Google Photos reveal Earth Movements
The practical aspects of the Coriolis Rotation and Orthogonal Shear movements are readily seen from an inspection of the Ocean Basins versus continental displays. In easily-memorized itemization:
1. The Aleutian chain shows that both landmass rotation and northward shear of the ocean floor occur simultaneously. Note that the Pacific basin is moving northward, causing subduction under the Alaskan peninsula, while forming shear lines (transforms) on the ocean floor;
2. The Aleutian chain creates a great arc- which is rotating CCW, relative to the principal movement of the ocean floor moving northward and simultaneously creating the CW movement of the basin. This is readily seen in two ways:
A drag circle is being created by the westward movement of the floor, which is some 4 latitudinal degrees in diameter (240 nautical miles or minutes of arc). The direction of the rotation is seen as a larger older portion (next to the chain) moving westward, while being created on the north side of the arc. This semicircle of 376 nm indicates a rotation rate of near 700 km or 700 million millimeters, since the time of inception. If you accept the Polar shift at 65 million years, this indicates a movement of about 11 mm/year, since the KT event.
TERMS: B&R is the Basin and Range province in Western USA;
CP is the Colorado Plateau;
CW indicates a clock-wise rotation;
EB is the Equatorial vertical bulge;
KT is the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary meteor strike time;
RC is a reactionary cell- one which is dragged along by the main movement; and,
a Linear is an expression of an activity which moves in a straight line with time. Large circular cells, such as CP, will appear to have linear fractures or faulting when working in the field (where the investigator has only a limited spatial view).
The trace of the Emperor Seamount chain is observed on both sides of the Aleutian Chain. If you accept that this is merely a severed chain, then the displacement is westward for the younger seamounts (CW on the south side). This displacement distance is about 200 nm, or 370 km- indicating a rotation rate of 5.7 mm/year for the rotation rate. I have found as much as 5 mm/year rotation in measured movement from horizontal striations on slickensides near vulcanism in Utah.
The practical results of the simultaneous shear and rotation of the Crust are many:
Landmasses are rotating, not only for a whole continent, but for portions within a continent- e.g. the Colorado plateau and the Basin and Range are two antithetically-rotating provinces (B&R is sinking, while CP is rising from thermal expansion);
Island chains are produced by rotation as well as subduction;
a. The friction produced by shearing produces both hot springs and vulcanism. Although heat caused the Colorado Plateau to rise initially (probably by radioactive decay), the rotation while doing so produces additional heat which melts magma and creates a ring of volcanoes on the outside of CP (moving CW with time since the Oligocene);
b. Lateral movement (horizontal slip) creates constant shear and metamorphism at a shallow depth- probably much less than the thickness of the Crust. This eliminates the speculation that all metamorphism occurs very deep. Earth stresses are great at a few kilometers, since we see Geopressure at 4 km or so in wells. Movements faster than can be relieved by low permeability sediments will generate Geopressure;
c. Lateral shear produces fractures, faulting, slickensides, and pathways for fluid movement. Expect to find hydrocarbons near these shear zones- especially for circular river pathways (where shear produces increased permeability).
d. There is no need to invoke the Laramide or other ancient episodes to explain compressive features (like anticlines and hogbacks). Shear created by the daily rotation of Coriolis cells are forming these features NOW. The rate of formation is slow, just millimeters per year, but cracks in slabs, sinking of grabens, depression, and uplifts are occurring now.
One complication noticed in interpretation of Coriolis cell rotation direction is that one must see some feature which shows a definite direction (such as slickensides or displacement of concrete slabs). It now appears that the rotation is CCW in the northern hemisphere, when the feature is rising. This was the case for an active volcano, but not for a shrinking one (which was my discovery case of Grass Valley in Utah, near the Hurricane fault- which was cooling and dying). Both rotations are seen for large and small cells, and now the reference to weather systems reminds me that high pressure cells rotate CW, while storms rotate CCW. The high pressure case is that of the B&R- which is sinking. How about volcanoes which are still emerging? This is the case for the Big Island of Hiwaii- Kilauea, which has flowed in all recorded history. The case below is faint and must be measured in the field, but it appears that there is a rotation for Kilauea- which must be CCW (northern hemisphere).
Based on this conjecture, I now believe that the late-stage vulcanism in HI volcanoes (such as on Oahu in young beach craters, a million years or so after the building phase) is due to a reversal of rotation- creating friction- after the magma begins to cool and descend. Rising would create CCW rotation as the extrusion begins, and sinking would produce magma which is highly local, small in extent (cones), and of different composition after incorporating seawater.
Further analaysis of rising and sinking masses can be made for Salt Domes- which are plentiful on the US Gulf Coast. I chose Avery Island, since I had descended into this one- noting the vertical dark CaSO4 indications inside the salt chamber. This dome produces oil (around its flank), tomatoes and tabasco peppers for Tabasco hot sauce, and salt from the NaCl and CaSO4 core. Since it appears to be rising, what with the spiral geometry, it should be rotating CCW (northern hemisphere right deviation for upwardly moving masses). The youngest portion to the SE (via highest elevation of 40 meters) indicates CCW also. Should it be sinking, it would have a CW rotation. This should not occur, since the mass is lighter than surroundings, with a NaCl density of 2.15 gm/cc (versus 2.5 or so for Tertiary sedimentary deposits).
Another salt dome is shown above (Cottonport, LA, 31N 92W), which shows the tremendous amount of information which can be extracted from a geographical map. For this case, two domes can be seen, the youngest being the one to the NE of the older more eroded dome (note the maximum elevation of 23 meters). These two domes interfere with each other as the younger rises- creating a double bend in the riverway almost at the apex of the older dome. Again, the rotation is CCW- which is the normal circulation around a rising hot stock, in the northern hemisphere. Salt domes cannot sink, because of their lesser density (compared to young sediments with large porosity of about 30%- 2.5gm/cc density)
A TENTATIVE CONCLUSION for the cases shown above is that movement may reverse along faulting, as rotation of the cells changes direction with cooling versus heating. As a volcano rises, it should rotate CCW. After cooling and becoming extinct, it will then sink (thermal contraction versus original thermal expansion) and reverse the lateral faulting- probably using a similar path to that originally initiated, when rising. Geologists have occasionally noted this reversal, which should be associated with vulcanism, or other heat-related entities.
NOTE: THE GPS GLOBAL MAP INDICATES THAT THERE IS A DOUBLING OF THE CIRCULATION PATHS OF THE SUBDUCTION UNDER ALASKA- PROCEEDIING WESTWARD ALONG SIBERIA AND EASTWARD ALONG THE NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT. THIS POSSIBILITY ALLOWS A BIFURCATION OF THE NORTHWARD MOVEMENT TO ALLOW A CIRCULATION IN BOTH DIRECTIONS- THIS COULD EXPLAIN THE APPEARANCE OF THE SPREADING IN THE ATLANTIC. I WILL INCORPORATE THIS FEATURE IN A LATER IMPROVED PRESENTATION (PACIFIC MOVEMENTS).
