Global Plate Reconstructions, Pacific Plate Apparent Polar Wander, and the Origin of the Bend in the Hawaiian-Emperor Chain

A key tectonic event near 50 Ma B.P. is the formation of the bend in the Hawaiian-Emperor hotspot track. A central question about the formation of the bend is whether it represents a change in plate motion or a change in motion of the Hawaiian hotspot or some combination of the two. In this presentation I will review results of mainly recent work with Rice collaborators and consider the implications for the bend. Koivisto et al. (2011) present an updated test of the fixed-hotspot approximation comparing the observed positions of Indo-Atlantic hotspot tracks with those predicted from Pacific plate hotspot tracks and the global plate motion circuit through Antarctica. This updated study indicates 2 to 5 mm/a motion between hotspots for the past 48 Ma,that is, since the formation of the bend in the Hawaiian-Emperor chain. The confidence limits include zero and thus are consistent with no motion between Pacific hotspots and Indo-Atlantic hotspots for the past 48 Ma. This does not necessarily imply that the hotspots are fixed, as the uncertainties allow for motion up to 8 to 12 mm/a, but does exclude higher rates. When we examine predictions for times preceding 48 Ma B.P. we obtain very different results, however, the apparent rates of inter-hotspot motion increase to about 45-55 ± 20 mm/a. One explanation is that hotspots moved rapidly relative to one another before 48 Ma B.P. and then slowed dramatically at roughly the age of the elbow. An alternative explanation is that as we go further back in time the global plate motion circuit through Antarctica is less reliable. The possibility of motion between East and West Antarctica will be considered. Paleomagnetic data can be used to discriminate between these alternatives. The paleomagnetic results of Petronotis & Gordon [1989], Acton & Gordon [1994], Horner-Johnson & Gordon [2010], Zheng et al. [this meeting], and Boswell et al. [this meeting] will be reviewed and implications discussed.