CompuServe Messages

Doug >>If a ridge is active, I presume it has oriented itself to cut across the tension (if I pull cloth apart, the rip tends to cut across the pull), for the most part. That means there is little sideways tension to make the plates slide along the length of the ridge, or tilt transform faults away from the ridge-perpendicular direction.<< This would only be true in certain conditions but for most of the plates there is an impossible situation present. The condition is exaggerated where the ridges come together especially a three axis connection. If the motion of antarctica plate is expressed by the shift faults in the Southwest Indian Ridge making this Ridge is mostly a transform fault. It is moving more or less in the direction of S. America and some pinching is seen in the area between them which is all logical. Then the motion would slide the plate along the Southeast Indian Ridge a small amount in response to the growth of the plate. Moving around the plate further the motion would increase along the ridge. On the opposite side of the Antarctic plate from the South East Indian Ridge…this is the area under New Zealand the motion of the plate would be perpendicular to the Mid Ocean Ridge causing a lot of sliding along the Mid Ridge which has not occurred. The proof that it has not occurred is the shape of the ridge and the total alignment of the shift and transform faults. (Having a globe with the basins on it helps see this clearly.) The shape of the ridge and the configuration of the shift faults proves the plate is not moving. Kamron