Plate kinematics: The Americas,East Africa,and the rest of the world

Euler vectors (relative angular velocity vectors) have been determined for twelve major plates by global inversion of carefully selected sea-floor spreading rates, transform fault trends, and earthquake slip vectors. The rate information comes from marine magnetic anomalies less than 5 m.y. old, so the motions are valid for post-Miocene times. Plate motions in a mean hotspot frame of reference have also been determined, and statistical confidence limits for all the Euler vectors estimated. Among the consequences of the global motion model is the conclusion that fast-spreading ridges (separation rates greater than 3 cm/yr) have plate motion nearly perpendicular to the strike of the ridge and magnetic anomalies. Four more slowly separating ridges have an average obliquity of spreading of almost 20°.For several plate boundaries, results that differ from previous studies are in agreement with geological evidence. The North and South American plates converge slowly about a pole east of the Antilles and near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The results for Africa versus Somalia imply slow east-west extension on the East African Rift Valleys. The pole for motion of Eurasia relative to North America is located near Sakhalin, in accordance with evidence from Siberia and Sakhalin.