Ripple Tectonics—When Subduction Is Interrupted

Ben‐Avraham, Zvi; Schubert, G.; Lodolo, Emanuele; Schattner, Uri

doi:10.4236/pos.2020.113003

Cited by 1 publication

(3 citation statements)

References 80 publications

(47 reference statements)

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“…Rapid exhumation of the Tibetan Plateau and a peak in Himalayan metamorphism also occurred around 6 Ma (Harrison et al, 1997;Wang et al, 2007). These widespread tectonic effects around Africa appear to be linked to the distant reorganization of the Pacific plate through the ripple tectonics mechanism (Ben-Avraham et al, 2020).…”

Section: Tectonic Processes Working Behind the Scenes Global Scalementioning

confidence: 95%

“…Most studies examining the connectivity between tectonic, seismic, and volcanic events worldwide rely on local and regional structural relationships, spatial proximity, and temporal association. A recent paper proposed a mechanism linking many short-term and synchronous tectonic modifications worldwide to a major event (Ben-Avraham et al, 2020).…”

Section: Ripple Tectonicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The collision of the massive OJP with the 3,000 km long Melanesian subduction zone around 6 Ma disrupted the Pacific plate motion and slab pull forces, triggering a ripple cascade of tectonic changes worldwide (Ben-Avraham et al, 2020). The OJP choked the smooth Pacific-Australian subduction, causing slab tearing (Neal et al, 1997;Bercovici et al, 2015).…”

Section: Tectonic Processes Working Behind the Scenes Global Scalementioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Did plate tectonic changes lead to the emergence of hominid bipedalism?

Ben-Avraham,

Rak,

Schubert

et al. 2024

Front. Environ. Archaeol.

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When early hominids began walking upright around 6 Ma, their evolutionary course took a sharp turn. The new posture enabled physical and mental developments that had not been possible before. The factors driving the transition from quadrupedalism to bipedalism remain open. Most studies have linked this fundamental transition to environmental, topographical, geomorphological, and climatic changes that progressively transformed jungle- and forest-dominated areas of southern and eastern Africa into vast savannas, thus partitioning ecological niches. During the same timeframe, major tectonic events occurred worldwide within a relatively short geological period, due to a significant and sudden shift in the motion of the Pacific plate. In our previous work, we coined the term ripple tectonics to link a major tectonic impact to the short-term local events it caused worldwide. The ripple tectonic cascade in the Pacific around 6 Ma instigated significant environmental transformations in Africa, which ultimately catalyzed the biological evolution of early hominids towards a bipedal posture.

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Section: Tectonic Processes Working Behind the Scenes Global Scalementioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Ripple Tectonicsmentioning

confidence: 99%