Thursday, December 11, 2008

Earth Expansion Observed At Continental Rift



Calais, et al.: Strain accommodation by slow slip and dyking in a youthful continental rift, East Africa.

Continental rifts begin and develop through repeated episodes of faulting and magmatism, but strain partitioning between faulting and magmatism during discrete rifting episodes remains poorly documented. In highly evolved rifts, tensile stresses from far-field plate motions accumulate over decades before being released during relatively short time intervals by faulting and magmatic intrusions1, 2, 3. These rifting crises are rarely observed in thick lithosphere during the initial stages of rifting. Here we show that most of the strain during the July–August 2007 seismic crisis in the weakly extended Natron rift, Tanzania, was released aseismically. Deformation was achieved by slow slip on a normal fault that promoted subsequent dyke intrusion by stress unclamping. This event provides compelling evidence for strain accommodation by magma intrusion, in addition to slip along normal faults, during the initial stages of continental rifting and before significant crustal thinning.

5 comments:

Quantum_Flux said...

Maybe the lithosphere has variable levels of rigidity (mental model here) kind of like what cement does under wet and dry conditions, and that allows for the forced subductions and magma displacements at the continental rifting zones.

Can't quite rule out chemical flux or decompressional melting, but perhaps you present a third possibility for rifting and general core heating in the form of electrical fault grounding between continental plates originating from Birkeland Currents and electrical storms.

Although, I'm still hazy as to exactly how the Earth acts as a magnetic field inductor/capacitor (the compass needles don't exactly jolt back and forth when these Birkeland Currents are occuring, does it?) and the heating as a resistor, I think it a very real possibility nonetheless, perhaps there is a net effect of changing the Earth's magnetic field from the changing crustal activities.

Quantum_Flux said...

Your typical hydraulic press should help model why a plate subduction in one spot causes a plate raising displacement of magma in another spot, and also why the seas appear to be slowly receding from the shores over time. However, that's only a model and it assumes a lot of things about the rigidity of the lithosphere/upper mantle such as (1) seafloor spreading creates enough force to cause plate drift, (2) perhaps a stress easing magma melting occurs to aid in the drift, and (3) that the plates can soften and bend downwards like a ductile hot peice of iron.

Anaconda said...

ABIOTIC OIL THEORY AND EXPANDING EARTH THEORY: HOW DO THE TWO THEORIES INTERACT.


I find the picture remarkable in that the lines are so clean, sharp, and geometrical (right angles).

Also, the filled in material is so flush with surrounding material and the contrast in the two material's texture and surface appearance is striking. Great photo, OilIsMastery.

Well, the evidence for Earth's expansion has risen to the level where it's fruitful to analyze how Abiotic Oil theory interacts or is influenced by Expanding Earth theory.

I think it's always fruitful to look at prime examples: Ghawar oil field in Saudi Arabia is the largest oil field in the world. Much has been written and, indeed, I have commented, here, on the Oil Is Mastery website about Ghawar oil field for obvious reasons.

Many comments discussed Ghawar oil field and the Persian Gulf in terms of the conventional paradigm, Continental Drift, Subduction theory.

As indicated before, the time has come to analyze oil fields using the new paradigm of Expanding Earth theory.

A major question is this: Do the location and character of oil deposits around the world confirm or contradict the Expanding Earth theory?

And for sake of argument, accepting Expanding Earth theory as fact, how does this paradigm affect the predictive power of Abitoic Oil theory and the geological expanation for the world's known oil deposits and the search for new oil deposits.

This sythesis of Abiotic Oil theory and Expanding Earth theory is a natural outgrowth of the increasing body of scientific evidence for Expanding Earth theory.

In order to "flesh out" Expanding Earth theory, it is necessary to examine how it incorporates various known geological processes. Abiotic oil formation is a geologic process with major economic consequesces, but also economic geology is impacted (hard mineral extraction, such as gold, silver, copper, ect.) by Expanding Earth theory.

This comment is to state this new focus of scientific inquiry and start the discussion:

With that in mind, I link Neal Adams' video, which discusses the formation of the Mediterranean, Black Sea, Caspian Sea, and Aral Sea.

But for purposes of this discussion, when watching the video, please focus on the Persian Gulf and the Saudi Arabian coastline because just beyond that coastline lies the largest Oil field in the world, Ghawar.

Several, things can be seen in the video. That the Persian Gulf, rather than closing down and shrinking as envisioned by Subduction theory is opening up and getting larger.

Can Ghawar be explained in terms of the spreading of the Persian Gulf.

The answer is yes, and the answer is encouraging to increased production from Ghawar oil field.

In watching the video notice how in these stretching areas, the "seas", oil has been found in large amounts in the Caspian Sea, and offshore exploration has began in earnest in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Seas.

This spreading or rifting of the Persian Gulf will increase the opportunity of sea water to flow down into the depths of the tectonic faults and fissures that lie at the base of Ghawar and possibly transform the sea water into supercritical water which geologists accept as playing a major role in hydrocarbon formation and transport.

This is a starting point and not a finishing comment. There is much more detail to discuss with regards to Ghawar and, indeed, the entire Persian Gulf region, plus around the world.

The synthesis of Expanding Earth theory and Abotic Oil theory will provide a more complete conception of the Earth's geological processes.

Let the Quest fly high.

Anaconda said...

EXPANDING EARTH THEORY COMPATIBLE WITH ELECTRIC UNIVERSE THEORY

"...and never 'tween the two shall meet."

It seems clear that there are some in each camp that view the other theory as a rival -- this is not necessarily so.

Louis Hissink:

Louis, you stated: "[M]y original issue was how to work out how the earth changed it's rotation and celestial orientation - was the earth always at 23.5 degrees to the ecliptic ? Has the earth tippe toppe like careened to new axes of spin, putting continents how at polar areas into the equatorial ones?

This is an extremely important issue because if plate tectonics is dead and buried, then continental drift can no longer be used to explain the occurrence of glacial deposits in equatorial regions.

Expanding earth theory also assumes an earth forever fixed in spatial orientation but having expanded over time."

It's true Expanding Earth theorists haven't addressed the idea of rotation and celestial orientation.

Louis, you bring up a good point, "[How to] explain the occurrence of glacial deposits in equatorial regions."

But, just because leading theorists haven't addressed a particular question doesn't mean one theory is incompatible with another theory.

(Louis, I know you understand this principle -- you've already demonstrated the capacity to calmly, dispassionately, and objectively consider disparate strands of evidence.)

Take your example: ""[How to] explain the occurrence of glacial deposits in equatorial regions."

There are several possibilites which explain those glacial deposits: In Electric Universe theory, the entire Sun - Earth solar system hit a "drop" in electric currents so that the entire Earth became cold, an all incompassing "world ice age."

Or, Earth was subjected to an Electric Universe cataclysm of "worlds colliding," electrically "touching" and discharging, changing the Earth's angle towards the Sun, as previously theorized.

But nether of these postulated events preclude the Expanding Earth theory. The two theories remain compatible.

Remember, the temptation is twofold, when advocating for an unconventional theory: Dismisss other unconventional theories (one "unconventional" theory is enough) and "appropriate" anomalous scientific evidence that may be a better fit in the other unconventional theory.

The temptation is understandable, but the scientific evidence should dictate, not human proclivities.

Actually, Louis, your open-minded approach to scientific evidence is remarkable, and given the line of work you are in, it's couragous, too.

Courage -- as Hemmingway defined it: grace under pressure.

Anaconda said...

MAGMA UPWELLING INTO EXPANDING RIFTS -- WIRES IN A LARGER ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT?

"[Volcanoes]...connected with a larger plasma environment...a larger electrical circuit."

Circuits need conduits or in modern parlance, circuits need wires.

"This planet, with all its appalling immensity, is to electric currents virtually no more than a small metal ball." -- inventor, Nikola Tesla

The above quote seems simple enough, but it has profound consequences and potentialities.

If the "skin" of the Earth is akin to the surface of a charged metal ball then the skin is alive with electric currents, but because the "skin" of the Earth is not a uniform conducting sheet like a metal sphere, electric currents will concentrate on lines of greatest electrical conductivity.

Where are these lines of "greatest electrical conductivity?"

The lines of greatest electrical conductivity will be where the medium of the crust and shallow mantle concentrate the most conductive material and that is where MAGMA (an electrical conductor) and other electrical conducting material tend to reside.

Where does most of the world's magma reside?

Why along the world's faults and fractures, and rifts where the majority of Earthquakes happen.

Volcanism and Earthquakes are connected as part of the "electrical shell" of the Earth -- earthquakes (or rather the faults and rifts) are the wires between the loads (volcanoes) and when one of these loads discharges (erupts) it sends electrical currents through the wires, occasionally overloading the "wires" causing explosive results.

Combine this process with the outward pressure of magma as a result of an expanding Earth and it becomes obvious why Earth is such a dynamic "small metal ball."