The tectonic evolution of the Arctic since Pangea breakup: Integrating constraints from surface geology and geophysics with mantle structure

Description of Resources - Shephard et al. (2013)

 

This file provides a detailed description of all of the files that make up the data collection associated with the publication: Shephard, G. E., Müller, R. D., & Seton, M. (2013). The tectonic evolution of the Arctic since Pangea breakup: Integrating constraints from surface geology and geophysics with mantle structure. Earth-Science Reviews, 124(0), 148-183. doi: 10.1016/j.earscirev.2013.05.012

 

Note: For information on file formats and what programs to use to interact with various file formats, see "File Formats and Recommended Programs”.

 

Note: This paper is based on a global model (Seton et al., 2012), which should also be referenced if looking globally or regions other than the Arctic or northern Panthalassa.

 

The files that make up the tectonic reconstruction model include:

• Rotations - This is a global rotation model (based on Seton et al., 2012) that includes the new rotations for the Arctic.

* Shephard_etal_ESR2013.rot (373 KB)

 

• Coastlines - These are present day coastlines that have been assigned plate reconstruction ids to allow them to be reconstructed using the rotation file.

* Shephard_etal_ESR2013_Coastlines.gpml (34.1 MB)

* Shephard_etal_ESR2013_Coastlines.txt (3.2 MB)

* Shephard_etal_ESR2013_Coastlinesc.kml (6.3 MB; datum - WGS 1984)

* Shephard_etal_ESR2013_Coastlines.shp (3.2 MB inc auxiliary files; datum - WGS 1984)

 

• Static polygons - These are closed polygons that split present day Earth's surface into regions that can be assigned to a given plate id, and therefore reconstructed back through time using the rotation file. These polygons can be used to cookie-cut and assign plate ids to geometry and raster data (for more information on this feature please visit http://gplates.org or http://earthbyte.org).

* Shephard_etal_ESR2013_staticpolygons.gpml (19.4 MB)

* Shephard_etal_ESR2013_staticpolygons.txt (2.7 MB)

* Shephard_etal_ESR2013_staticpolygons.kml (4.4 MB; datum - WGS 1984)

* Shephard_etal_ESR2013_staticpolygons.shp (2.3 MB inc auxiliary files; datum - WGS 1984)

 

• Plate boundary geometries and resolved topologies – Resolved topologies comprise ridges, transforms, subduction zones and other plate boundary geometries. These boundaries intersect to form closed plate polygons ('resolved topologies') that are valid at 1 Myr intervals (0-200 Ma). The plate boundary geometries and plate polygons have been assigned plate reconstruction ids to allow them to be reconstructed using the rotation file.

* Shephard_etal_ESR2013_platebounds.gpml (27.7 MB) - contains both plate boundaries and resolved topological plate polygons

* Resolved topologies:

- topology_*.00Ma.txt (20.6 MB)

- topology_*.00Ma.shp (12.5 MB inc auxiliary files; datum - WGS 1984)

 

 

References

 

M. Seton, R.D. Müller, S. Zahirovic, C. Gaina, T.H. Torsvik, G. Shephard, A. Talsma, M. Gurnis, M. Turner, S. Maus, M. Chandler, (2012). Global continental and ocean basin reconstructions since 200 Ma. Earth-Science Reviews, 113(3–4), 212-270. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2012.03.002