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Tag: Plate reconstruction

Plate reconstruction is the study of how the Earth’s tectonic plates have moved and interacted over geological time. This collection of clear, accessible science graphics makes it easier to understand plate reconstruction and teach the shifting positions of continents and oceans through Millions of years. From the breakup of supercontinents to the opening of ocean basins, these visuals help students, educators, and enthusiasts explore Earth’s dynamic history, providing an engaging way to visualise past plate movements and the processes that have shaped our planet’s surface.

New Hebrides-New Britain subduction zone initiation

The New Hebrides-New Britain (NHNB) SZI event evolved into the New Hebrides, San Cristobal, and New Britain trenches by subduction polarity reversal at around 10 Ma.

Schematic tectonic reconstruction of the New Hebrides-New Britain SZI event (modified from Schellart et al., 2006 and Holm et al., 2016). The collision of the Ontong Java plateau with the trench of the Melanesian subduction zone is suggested to have caused a flip in subduction polarity, initiating the New Hebrides-New Britain subduction zone. Shown are the new subduction zone (pink line) and other active (solid purple lines) and inactive (dashed purple lines) subduction zones.

The New Hebrides – New Britain (NHNB) SZI event evolved into the present-day subduction system that includes the New Hebrides, San Cristobal, and New Britain trenches. The Australian plate currently subducts below a former portion of itself, lying to the north-east, that today makes up the North Fiji Basin (e.g. Schellart et al., 2006). These trenches are all currently connected to each other and initiated at similar times, which is why their onset is here attributed to one single event.

It has been suggested that the onset of the NHNB subduction zone, which is related to subduction of the Australian plate below the Pacific plate, originated by a reversal in subduction polarity at around 10 Ma. While some studies favour a time period for the SZI event between 10 and 6 Ma (Chase, 1971; Auzende et al., 1988), others suggest an onset age of between 14–11 Ma (Greene et al., 1994; Schellart et al., 2006). This polarity reversal likely occurred as a result of the collision of the Ontong Java plateau with the Vitiaz trench (e.g. Greene et al., 1994; Holm et al. 2013). The Ontong Java plateau lies on the Pacific plate that was subducting below the Australian plate during the collision, prior to the polarity reversal.

For more details on the geologic record, corresponding plate reconstruction, and seismic tomography, see the SZI Database.

  • Creators: Fabio Crameri, Valentina Magni, Matthew Domeier, Ágnes Király, Grace Shephard
  • This version: 17.06.2025
  • License: Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
  • Specific citation: These graphics from Crameri et al. (2020) are available via the open-access s-ink.org repository.
  • Related reference: Crameri, F., V. Magni, M. Domeier, G.E. Shephard, K. Chotalia, G. Cooper, C. Eakin, A.G. Grima, D. Gürer, A. Király, E. Mulyukova, K. Peters, B. Robert, and M. Thielmann (2020), A transdisciplinary and community-driven database to unravel subduction zone initiation, Nature Communications, 11, 3750. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-17522-9
  • Seismic tomography VoteMap included
  • Global plate reconstruction analysis included
  • Perceptually-uniform colour map
  • Colour-vision deficiency friendly
  • Readable in black&white
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Lesser Antilles subduction zone initiation

The Lesser Antilles SZI event that formed the present-day Lesser Antilles subduction zone likely occurred between 59–38 Ma and might be an episodic event.

Schematic tectonic reconstruction of the Lesser Antilles SZI event (modified from van Benthem et al., 2013 and Boschman et al., 2014). Subduction of the North and South America plates beneath the Caribbean plate was probably already active earlier on. At 58–39 Ma, subduction jumped eastwards, creating the new Lesser Antilles subduction zone. Shown are the new subduction zone (pink line), other active (solid purple lines) and inactive (dashed purple lines) subduction zones, and transform faults (red dashed lines).

The Lesser Antilles SZI event that formed the present-day Lesser Antilles subduction zone likely occurred between 59–38 Ma (Boschmann et al., 2014), with the North and South American plates subducting below the Caribbean plate. However, there is a debate on the nature of this event, which also represents the transition from the Greater Caribbean Arc to the Lesser Antilles subduction zone. The break in the slab, revealed by seismic tomography (van Benthem et al., 2013), along with the age gap between the Aves Ridge and the Lesser Antilles Arc and the start of the formation of the Barbados Accretionary Prism (Boschman 2014) suggests episodic subduction. Other interpretations consider continuous subduction during the narrowing of the arc and suggest that the arc has jumped 50–250 km from the Avis ridge to the Lesser-Antilles arc during continuous subduction roll-back and the consequent opening of the Grenada and Tobago basins (together) as a forearc basin (e.g., Aitken et al., 2011). Due to the widening forearc, the Avis ridge became inactive. In this scenario, the SZI event of the Lesser Antilles is the same as that of the Greater Caribbean arc, which might have happened sometimes between 120 to 88 Ma. This earlier event is not considered here any further.

The Lesser Antilles SZI event might be an episodic event that followed from a previously active, but subsequently extinct, subduction zone; it is suggested that the active arc from the Aves ridge transitioned to, and formed, the Lesser Antilles arc during the mentioned time span (Boschmann et al., 2014).

For more details on the geologic record, corresponding plate reconstruction, and seismic tomography, see the SZI Database.

  • Creators: Fabio Crameri, Valentina Magni, Matthew Domeier, Ágnes Király, Grace Shephard
  • This version: 17.06.2025
  • License: Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
  • Specific citation: These graphics from Crameri et al. (2020) are available via the open-access s-ink.org repository.
  • Related reference: Crameri, F., V. Magni, M. Domeier, G.E. Shephard, K. Chotalia, G. Cooper, C. Eakin, A.G. Grima, D. Gürer, A. Király, E. Mulyukova, K. Peters, B. Robert, and M. Thielmann (2020), A transdisciplinary and community-driven database to unravel subduction zone initiation, Nature Communications, 11, 3750. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-17522-9
  • Seismic tomography VoteMap included
  • Global reconstruction model included
  • Perceptually-uniform colour map
  • Colour-vision deficiency friendly
  • Readable in black&white
Download graphics
Access the data

Faulty or missing link? – Please report them via a reply below!

Izu-Bonin-Mariana subduction zone initiation

The onset of the Izu-Bonin-Mariana (IBM) subduction zone likely occurred at around 52 Ma likely along a pre-existing fracture zone after a plate reorganisation.

Schematic tectonic reconstruction of the Izu-Bonin-Mariana SZI event (modified from Lallemand, 2016). A plate reorganisation, possibly due to the arrival of the Izanagi ridge at the trench, is suggested to trigger SZI along a pre-existing transform fault in the south, initiating the Izu-Bonin-Mariana subduction zone. The orange circle shows the location of the Oki-Daito plume. Shown are the new subduction zone (pink line), other active (solid purple lines) and inactive (dashed purple lines) subduction zones, spreading ridges (solid red lines), and transform faults (red dashed lines).

The onset of the presently active Izu-Bonin-Mariana (IBM) subduction zone likely occurred at around 52 Ma with the subduction of the Pacific plate under the Proto-Philippine Sea plate, which was mostly formed of arc terranes at the time of subduction initiation (e.g., Ishizuka et al., 2018). The age of this SZI event is mostly based on the age of the oldest Early basalts (e.g., Reagan et al., 2019), which are considered to be the first magmatic product of SZI and to erupt very soon after the onset of subduction.

The most common view is that subduction initiated along a pre-existing fracture zone after a plate reorganisation due to the subduction of the Izanagi-Pacific ridge beneath Asia at around 60–55 Ma (O’Connor et al., 2013; Lallemand, 2016) or the collision of the Olutorsky arc (Domeier et al., 2017). Regardless of the cause, these stress changes might have caused compression across a transform fault (or a pre-existing fracture zone) and locally initiated subduction (Hall et al., 2003). Additionally, ocean-island basalt (OIB) magmatism in the West Philippine basin indicates the presence of a mantle plume (the Oki-Daito plume) that started its activity almost at the same time as the IBM SZI (Ishizuka et al., 2013).

For more details on the geologic record, corresponding plate reconstruction, and seismic tomography, see the SZI Database.

  • Creators: Fabio Crameri, Valentina Magni, Matthew Domeier, Ágnes Király, Grace Shephard
  • This version: 17.06.2025
  • License: Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
  • Specific citation: These graphics from Crameri et al. (2020) are available via the open-access s-ink.org repository.
  • Related reference: Crameri, F., V. Magni, M. Domeier, G.E. Shephard, K. Chotalia, G. Cooper, C. Eakin, A.G. Grima, D. Gürer, A. Király, E. Mulyukova, K. Peters, B. Robert, and M. Thielmann (2020), A transdisciplinary and community-driven database to unravel subduction zone initiation, Nature Communications, 11, 3750. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-17522-9
  • Seismic tomography VoteMap included
  • Global plate reconstruction analysis included
  • Perceptually-uniform colour map
  • Colour-vision deficiency friendly
  • Readable in black&white
Download graphics
Access the data

Faulty or missing link? – Please report them via a reply below!

Cenozoic paleogeography (animation)

Global paleogeography with zoomed in figures showing the evolution of oceanic gateways active during the Cenozoic time.

Global paleogeography of Straume et al. (2020) with zoomed in figures showing the evolution of oceanic gateways active during the Cenozoic time (66 – 0 Ma).

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Paleo surface topography

Earth’s reconstructed global surface topography from the beginning of the Cenozoic era (66 Million years ago) until today.

Still images of the Earth’s global surface topography reconstructed through the Cenozoic time (66 – 0 Ma). Shown is the Straume et al. (2020) paleogeography model. The Scientific colour map ‘bukavu‘ is used to represent data accurately and to all readers.

  • Various time snapshots
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Paleo surface topography (animated)

Animations of the Earth’s global surface topography reconstructed through the Cenozoic time (66 – 0 Ma).

Animations of the Earth’s global surface topography reconstructed through the Cenozoic time (66 – 0 Ma). Shown is the Straume et al. (2020) paleogeography model. The Scientific colour map ‘bukavu‘ is used to represent data accurately and to all readers.

  • Alternative map projections
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  • Readable in black&white
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Paleo surface topography (globe animation)

Animation of the Earth’s surface topography through the Cenozoic time (66 – 0 Ma) on the globe.

Animation of the Earth’s surface topography through the Cenozoic time (66–0 Ma) on the globe. Shown is the Straume et al. (2020) paleogeography model. The Scientific colour map ‘oleron‘ is used to represent data accurately and to all readers.

  • Annotated version
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Global Cenozoic paleogeography

Global Cenozoic paleogeography, and the deep sea benthic foraminifera oxygen isotope curve.

Global Cenozoic paleogeography of Straume et al. (2020), and the deep sea benthic foraminifera oxygen isotope curve of Zachos et al. (2008). The Scientific colour map ‘oleron‘ is used to represent surface elevation accurately and to all readers.

  • Transparent background
  • Perceptually uniform colour map
  • Colour-vision deficiency friendly
  • Readable in black&white
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