Estimates of Pacific floor vertical movements energy and differences in their rate

Abstract

The authors used the mathematics of the fluctuations theory to show the depths field dispersions distribution to be equivalent to vertically directed tectonic forces. A boundary is drawn following maximum values of dispersions gradient; it divides the Pacific lithosphere into two provinces, differing considerably in vertical movements rate. Topographic field dispersion and geological-geophysical data if considered together clearly indicate the Western Pacific to be a separate tectonic formation, or lithospheric block, which the authors suggest to name Darwin plate. The area between Darwin plate and continental plates of North and South America is a region of active tangential movements; the region is similar tectonically to the Atlantic and is about of the same dimensions.