MESOZOIC-CENOZOIC GLOBAL GEODYNAMIC EVOLUTION, PALEOGEOGRAPHY AND MANTLE PLUMES ACTIVITY

Sixteen time interval maps were constructed which depict the Triassic – Neogene geodynamics, plate tectonic configuration and paleoenvironment. Generally, the individual maps illustrate the conditions present during the maximum marine transgressions of higher frequency cyclicity within Absaroka, Zuni, and Tejas megasequences of Sloss. The plate tectonic model was constructed using PLATES and PALEOMAP, which integrate computer graphics and data management technology with a highly structured and quantitative description of tectonic relationships. The Mesozoic and Cenozoic positions of the continents were derived from paleomagnetic data, paleoclimatic observations, such as reef and fossil flora distribution, and geological observations. The obtained plate motion model agrees reasonably well with observations on intraplate and mid-oceanic volcanics, including Large Igneous Provinces, and with hot spot related rifting and break-up events. The existence of asymmetric plumes could explain difficulties in the drawing of hot spot tracks and discrepancies in the estimation of their stationary positions over the long period of time. The single hot spot point could appear in the different position within the same large mantle plume. Mantle plume activities expressed by hot spots volcanics helped to determine the longitudinal position of continents, especially of Pangea supercontinent and to construct a model of plate motion during the Pangean break-up. Mantle plumes play an active role in rifting and initial phases of spreading. The lithospheric displacement, caused by upwelling, combined with sometimes-remote collisional forces on the other side of the continental plate, may result in compression and basin inversion. Hot spots are related not only to the opening of the Atlantic, Indian and Arctic Oceans, but also to rifting and spreading in Tethys. The long lasting location of hot spots and associated mantle upwelling plumes could help to explain forces driving the Tethys transit plates. They are also related to the opening of the Ligurian Ocean and Eastern Mediterranean.