# Research and Observations: Expanding Earth vs plate tectonics Back to [[Expanding Earth and Plate Tectonics]] · [[Post Analysis - NikolovScience on Expanding Earth (2026-10-22)]] · [[Vocabulary]] Key: ✔ I opened or confirmed the source (DOI, publisher, abstract or official page) this session. ◻ Cited from standard knowledge and not opened this session. ⚠️ The detail is unconfirmed. ## A. The map in the post | Source | What it shows | Check | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | Müller, Sdrolias, Gaina & Roest (2008). "Age, spreading rates, and spreading asymmetry of the world's ocean crust." *G-cubed* 9, Q04006. [doi:10.1029/2007GC001743](https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GC001743) | The age grid behind the NOAA image | ✔ | Uses about 405,000 magnetic-anomaly ages. Plate boundaries come from Bird (2003). It says conjugate Pacific plates "have been subducted". It puts Eastern Mediterranean and Ionian crust at about 270–230 Ma. It maps "past subduction zone locations since 140 Ma" against tomography. | | NOAA NGDC/NCEI (2008). "Age of Oceanic Lithosphere" poster, by Elliot Lim, CIRES ([PDF](https://ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/ocean_age/data/2008/ngdc-generated_images/whole_world/2008_age_of_oceans_plates.pdf)) | The posted image | ✔ | This is the "plates" version, with plate boundaries drawn, including the trenches. | | Seton et al. (2020), updated global age grid | The newer version of the grid | ◻ ⚠️ | Not opened. | ## B. Subduction: direct observations | Source | Finding | Check | |---|---|---| | Isacks, Oliver & Sykes (1968). "Seismology and the new global tectonics." *JGR* 73:5855. [doi:10.1029/JB073i018p05855](https://doi.org/10.1029/JB073i018p05855) | Deep earthquake zones dip under island arcs (Tonga about 45°, to about 700 km) and are interpreted as descending lithosphere. These are the Wadati–Benioff zones. | ✔ | | van der Meer, van Hinsbergen & Spakman (2018). "Atlas of the underworld." *Tectonophysics* 723:309–448. [doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2017.10.004](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2017.10.004) | 94 mantle seismic anomalies interpreted as subducted slabs, tied to geological subduction records. | ✔ | | Chester et al. (2013). *Science* 342:1208. [doi:10.1126/science.1243719](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1243719) | JFAST drilled the Japan Trench plate-boundary fault: a clay layer under 5 m thick at about 820 m below the seafloor, which took the 2011 Tohoku-oki slip. | ✔ | | Chopin (1984). *Contrib. Mineral. Petrol.* 86:107–118. [doi:10.1007/BF00381838](https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381838) | Coesite in Alpine rocks: continental crust taken to at least 28 kbar (about 90+ km) and brought back up. | ✔ | | Matsuda & Isozaki (1991). *Tectonics*. [doi:10.1029/90TC02134](https://doi.org/10.1029/90TC02134) | Triassic–Early Jurassic open-ocean radiolarian chert, deposited over more than 50 My, scraped into a Jurassic accretionary complex in Japan. | ✔ | | Forsyth & Uyeda (1975). *Geophys. J. R. Astron. Soc.* 43:163. [doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.1975.tb00631.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.1975.tb00631.x) | Slab pull is about an order of magnitude larger than other plate-driving forces. | ✔ | | DeMets, Gordon & Argus (2010). MORVEL. *GJI* 181:1. [doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2009.04491.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.2009.04491.x) | Plate angular velocities for 25 plates; closure tests. Two circuits show small non-closure of 14 ± 5 and 3 ± 1 mm/yr. | ✔ | ## C. Is Earth expanding? Measurements | Source | Finding | Check | |---|---|---| | Wu, Collilieux, Altamimi, Vermeersen, Gross & Fukumori (2011). *GRL* 38, L13304. [doi:10.1029/2011GL047450](https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL047450); [JPL release](https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-research-confirms-its-a-small-world-after-all/) | Mean radius change 0.1 ± 0.2 mm/yr, not significant. Quote: "the solid Earth is not getting larger at present, within current measurement uncertainties." | ✔ | | Shen, Shen, Sun & Barkin (2015). *Geodesy and Geodynamics* 6(4):248–252. [doi:10.1016/j.geog.2015.05.006](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geog.2015.05.006) | Pro-expansion framing, but the total is 0.35 ± 0.47 mm/a, an uncertainty that includes zero. | ✔ | | McElhinny, Taylor & Stevenson (1978). *Nature* 271:316. [doi:10.1038/271316a0](https://doi.org/10.1038/271316a0) | Paleomagnetism shows Earth's radius changed by less than 0.8% over 400 My. Also constrains the Moon (< 0.06%), Mars and Mercury. | ✔ | | Williams (2000). *Rev. Geophys.* 38:37. [doi:10.1029/1999RG900016](https://doi.org/10.1029/1999RG900016) | Tidal rhythmites from about 620 Ma record 400 ± 7 days/yr and a 21.9 h day, consistent with tidal slowing at roughly constant size ⚠️ (the inference about radius is mine). | ✔ | | Maxlow (2001). PhD thesis, Curtin University. [hdl:20.500.11937/2423](http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/2423); [jamesmaxlow.com](https://www.jamesmaxlow.com/ancient-earth-radius/) | Expansion model with Earth at about 50% of today's radius in the late Permian and about 1,700 km in the early Archean. | ✔ | | Derived ⚠️ | Maxlow's 50% radius 250 My ago implies an average of about 13 mm/yr of radius growth, about 100× the Wu 2011 bound. At constant density it would need about 5×10²⁴ kg of new mass. | my arithmetic | ## D. Ocean before 180 Ma | Source | Finding | Check | |---|---|---| | Granot (2016). *Nature Geoscience* 9:701. [doi:10.1038/ngeo2784](https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2784) | Herodotus Basin oceanic crust is about 340 Ma. The abstract opens by attributing young ocean basins to subduction. | ✔ | | Koppers, Staudigel & Duncan (2003). *G-cubed* 4. [doi:10.1029/2003GC000574](https://doi.org/10.1029/2003GC000574) | The oldest intact Pacific basement, ODP Site 801, is 167.4 Ma. | ✔ | | Wilde, Valley, Peck & Graham (2001). *Nature* 409:175. [doi:10.1038/35051550](https://doi.org/10.1038/35051550) | 4.404 Ga zircon with oxygen isotopes indicating liquid water at the surface. | ✔ | | Müller et al. 2008 (above), citing Stampfli & Borel 2002 | Late Permian pelagic limestone on mid-ocean-ridge basalt in Oman; Triassic MORB in Cyprus. | ✔ (as cited) | | Ophiolites (e.g., Oman/Semail, Troodos) | Slices of ocean floor on land. | ◻ | ## E. Mass, gravity and dinosaurs | Source | Finding | Check | |---|---|---| | Love & Brownlee (1993). *Science* 262:550. [doi:10.1126/science.262.5133.550](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.262.5133.550) | Cosmic dust infall is 40 ± 20 × 10⁶ kg/yr. | ✔ | | Sander et al. (2011). "Biology of the sauropod dinosaurs: the evolution of gigantism." *Biol. Rev.* 86:117. [doi:10.1111/j.1469-185X.2010.00137.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-185X.2010.00137.x) | Explains sauropod size by the long neck, air-filled bones, bird-like breathing, egg-laying and fast growth. | ✔ (summary) | | Hurrell (2012). "Ancient Life's Gravity and its Implications for the Expanding Earth" ([PDF](https://www.dinox.org/publications/Hurrell2012.pdf)) | Source of Nikolov's "Hurrel" curve. Not in a mainstream peer-reviewed journal ⚠️. | ✔ (exists) | | Pearson et al. (2014). *Nature* 507:221. [doi:10.1038/nature13080](https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13080) | About 1.5 wt% water in ringwoodite; the transition zone may be locally hydrous. | ✔ | | Beyer et al. (2017). "Charon tectonics." *Icarus* 287:161. [doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2016.12.018](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2016.12.018) | Past extension on Charon, probably from a freezing subsurface ocean. | ✔ | ## F. History | Source | Point | Check | |---|---|---| | Vine & Matthews (1963). *Nature* 199:947. [doi:10.1038/199947a0](https://doi.org/10.1038/199947a0) | Magnetic stripes record seafloor spreading. | ✔ (summary) | | DSDP Leg 3 (1968), *Initial Reports* vol. 3 ([PDF](https://www.deepseadrilling.org/03/volume/dsdp03_01.pdf)) | Sediment age increases away from the ridge, about 2 cm/yr half-rate. | ✔ | | Hilgenberg (1933), *Vom wachsenden Erdball*; Carey (1950s–1976) | Early Expanding Earth proposals. | ◻ (via advocate site dinox.org) | ## Observations I made from the image - The plate-boundary lines run along the western and southwestern Pacific trenches, the Aleutians, the Andes and the Sunda arc. - The oldest colors (blue, about 150–180 Ma) sit in the western Pacific, against trenches, not against a ridge. - The Pacific ridge is off-center, near the Americas. - The Eastern Mediterranean is purple (about 230–280 Ma), older than any open-ocean crust.