An Explanation for Earth's Long-Term Rotational Stability
- 17 January 1997
- journal article
- other
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 275 (5298) , 372-375
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.275.5298.372
Abstract
Paleomagnetic data show less than ∼1000 kilometers of motion between the paleomagnetic and hotspot reference frames—that is, true polar wander—during the past 100 million years, which implies that Earth's rotation axis has been very stable. This long-term rotational stability can be explained by the slow rate of change in the large-scale pattern of plate tectonic motions during Cenozoic and late Mesozoic time, provided that subducted lithosphere is a major component of the mantle density heterogeneity generated by convection. Therefore, it is unnecessary to invoke other mechanisms, such as sluggish readjustment of the rotational bulge, to explain the observed low rate of true polar wander.Keywords
This publication has 22 references indexed in Scilit:
- Haskell [1935] revisitedJournal of Geophysical Research, 1996
- Cenozoic plate driving forcesGeophysical Research Letters, 1995
- Excitation of true polar wander by subductionNature, 1992
- An inversion for radial viscosity structure using seismic tomographyGeophysical Research Letters, 1992
- Large-scale mantle convection and the history of subductionNature, 1992
- Long-wavelength variations in Earth’s geoid: physical models and dynamical implicationsPhilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 1989
- Mantle stratification and long-term polar wanderNature, 1989
- Polar Wandering and PaleomagnetismAnnual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 1987
- THE GEOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE GEOIDAnnual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 1985
- True polar wanderTectonophysics, 1981