Exercise 1
Plate movements
(For tutorial sessions on October 4, 7, 11 and 14. Hand in by October 14)
According to the NUVEL-model of plate movements on the surface of the Earth the pole of relative rotation between the North America and Eurasia plates is in N Siberia, at 62.4°N and 135.8°E, and the rotation rate is 0.22 degrees per million years. Find the vector of relative plate velocity, both direction and speed, at the plate boundary north of Iceland (67°N and 18.7°W) and near Reykjanes (63.75°N and 23°W). Compare with the GPS measurements, e.g. at Þorvaldseyri, Láguhvolar or Vogsósar.
(For a spherical triangle we have: cos c = cos a x cos b + sin a x sin b x cos C
and sin a / sin A = sin b / sin B = sin c / sin C )
