of the Sinai Microplate where a recent (∼1 Myr ago) slab break‐off occurred along its sole converging plate boundary (Cyprian Arc) with the overriding Anatolia Microplate. Based on new bathymetric mapping, high‐resolution seismic reflection imaging, geodetic and earthquake data, we show that Sinai is actively moving in a northwest direction with respect to Nubia. Our results indicate that despite the recent slab break‐off, Sinai has and is still being pulled (or pushed) toward the overriding Anatolia Microplate. The continued convergence possibly occurs because of a persistent slab pull force, a suction force induced by the down‐going detached slab and/or by the upper mantle flow induced by the Afar Plume. Plain Language Summary Subduction of the oceanic lithosphere into the mantle exerts the prime force that drives plate tectonic motions. The termination of subduction due to the tearing of the down‐going oceanic slab is, therefore, an important geodynamic phenomenon with far‐reaching kinematic consequences. Here we show that despite the recent tearing of the leading oceanic slab of the Sinai Microplate, convergence motion between Sinai and Anatolia Microplates continued without substantial changes. The continued convergence possibly occurs because of a persistent slab pull force, a suction force induced by the down‐going detached slab and/or by the motion of the upper mantle flow induced by the Afar Plume. Key Points Within the eastern Mediterranean, the Sinai Microplate is moving in a northwest direction with respect to the Nubian Plate The Sinai Microplate is still converging with the overriding Anatolia Plate, despite the recent break‐off of the leading subducting slab