Abstract
In present, contribution paleogeographical maps for the time interval 0.6 Ga BP to present are analyzed in terms of (a) the ratio between continental to oceanic crust areas in order to estimate the speed of continental growth and (b) the surface motion of continental plates under the influence of global forces of tidal friction and Eötvös force (“pole-fleeing”). It is concluded that the area of the continents during the Phanerozoic was growing and it exhibited a rate ~0.5 km3/year. It is also found that beside the westward-oriented tidal frictional forces the Eötvös force can play also a role in tectonical processes. It is shown that the continental plates on average tend to find a position close to the equator during the whole investigated 600 Ma time interval.
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Acknowledgments
Authors wish to thank EA Rogozhin and an anonymous reviewer for comments and suggestions for improvement of the manuscript. This work was completed during the Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation sponsored stay of P Varga at the Geodetic Institute of Stuttgart University and received financial support from the Hungarian Science Found OTKA (Project No. K109060). The authors are grateful to B Süle for his valuable advices.
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Varga, P., Krumm, F.W., Grafarend, E.W. et al. Evolution of the oceanic and continental crust during Neo-Proterozoic and Phanerozoic. Rend. Fis. Acc. Lincei 25, 255–263 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-014-0298-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-014-0298-9