Changes in Plate Motion During Quaternary and Neogene Time (Invited)

We review some of the evidence for significant changes in plate motion during the past 25 Ma. We will review plate motions estimated over the past 0.78 to 3.2 Ma in the MORVEL set of relative plate angular velocities [DeMets, Gordon, and Argus, 2009], which are derived mainly from spreading rates from marine magnetic anomalies and from the azimuths of well-surveyed transform faults. We will also review plate relative angular velocities estimated from geodetic data while focusing on the GEODVEL set of relative plate angular velocities [Argus et al. 2009], which is determined from a combination of GPS, VLBI, SLR, and DORIS data. We will compare these two data sets to search for recent statistically significant changes in plate motion and, in some cases, discuss possible causes of these changes. We will also review Neogene changes in plate motion with a focus on the change in plate motion in the Indian and Pacific Oceans at about 6 to 8 Ma ago [e.g., Cande et al. 1995; DeMets, Gordon, and Royer 2005; Merkouriev and DeMets, 2006], which includes the onset of lithospheric folding in the equatorial Indian Ocean.