Applications of GPlates and pyGPlates in geoscience

The delicate balance between different Earth systems is regulated, over geological timescales, by the tectonic evolution of Earth’s oceanic and continental plates. Convergence results in subduction and recycling of oceanic lithosphere, degassing of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and formation of mountain ranges that regulate climate.

Divergence results in the exposure of ultramafic rocks to seawater and/or atmospheric conditions, degassing of greenhouse gases and sundering of once coherent continental crust forming new oceanic pathways.

This seminar will serve as a broad introduction into the world of plate and palaeogeographic reconstructions, how they are made, how they are used, and the possibilities that they represent to understand how the Earth, and how different Earth systems, have evolved on 10–100 Ma timescales.