We present an updated oceanic crustal age grid and a set of complementary grids including spreading rate, asymmetry, direction, and obliquity. Our data set is based on a selected set of magnetic anomaly identifications and the plate tectonic model of Müller et al. (2019, 10.1029/2018TC005462). We find the mean age of oceanic crust is 64.2 Myr, slightly older than previous estimates, mainly due to the inclusion of pockets of Mesozoic aged crust in the Atlantic and Mediterranean and improvements to the Jurassic Pacific triangle. This older crust is partly compensated by additional Cenozoic-aged back-arc basin crust not included in previous models. The distribution of spreading modes based on area of preserved crust is relatively equal between slow (20-55 mm/yr) and fast (75-180 mm/yr) spreading systems at 33% and 39%, respectively. Crust transitional between fast and slow, or intermediate systems (55-75 mm/yr), cover 20% of the preserved ocean floor with much smaller proportions of crust formed at ultraslow (5%) and super-fast (3%) spreading systems. Slow and intermediate spreading systems exhibit the most stable behavior in terms of spreading asymmetry and obliquity, with the widest distribution of obliquities occurring at ultraslow spreading systems, consistent with present-day observations. Our confidence grid provides a complementary resource for nonexperts to identify those parts of the age grid that are least well constrained. Our grids in 6, 2, and 1 arc min resolution as well as our python workflow, isopolate, used to compute our data sets are freely available in online repositories and on the GPlates data portal. Plain Language Summary The age of the ocean floor is one of the fundamental data sets for understanding plate tectonic processes. We have generated an updated present-day age grid of oceanic crust by incorporating recent improvements to the underlying plate motion model, magnetic anomaly identifications, and fracture zones. The resultant mean age of the ocean floor is~64 million years, slightly older than previous studies. We also present data sets showing various seafloor spreading parameters such as spreading rate, asymmetry, direction, and obliquity. Slow and intermediate seafloor spreading rates produce the most stable spreading behavior in terms of asymmtery and obliquity. Our data sets and workflows are freely available and can be used for multidisciplinary scientific studies. Our maps are an effective visual tool to understand plate tectonic concepts and can be used for education and outreach.

Small changes in the strength of the Earth's gravity field caused by the redistribution of mass on the Earth cause subtle changes in the range between the satellites. This is the fundamental observation that made the grace mission unique.A number of different mathematical approaches have been used to parameterize the Earth's gravity field and the convergence of the inversions of the data. Solving for coefficients of spherical harmonic models has been the most common approach used since the start of the grace mission (e.g., Lemoine et al., 2007;Tapley et al., 2004). A common characteristic of the estimated temporal gravity fields is a north-south striped error pattern, in part related to the high correlations between even and odd order coefficients (Swenson & Wahr, 2006

A major topic of debate in earth science and climate science surrounds the timing of closure of the Central American Seaway. While it is clear that the gateway was closed by ca. 2.8 Ma, recent studies based on geological and marine molecular evidence have suggested an earlier closing time of early to mid-Miocene. In this study, we examined the influences of subduction and slab window formation on the time-varying paleoenvironments of the Isthmus of Panama region. We developed detailed reconstructions of the seafloor spreading history in the Panama Basin and incorporated previously published arc block rotations into a revised global plate model. Our reconstructions indicate that the Central American Seaway region has undergone multiple phases of slab window formation and migration, slab detachment, and flat slab subduction since the Oligocene, while kinematically mapped slab windows agree well with slab gaps imaged in seismic tomography. In particular, we found that from the early Miocene, when there is clear evidence for Isthmus of Panama emergence, the region was underlain by a slab window. During the late Miocene, when there is evidence for intermittent arc deepening, and decreased transcontinental migration, we found an increase in subducted slab volumes beneath the Panama arc. Numerical and analogue models and field observations argue that slab windows can induce >1 km of vertical uplift on the overriding plate. We therefore propose that this previously unexplored geodynamic mechanism can explain the variations in Isthmus of Panama emergence, and intermittent shallow-water connections, reconciling alternative lines of evidence for Central American Seaway closure.

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) space gravity mission was one of the most successful space geodesy missions operating for 12 years beyond the planned mission length and impacting a vast array of science disciplines including hydrology, oceanography, crustal deformation, and earthquake seismology. Temporal gravity field solutions have been provided as Level-2 data products from a number of different processing centers (e.g.,