Apparent polar wander (APW)

Question 1

What can magnetic reconstruction technique do?

Answer 1

By applying the magnetic reconstruction technique to as many rock samples from as many continents and the seafloor as possible, we can reconstruct global APW curves and thus reconstruct the locations of the plates relative to each other in geological time.

Question 2

so if the concept that spots are generated by plates moving over stationary mantle plumes doesn’t work, then maybe the plumes are not actually stationary?

Answer 2

There are various ideas

Question 3

Where is there evidence of bending mantle plumes?

Answer 3

First picture- Situations like Hawaii- evidence of bending mantle plumes because they were trapped by nearby mid-ocean ridge by different mechanism by melt channelling

Question 4

What is another example of moving mantle plumes?

Answer 4

If you had a mantle plume coupled to a mid-ocean ridge and it was released, the mantle plume would snap back and start creating ocean islands like the Hawaiian island chains

Question 5

Will this cause the locations of the geographic north and south poles in the Arctic and Antarctic to change?

Answer 5

Yes. This means that the locations of the geographic north and South poles have changed relative to the earth’s surface spin axis for at least ~100 million years, which is known as True Polar Wander (TPW)

Question 6

What is true polar wonder defined as?

Answer 6

True polar wonder is defined as a solid-body rotation of a planet or moon with respect to its spin axis, causing the locations of the North and South Poles to change, or “wander”