Earth:Manus Plate
| Manus Plate | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Minor |
| Movement1 | north-west |
| Speed1 | 92mm/year |
| Features | Pacific Ocean |
| 1Relative to the African Plate | |
The Manus Plate is a 100-km microplate located northeast of New Guinea. The Manus Plate was formed in between the North Bismark Plate and the South Bismark Plate. The Manus Plate currently rotates counter-clockwise in the Melanesia area.[1]
Formation
The Manus Plate formed during the Brunhes-Matuyama reversal, making its maximum age approximately 781,000 years old.[2] The Manus Plate formed in-between and on top of the transform boundaries that were separating the North and South Bismark plates.[2] The plate was formed of young mid-ocean ridge basalt, along with pieces of older oceanic floor that had broken off of the South Bismarck plate.[2]
Boundaries and Movement
The north and northeast boundaries of the Manus Plate, with the North Bismark and Pacific plates are both convergent boundaries.[3] The plates southeast borders of the South Bismark plate is a divergent boundary.[3] The southwest boundary bordering the South Bismark plate is a transform boundary. The Manus plate currently has a rate of rotation of 51°/ Ma at the spot, -3.04°N, 150.46°E, in the counter-clockwise direction, due to the plates left lateral motion.[4] This is likely the fastest plate rotation, on Earth at this time.[4]
References
- ↑ Bird, Peter (2003). "An updated digital model of plate boundaries" (in en). Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 4 (3). doi:10.1029/2001GC000252. ISSN 1525-2027. Bibcode: 2003GGG.....4.1027B.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Caroline, North Bismarck, South Bismarck, Manus". http://swpacificplates.weebly.com/caroline-north-bismarck-south-bismarck-manus.html.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "ODP Leg 193: Manus Basin\". http://mlp.ldeo.columbia.edu/BRG/ODP/ODP/LEG_SUMM/193/leg193.html.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Martinez, Fernando; Taylor, Brian (1996-06-01). "Backarc spreading, rifting, and microplate rotation, between transform faults in the Manus Basin" (in en). Marine Geophysical Researches 18 (2): 203–224. doi:10.1007/BF00286078. ISSN 1573-0581. Bibcode: 1996MarGR..18..203M.
[ ⚑ ] 3°02′13″S 150°27′22″E / 3.0370°S 150.4560°E
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