Draft SO461 Fall 2007

Plate Tectonics Writing Assignment

You will write a 2-3 page paper (double spaced) on one of the following pairs of papers.  Your paper will:

• Briefly summarize the evidence used in each of the papers
• Describe what new conclusions the authors used
• Highlight any differences between the interpretations of the two papers
• Use correct format for citations in the text and in the references cited.

Shackleton Fracture Zone: No barrier to early circumpolar ocean circulation

Autopsy on a dead spreading center: The Phoenix Ridge, Drake Passage, Antarctica

Active deformation of the Gorda plate: Constraining deformation models with new geophysical data

Internal deformation of the southern Gorda plate: Fragmentation of a weak plate near the Mendocino triple junction