Donnerstag, den 9. März 2023

10:00–12:00 Uhr, öffentliche Sitzung der Klasse für Naturwissenschaften und Technikwissenschaften der Leibniz-Sozietät der Wissenschaften zu Berlin

Die Sitzung findet als Zoom-Videokonferenz statt: https://tu-darmstadt.zoom.us/j/67732766285?pwd=TWUrM1ZMMlhxMXNKcGNSbVVQa2lTUT09
Meeting-ID: 677 3276 6285

Vortrag:

Sanzhong Li (MLS)

Microplate Tectonics: A new tectonic paradigm

Abstract:

Earth is only one of the planets in the solar system to operate plate tectonics to be confirmed. Although traditional Plate Tectonic Theory had a successful achievement, it remains three conundrums. The first one is when, where and why plate tectonic regime started on the Earth. The second conundrum of Plate Tectonics Theory is the difficultly to explain intraplate deformation. The third conundrum is plate driving forces. However, Microplate Tectonics Theory as a new tectonic paradigm does not need to resolve the own-making trouble as the theory of plate tectonics: only one unique origin and one driving mechanism of plate tectonics. This presentation will introduce six principles of Microplate Tectonics Theory as follows.

• On global geometry: Rigid microplates can vertically develop not only in lithosphere but also within deep mantle, including continental, oceanic and mantle microplates in composition, and over 1000 microplates on surface Earth and many mantle microplates within the mantle.
• On fundamental kinematics: Microplates as rigid blocks not only move horizontally along the small girdles around the Euler poles or self-rotation axes, but also move down and up across the spheres.
• On deformation: The inner microplate is either rigid or deformable, but deformation is mainly along the microplate margin.
• On evolution: Microplate can grow and die under many tectonic settings, having relatively independent evolutionary history and undergoing either Wilson or non-Wilson cycles without fixed periods.
• On mobilism and transition: Microplate could have been a large plate in passive motion under either plate tectonic or non-plate tectonic regimes, without limit of plate margin, microplate can develop or terminate under any tectonic setting such as previous intraplate environment.
• On kinetics: Microplates have many linked driving forces or mechanisms, the ultimate driving force should be Relay-Taylor Instability.

Vita:

Sanzhong Li, born in 1968, full professor of Ocean University of China (OUC), fellow of Leibniz Society of Sciences in Berlin, Germany, and vice president and council of International Association for Gondwana Research. At present, he is director of Key Lab of Submarine Geoscience and Prospecting Techniques, Ministry of Education, China; deputy director of Frontiers Science Center for Deep-Ocean Multispheres and Earth Systems, Ministry of Education, China and deputy director of Institute for Advanced Ocean Study, OUC. As a visiting scholar and IODP expert, he once visited top institutions for marine sciences in Germany, the United States, Japan, Australia and other countries. He serves as co-Editor-in-chief of international journals Geosystems and Geoenvironment, and deputy editor-in-chiefs of several international journals such as Science Bulletin, Geoscience Frontiers.

He has been engaged in the research of Marine Geodynamics, Continental Dynamics, Precambrian Geodynamics andEarth System Dynamics for over 30 years. His scientific contributions include Microplate Tectonics Theory for solid Earth, Carbon Tectonics Theory for Earth System and Meta-Earth Techniques for AI-aided or supercomputer-based exploration. He has published 13 books in Chinese and 1 book in English as the first author in Science Press, China. He has also published more than 400 SCI-indexed international papers in Nature Communications, Earth-Science Reviews, Reviews of Geophysics, Geology, EPSL, JGR, Tectonics, Geophysical Research Letters and other top international journals. His papers have been cited by nearly 20000 SCI-indexed papers, and he has been selected for three times as one of the highly-cited scientists in the field of geosciences by Clarivate, ESI. His H-index from ESI is 71. He has won more than 10 important research awards, including the second prize of National Natural Science Award, China, the scientific research award of Li Siguang’s Geoscience Award, and the other first and second prizes of provincial and ministerial levels. He is the winner of Natural Science Foundation, China (NSFC) for Distinguished Young Scientists and the principle investigator of NSFC Innovation Group. He enjoys the special government allowance of the State Council, China and has been selected into the National Talents Project, the Taishan Scholarships for Distinguished Professors and the Pandeng Program.