1997/08/29 by Jean‐Yves Royer, Richard G. Gordon · 3 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Mathematics · #earthquake and tectonic studies #Geological and Geophysical Studies #Geology and Paleoclimatology Research #Plate tectonics #Divergence (linguistics) #Boundary (topology) #Component (thermodynamics) #Geology #Convergent boundary #Triple junction #Motion (physics) #Geometry #Indian ocean #Deformation (meteorology) #Geodesy #Seismology #Physics #Geophysics #Oceanography #Oceanic crust #Mathematics #Subduction #Classical mechanics #Mathematical analysis #Tectonics
paper · doi:10.1126/science.277.5330.1268
openalex publication_date 1997/08/29 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The motions between the Somalian, Antarctic, and Australian plates—the three plates believed to meet at the Rodrigues triple junction in the Indian Ocean—are inconsistent with the assumption that all three plates are rigid. The discrepancy is best explained if the Australian plate contains two component plates. Thus, the traditionally defined Indo-Australian plate consists of three component plates and multiple diffuse plate boundaries. The pattern of present deformation indicates that the boundaries between the three component plates are two unconnected zones accommodating divergence and a larger zone, which we interpret as three diffuse convergent plate boundaries and a diffuse triple junction.