WIP: unnamed Earh-like planet

[groovey]

Woa, it looks super cool!

At last I get to have proper transformation boundaries. I like your model a lot.

I'm so excited to see my baby darling like this, it looks much more organic than I ever would have managed. I can't wait to get my hands on it to polish it off (visually, I wouldn't touch any of your work, it looks perfect). Since you made it so easy for me to do so, I will add the transformation bits to the divergent boundaries, heck, I might even stop being so lazy and do proper subduction triangles instead of circles. The color scheme hasn't convinced me for a while either, so I might come up with another and then add to the map a small area saying which color is what.

I can't thank you enough; I would have been stuck in this phase of the map forever.


If you are going to revise your tectonics too, perhaps it would be interesting (it would be for me) for you to post how your tectonic map was before you worked with G plates, to see how much of a difference it makes with one system or another, what do you think? I know working with G plates will probably make you apply changes that won't be comparable between the two versions of your tectonics, but still, I think it could be very interesting to see what changes g. plates leads you to.


EDIT: I'm also incredibly glad you could use my map to learn about g. plates, so you got something out of it too.

[Pixie]

Glad you liked it.

I think I will do a little tutorial about the way I used g.plates... that and finish the tutorial on climates... that once I finish my again-being-revisited tectonics map. Uff... so much to do.

[ascanius]

Hey groovey.

As promised, I took your map to have an "fresh" look. I kept as close as possible to what you had been doing, but in some places, to reduce micro-plates, I changed the movement of larger plates or moved land masses. The following is a rough map using your color codes. I think every place is plausible as it is, but you guys tell me what you think.

Attachment 65260
This is a poor-resolution-version. Send me a personal message so we can transfer the actual work files.

Also, this was the first time I used the program g.plates and wow, I am convinced! Forget the stereographic projections, the layer rotations, etc.. It took me an hour or so to learn how to define the shape of a plate , how to set an absolute euler pole for it and to see it rotating. Then I also noticed it can draw "small circles" and that makes it absolutely easy for figuring out the path of every point.
It was so easy that I am now using it to review my stuff as well...

Looking good. Nice to see you trying out gplates. It's really handy. Didn't know about the circles though. I don't know if you used this feature but you can have divergent boundaries auto adjust between two plates so they remain exactly in the center regardless of movements. it's handy.

@ Groovey. I was starting to feel the same way about my own map, that I would keep doing it forever, started doing the climate map to take a break from the tectonic map. I'm waiting to see your next update.

[Pixie]

Looking good. Nice to see you trying out gplates. It's really handy. Didn't know about the circles though.

I actually only used g.plates to visualize present movement of plates - basically, working out the best euler pole for what I wanted. Then I used that euler pole coordinates as the center for small circles which was very helpful. The only features I defines were closed-plate-boundaries and I didn't use time-dependent stuff. In all honesty, that side of g.plates, which I am sure is amazing, is still beyond my ability.

[groovey]

Well, this is what I got out of Pixie's revision of my tectonics. I hope I didn't mess up anything, since what I had left to do was the easy part, though I wouldn't be surprised if I managed to.



The boundaries with Pixie's original outline under it, for check-ups.



After cleaning out the land shapes outlines and the boundaries that Pixie passed me, I used a different tone of blue for convergent boundaries, but red is still divergent and yellow transformation.

I did find the will to make divergent boundaries "broken" in bits, but not to use triangles instead of circles.

Then I added or edited the subduction islands. Do they look alright? Too many? Too few?

And that's about it.


Question, is there any plausible way to add some (non-volcanic) small island/s to make the south of plate 1 closer to the islands chain along nº6 and 7? I mean, the poor fellas controlling than land aren't great navigators, on open sea at least, they're much better at coastal navigation.

Also, how about convergent boundaries near coastlines? For example 5/1, in the scale of the map the boundary is roughly 200/300 Km from the coast. So would that boundary cause mountains to be created on that coast? Or is it too far?

How about the boundary on the left pointy end of nº16 with 19?


I must say I love the new tectonic map, visually it looks more attractive than the past ones, I think.


EDIT: re-posted the tectonics map, now with purple to indicate continental/continental convergence.

EDIT 2: Arrrg, just noticed a few little islands are on the wrong side of subduction, going to fix that.

[Cuin]

Also, how about convergent boundaries near coastlines? For example 5/1, in the scale of the map the boundary is roughly 200/300 Km from the coast. So would that boundary cause mountains to be created on that coast? Or is it too far?

I see no reason why not, if fact this is what Japan is. It is a somewhat common tectonic phenomenon called a back arc basin where a small spreading zone forms behind a convergent zone and you get something like Japan. Also, you can get subduction in the middle of the ocean in which case you would have an island arc like the Aleutian islands.

An inert plate probably would require that there was no subduction of the inert plate on any border. This is because sinking slabs have a strong force that pulls the entire plate. This is known as 'slab pull'. Subduction of another plate under an inert plate, transform, or divergent boundaries shouldn't cause problems if you want a plate to be 'motionless'.

I think the added transforms on the divergent boundaries look great! I like the color scheme as well.

Question, is there any plausible way to add some (non-volcanic) small island/s to make the south of plate 1 closer to the islands chain along nº6 and 7? I mean

Making volcanic islands would be easy, either along the divergent boundary like Iceland, or just a random hotspot like Hawaii. Non-volcanic islands are more difficult to explain. This might require a rifted segment of a plate like Madagascar. Or perhaps a carbonate platform like the majority of Caribbean islands, but I don't know what conditions this would require. What is the motivation to not use volcanic islands?

[groovey]

Glad you hear from you again Cuin; I was afraid I scared you off the last time since my reply always reads so defensive to me. Thanks for your input.

Well, I'm not really against using volcanic islands, in fact I love them, but what I understand is that they are much more rare on divergent boundaries, so I'm not sure what are the conditions for them to arise in some divergent boundaries and not in most of them. I mean, in a 2D map how can you tell when it would be plausible for volcanic islands (I wouldn't need them to be too big) to arise, when I have no info on depth and such?

By the way Cuin, I notice you seem to know your fair share about tectonics, but you mostly work with regional maps, at least that you've posted in the guild. Have you worked on a world map at some point? Do you have in mind tectonics logic in your regional maps? I'm just curious.


On another note, how do you guys like the names I completely and absolutely randomly came up with for my 3 favorite plates?



Keep in mind I had to adapt the names to the rules of the official con language of the Empire that had the map done (in a very distant future of course, when they figure out tectonics, or when the aliens visit the world and share that bit of info with them. Joking, not a chance, aliens are not welcome to my world, sorry). In appreciation for you input and encouragement I'll also introduce those words to the language's dictionary, since I need new words in dozens and your user names adapted to the con rules don't sound and look bad at all. In your case Picsë, I would make yours the name of the main God if he already hadn't an important needed name. But who knows, it might end up being the name of one of his sons (or daughters, since names are a bit androgynous in general there). I'll figure out the best use for it.

In the case of Ascan, since usually the suffix -an indicates that word is a verb in the con language, I might come up for the right meaning to Ascan as a verb so it also makes sense as the name of a plate, but then I guess I'll have to add a vowel or another syllable to turn the verb Ascan into a noun.

EDIT: needed to make some changes since I realized plate 1's name would take after the name of the nation/s of that land mass. So I had to move the other two. Now Ascan is Ascantä, which now means... East. Sorry ascanius, I couldn't make the word fit to be more majestic, but it makes sense because on plate 1 they are not very fond of people on plate 2, so when they manage to constrain themselves when referring to them, the best they can come up with is "the easterns", so their land would be the East. I also had to move Picsë to the periphery for the same reason than the first, that plate's land already has a name, so the plate should take after that.

[Cuin]

Haha, can't scare me off! I just get busy because I am working on a PhD, which is in geology. I don't directly study tectonics, but I have it in my background. I do like to keep in mind tectonics while mapping, but I have never gone as in depth as you have. I'd like to try what you've done some day. One example of a tectonic theme I tried to emulate can be seen in this example. We see abundant evidence for flooding of a continent behind mountain building events. There are no modern analogues, but it has happened in Earth's history, and I tried to do that on the example map. In the example the bay like region is continental crust that has been flooded, and oceanic crust to the north. The oceanic crust is subducting under the continent and forming the mountain range in the north. That is my rationale at least.

Cool names. I'm sure Pixie and Ascanius think so too!

[Pixie]

I'm touched by having a continent named after me. Nobody had done that for me before. And I like the spelling for my name: Picsë. Do you mind if I take that word too? I keep collecting cool words for map-naming purposes.

About those islands to make the sea navigation easier from Swefendlea to the continent on plate 7. You can do one of two things:
1 - assume there is an active hotspot somewhere close(south) of the triple junction between 9, 6 and Swefendlea - a sort of Azores (or Iceland, or Galapagos) kind of feature. You would have some land there, plus smaller islands along plate 6, southbound.
2 - assume the western side of plate 6 was separated from Arlia, just like plate 13 and then originally drifted eastward before turning to a southward movement. This bit of continental crust would now be on the boundary with plate 8 and create a longer thinner island close to that boundary - a sort of Java (or Papua).

But if you are worried about the open-sea navigation in that area, you may want to have a look at dominant winds and currents before deciding where to place the islands.

Lastly. It's so good to see you back at things you clearly love - con language and history. I'll use your expertise later on, on history, if you don't mind.

[ascanius]

Ok the names are awsome. haha don't worry I like Ascanta, I am honored at having a continent named after me. It looks really good by the way, keep up the good work.