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Dubbed MORVEL for mid-ocean ridge velocities, the new model is detailed in
Geophysical Journal International. The work builds on a 1990 study describing tectonic plate velocities. During the past 20 years, researchers have incorporated more and higher-quality data to improve the model s resolution and precision. This model can be used to predict the movement of one plate relative to any other plate on the Earth s surface, explains University of Wisconsin-Madison geophysicist Chuck DeMets. Plate tectonics describes almost everything about how the Earth s surface moves and deforms, but it s remarkably simple in a mathematical way.
T
his figure shows the boundaries of the tectonic plates that cover the Earth’s surface. The two-letter codes are plate name abbreviations; those in black are included in the model.