GPlates Manual - Alaska Geological Society
Contents
1. 2 Reconstruction View The reconstruction view provides the user with a display of their data on the GPlates globe or map reconstructed to a moment in time Control of the current reconstruction time is located under the menu bar on the left see image below The time can be controlled by both a text field forwards and backwards time buttons and the animation slider In addition the shortcut Ctrl T to enter a time value in the text field Reconstruction ViewFeb png 2 1 Camera Control When the Re Orient Globe tool is activated the GPlates globe can be rotated freely using the mouse with a simple click and drag motion If another tool is selected the globe can still be dragged by holding down Ctrl If the user wishes to adjust the camera position to a particular latitude and longitude pressing Ctrl L will pop up a window allowing manual entry of coordinates file CI GPlates topology NGU Documentation Introducing The Main Window html 3 of 9 10 03 2009 13 25 05 Introducing The Main Window Set camera viewpoint Use the Tab key to cycle between fields Latitude Longitude 150 Zooming in or out of the globe can be controlled by a text field 1 e you type in a desired zoom between 100 and 10000 The amount of zoom can be controlled by the following buttons e Zoom In e Zoom Out e Reverts globe back to a 1 1 scale In addition to the icons and text field GPlates provides a zoom slider which2. X Show Raster Set Raster Surface Extent set Camera Viewpoint Move Camera Up Move Camera Down Move Camera Left Move Camera Right Valid time Rotate Camera Clockwise Aa Clicked geometry Rotate Camera Anti clockwise Reset Camera Orientation Set Zoom amp Zoom In w WE Zoom Out a a Reset Zoom Level di Export Geometry Snapshot 4 Tool Palette The tool palette 1s used to control your view and interaction with the GPlates globe and maps You may recognise the concept of tools from graphics editing file Cl GPlates topology NGU Documentation Introducing The Main Window html 6 of 9 10 03 2009 13 25 05 Introducing The Main Window software e g drawing tools in Photoshop or GIS software e g ArcGIS mapping tools The Tool Palette includes camera positioning tools feature selection tools and drawing tools A tool 1s activated by clicking on it only one tool can be active at any time The task panel will reflect the current tool that 1s activated Tool Drag Globe Zoom In Choose Feature Digitise Polyline Geometry Digitise Multi point Geometry Digitise Polygon Geometry Modify Reconstruction Poles Move Vertex Shortcut Operation D 5 List of Menu Operations Drag to re orient the globe Shift drag to rotate the globe
3. 31 6331 31 7049 31 7946 31 8243 31 8541 31 8638 21 88384 file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation Interacting_Features html 7 of 8 10 03 2009 13 25 12 8 36301 5 1 337E 7 7231 7 48592 7 2260804 56 96776 56 6589 56 4397 2 56 01136 2 7723 2 433665 5 1847 4 86605 4 58725 A 21803 Ma Interacting With Features The View Coordinates dialog provides a tree view summarising the coordinates of every geometry in the feature The Property Name column lists the names and types of geometry plus an enumeration of each coordinate The Present Day column lists the coordinates of the geometry as it appears in the present i e 0 Ma The Reconstructed column lists the coordinates of the geometry as they appear on screen at the current view time which for convenience is displayed at the bottom of the dialog Last updated 09 Mar 2009 18 53 21 EST file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation Interacting_Features html 8 of 8 10 03 2009 13 25 12 More on Reconstructions More on Reconstructions Table of Contents 1 Theory GPlates enables the user to visualise and interactively manipulate the visualisation of plate motions through time plate tectonic reconstructions calculations of the probable positions orientations and motions of tectonic plates at various points in time based upon geological measurements of the relative plate to plate positions of various plates at specific times in
4. Click to zoom in Shift click to zoom out Ctrl drag to re orient the globe Click a geometry to choose a feature Shift click to query immediately Ctrl drag to re orient globe Click to draw a new vertex Ctrl drag to re orient the globe Click to draw a new point Ctrl drag to re orient the globe Click to draw a new vertex Ctrl drag to re orient the globe Drag or Shift drag the current geometry to modify its reconstruction pole Ctrl drag to re orient the globe Drag to move a vertex of the current feature You can still drag the globe around by holding down Ctrl e Tables of shortcuts and accelerators can be found in Appendix A of the user manual e A description of the operations within each menu will be explained in further detail in their respective chapters 5 1 File e Open Feature Collection e Open Global Raster e Open Time Dependent Global Raster Set file CI GPlates topology NGU Documentation Introducing The Main Window html 7 of 9 10 03 2009 13 25 05 Introducing The Main Window e View Read Errors e Manage Feature Collections e Quit 5 2 Edit e Query Feature e Edit Feature e Undo e Redo e Clear Selection 5 3 Reconstruction e Reconstruct to Time e Increment Reconstruction Time e Decrement Reconstruction Time e Animate e Specify Fixed Plate e View Total Reconstruction Poles 5 4 View e Colour Geometries By o Plate ID o Single Colour o Feature Type o Feature Age e Show Ras
5. Add Property Name _gpmi leftPlate Type gpml plateld i Add gpml plateld Plate ID 307 A With the property name chosen the lower section of the dialog presents the appropriate controls for entering the new value in this case a plate ID Press Enter or the OK button to confirm the addition of the new property 2 Viewing Coordinates Feature Properces Feature Type gpm Fault E Query Properties EZ Edit Properties vt View Coordinates Property Name Present Day Reconstructed gml OrientableCurve gml LineString Reconstructed relative to the root plate ID 0 at time 3 0 lat lon 1 lat lon 2 lat lon 3 lat lon 4 lat lon 5 lat lon 6 lat lon 7 lat lon 8 lat lon 9 lat lon 10 lat lon 11 lat lon 3 12 lat lon 13 lat lon 14 lat lon 15 lat lon 16 lat lon 17 lat lon 18 lat lon 3 19 lat lon 3 70 flat lan 30 39 9 51 30 42 9 33 30 32 9 1 30 64 8 79 40 72 8 3 30 86 8 26 s URE Bere c ce eet ae a eee ee 31 49 7 11 31 6 6 B5 3l 71 5 39 41 83 6 28 31 81 5 06 a 0a a ba d 3 38 x pardus gegen 03 32 22 4 8 32 22 4 48 32 26 4 2 99 90 18 29 9999 30 0295 30 1292 30 2487 30 3284 9 97769 9 69874 9 46947 5 16049 8 87151 30 468 5 63223 30 6377 30 7574 30 9865 31 0967 31 2064 31 3161 31 4357 31 3155
6. 03 2009 13 25 06 Data File Types e topography 1 jpg e topography 2 jpg together form a time dependent raster set In the above example the image lasts from 0 2Ma and has time steps of 1Ma Last updated 09 Mar 2009 18 53 20 EST file C GPlates topology NGU Documentation DataFileTypes html 3 of 3 10 03 2009 13 25 06 Loading And Saving Table of Contents Before you load any data into GPlates the globe will appear as a blank sphere in order to start with GPlates you will need to know how to load save and unload data This chapter describes how to load save and unload data from GPlates You can still manipulate the view of the globe even though it is blank See Chapter 5 Controlling the View for more details 1 Introducing Feature Collections When a data file is loaded in GPlates it is loaded in the Feature Collection All data in GPlates are represented as features e g MOR volcano etc whether geological data or reconstruction data Regardless of the file format all features will be contained internally as GPlates features However GPlates will remember the name and format of the file for saving All data loaded in GPlates are represented as features all data manipulation functions are operations upon features GPlates offers a rich variety of feature types enabling GPlates to handle geographic paleo geographic geological and tectonic data Basin Coastline Craton Fault Hotspot Isochron Mid Ocean Ridge
7. 13 25 07 Loading And Saving 4 3 1 Save e saves the current file with its current name e Will overwrite previous contents of the file This is useful when you have modified your file and are happy to save these changes Cy Do not edit the file in two separate programs simultaneously e g GPlates and a text editor 4 3 2 Save As e saves the current file with a new name e will leave the previous file intact e will load the new file in place of the old file e gives you the opportunity to change the file format This is useful when you want to edit a copy of a file without changing the original 4 3 3 Save a Copy file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation LoadingAndSaving html 9 of 10 10 03 2009 13 25 07 Loading And Saving e saves acopy of the current file with a new name e will leave the previous file intact e will not replace the unload the current file e gives you the opportunity to change the file format This is useful for making backups of your work as you go Last updated 09 Mar 2009 18 53 22 EST file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation LoadingAndSaving html 10 of 10 10 03 2009 13 25 07 Controlling The View Controlling The View Table of Contents This Chapter provides a comprehensive overview of how to manipulate their view of the globe data and features 1 View Menu The View Menu enables the user to manipulate the globe and includes the following o
8. 20071217 sc eS Seen eee IINE n m L RRREHRERERHEHHRHERENHERM Li n Li cannon Previous If the lt New Feature Collection gt option is selected a new feature collection will be created to hold the new feature This feature collection will not yet have a name and is not associated with a file on disk Like all other feature collections the new one will be found in the Manage Feature Collections dialog Last updated 09 Mar 2009 18 53 20 EST file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation Creating_Features html 5 of 5 10 03 2009 13 25 14
9. GPlates topology NGU Documentation Interacting Features html 1 of 8 10 03 2009 13 25 12 Interacting With Features Current Feature Type gpm Fault Mame THRUST FAULT BETWEEN SE from to future Clicked geometry gpml centerLineOf The Current Feature Panel summarises the pertinent properties of the current feature This is the starting point for further interaction with the feature It contains e Type of feature e Name of the feature e Plate ID of the feature used for reconstruction e Conjugate plate ID of the feature if it has one e Plate IDs for the left and right sides of the feature if applicable e Life time of the feature the period for when it exists e The purpose of the clicked geometry e Buttons to Query gt E pa Oo X Unselect feature The Edit menu also provides access to e Query Feature Ctrl Y e Edit Feature Ctrl E e Undo Ctrl Z e Redo Ctrl R e Clear Selection file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation Interacting_Features html 2 of 8 10 03 2009 13 25 12 Interacting With Features The valid life time of the feature is a range of geological time i e from 65Ma to 0Ma present day 2 3 Querying Feature Properties To query the properties of the current feature either click at the bottom of the Current Feature Panel or press Ctrl Y to invoke the corresponding operation in the Edit Menu The Feature Properties dialog will appear containing a complete lis
10. Seamount Subduction Zone Suture and Volcano are just some of the many feature types handled by GPlates The meta data attributes of data are contained within named properties of the features GPlates is able to load and save a number of data file formats e g PLATES4 When a data file 1s loaded in GPlates the data will be converted to the appropriate types of features and placed into a Feature Collection One Feature Collection in GPlates corresponds to one data file on the disk Even though the data have been converted to GPlates features GPlates will remember the name and original format of the file for saving When the features are saved they will be converted back to their original data format It is also possible to save features into different data formats using the Save As or Save a Copy buttons in the Manage Feature Collections dialog To specify a different file format change the file name extension e g dat pla etc to the extension for the desired format 2 How to Load a File file CI GPlates topology NGU Documentation LoadingAndSaving html 1 of 10 10 03 2009 13 25 07 Loading And Saving To load files into GPlates 1 Go to the File Menu in the menu bar 2 Scroll down to Open Feature Collection shortcut Ctrl O 3 A classic File Open dialog window will appear select the file to be loaded EG Open Files Look in E Jhomes geo jboyden GPlates Code 2008 trunk autom4te cache config doc msvcs msve 1
11. a a Ila eo es VT rotations about axes rot PLATES4 rotation ec ao front line rotates about z shp ESRI shapefile x a if a ep lae in ta Ee a ee DE Pe ae eee ee ee ee ee Oe Dee eee Cee eee ee LCD eee ee Inn goan iles D file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation LoadingAndSaving html 3 of 10 10 03 2009 13 25 07 Loading And Saving Cy A single row in the table corresponds to one file Column Function Name File Name The name of the file on disk File Format The file format type Whether the file is in use on the globe canvas In Use A collection of operations relevant to this Actions file If you place your mouse over the file name a tool tip appears indicating the directory the file is located in 4 File Errors 4 1 Introduction File read errors may occur when attempting to load data from file or some other data source such as a database GPlates developers have done their best to notify the user of the specifics of the error so corrections can be made 4 2 Error Categories It is anticipated that file input errors may fall into four categories 1 Warning file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation LoadingAndSaving html 4 of 10 10 03 2009 13 25 07 Loading And Saving 2 3 4 4 2 1 4 2 2 Recoverable error Terminating error Failure to begin Warning A warning is a notification of a problem generally a problem in the data which required GPlates to modif
12. building blocks of plate motion 1 3 Total Reconstruction Poles Total Reconstruction Poles tie finite rotations to plate motion A total reconstruction pole is a finite rotation which reconstructs a plate from its present day position to its position at some point in time in the past It is expressed as the combination of a fixed plate id a moving plate id a point in time and a finite rotation Reconstructions are defined in a relative fashion A single total reconstruction pole defines the motion of one plate id the moving plate 1d relative to another the fixed plate id at a specific moment in geological time A sequence of total reconstruction poles is needed in order to fully model the motion of one particular plate across the surface of the globe throughout time 1 4 Fixed Reference Plate ID A sequence of total reconstruction poles is used to models the motion of a single plate across the surface of the globe The total reconstruction poles describe the relative motion between each plate but ultimately this motion has to be traced back to a single plate ID which is considered fixed GPlates calls this the file CI GPlates topology NGU Documentation MoreReconstructions html 1 of 6 10 03 2009 13 25 13 More on Reconstructions Fixed Reference Plate ID Generally this plate ID corresponds to an absolute reference frame such as a hotspot paleomagnetic or mantle reference frame The convention is to assign the fixed ref
13. camera file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation Controlling_View html 3 of 6 10 03 2009 13 25 08 Controlling The View 3 Tool Palette The first two tools in the Tool Palette control your view of the GPlates globe or map The Tool Palette includes camera positioning tools feature selection tools and drawing tools A tool is activated by clicking on it only one tool can be active at any time The Current Feature Panel will change to reflect the current tool that 1s activated Tool Operation m Click and drag to re orient the globe Shift drag to rotate the globe Click to zoom in Shift click to zoom out Ctrl drag to drag the Zoom In slabs 4 Colouring Features Found under the View Menu in the Colour Geometries By sub menu this operation allows the user to choose how feature geometries are coloured Current colouring methods include by plate ID by age by feature type or by a single user specified colour file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation Controlling_View html 4 of 6 10 03 2009 13 25 08 Controlling The View File Edit Reconstruction View Help GPlates Time 0 00 S Colour Geometries By Plate ID Show Raster B Single Colour 3 Feature Type eature Ne Ne Nd 13 Teme Q Set Raster Surface Extent Set Camera Viewpoint cirte g Feature Age 4 Move Camera Up Up gpml Coastline Move Camera Down Down Sama AUST
14. line will be added to the table and GPlates will prepare to receive the next line of input e Selecting a property from the table and selecting Delete will delete the property from the feature file CI GPlates topology NGU Documentation Interacting Features html 5 of 8 10 03 2009 13 25 12 Interacting With Features Feature Properces Feature Type gpml Fault i amp Query Properties Edi ies X view Coordinates Edit idc A RN a a eee Valid geometry Append points on 0 0000 Lat 0 0000 Add Property Delete Property 2 6 Adding a Feature Property By clicking on Add Property in the Feature Properties window a new dialog will appear where you can select the Name Type and Value of a property In most cases you will only need to select the name of the property you wish to add the type of that property will be filled in automatically for you Add Property gpml errorBounds gpml foldAnnotation gpml isActive gpml motion gaminame gpml oldPlatesHeader gpml outlineOf gpml polarityChronld gpml polarityChron ffset file CI GPlates topology NGU Documentation Interacting Features html 6 of 8 10 03 2009 13 25 12 Interacting With Features In the image above the user has clicked on the down arrow of the combo box and is selecting the gpml leftPlate property This property is used to annotate which regions are on either side of features such as a mid ocean ridge
15. of the globe to be viewed at the same time as reconstructible features Note that GPlates is not yet able to reconstruct raster images 2 2 Which image formats does GPlates understand GPlates is able to display global covering the whole globe and regional covering a user specified zone raster images GPlates assumes that a global image spans the longitude range of 180 degrees to 180 degrees and the latitude range of 90 to 90 degrees and positions the image accordingly For regional rasters a surface extent of any longitude and latitude range for the raster can be specified enabling rasters of a smaller size to be correctly sized and positioned GPlates reads images in the widely used JPEG image format without the need for it to be geo referenced enabling the creator of an image to choose the amount of image compression used and thus control the size of the image file created 2 3 How do load a raster image in GPlates A global raster image is loaded using the operation Open Global Raster in the GPlates File Menu This will show a dialog requesting the user to choose the raster image file to be loaded When a raster image is loaded it will replace the current raster image if any Whether or not a currently loaded raster is displayed can be controlled using the operation Enable Raster Display in the GPlates View Menu 3 Time Dependent Global Raster Sets 3 1 What is a time dependent raster set GPlates has the facili
16. GPlates User Documentation GPlates User Documentation Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction to GPlates Chapter 2 Introducing the Main Window Chapter 3 Data File Types Chapter 4 Loading and Saving Chapter 5 Controlling the View Chapter 6 Reconstructions Chapter 7 Interacting with Features Chapter 8 More on Reconstructions FIXME or should More on Reconstructions be chapter 10 Chapter 9 Editing Geometries Chapter 10 Creating New Features Last updated 09 Mar 2009 13 11 58 EST file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation index html10 03 2009 13 25 01 Introduction to GPlates Introduction to GPlates Table of Contents 1 Introducing GPlates GPlates is desktop software for the interactive visualisation of plate tectonics GPlates offers a novel combination of interactive plate tectonic reconstructions geographic information system GIS functionality and raster data visualisation GPlates enables both the visualisation and the manipulation of plate tectonic reconstructions and associated data through geological time GPlates runs on Windows Linux and MacOS X 1 1 What is a Plate Tectonic Reconstruction The motions of tectonic plates through geological time may be described and simulated using plate tectonic reconstructions Plate tectonic reconstructions are the calculations of the probable positions orientations and motions of tectonic plates through time based upon the relative plate to plate pos
17. RALIA COASTLINES Move Camera Left Left Plate ID Move Camera Right Right i 801 Rotate Camera Clockwise ei TIME Rotate Camera Anti clockwise 750 to future ie Reset Camera Orientation A Clicked geometry Tra Set Zoom gpml centerLineof amp Zoom In Te 23 lY WM Zoom Out X BU a Reset Zoom Level l Camera lat 0 03 le fg Export Snapshat l5 cieked selected OOO Feature type Plate ID Name Clicked Featuretyppe PlateID Name Clicked geometr gp iml Coastline l 801 At E RACA COASTLINES MG mi centerLineof OldPlatesGridMark 801 EASTERN AUSTRALIA 5 DEGREE GRID MARKS gpmi sankarcineot CL EE LLL GP file CVGPlates topology NGU Documentation Controlling View html 5 of 6 10 03 2009 13 25 08 Controlling The View Last updated 09 Mar 2009 18 53 19 EST file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation Controlling_View html 6 of 6 10 03 2009 13 25 08 Reconstructions Reconstructions Table of Contents 1 Introduction The motions of tectonic plates through geological time may be described and simulated using plate tectonic reconstructions Plate tectonic reconstructions are the calculations of the probable positions orientations and motions of tectonic plates through time based upon the relative plate to plate positions of plates at various times in the past which may be inferred from other data Geological geophysical an
18. a lat 22 88 lon 13 29 Mouse lat 32 84 lon 0 98 Clicked Selected Feature type Plate ID Nme O O Clicked geometry Begin gpml Coastline 714 NORTHWEST AFRICA igpml centerLineOf 750 gpml Coastline 714 SMALL ISLANDS NORTHWEST AFRICA gpml centertineof file CI GPlates topology NGU Documentation Introducing The Main Window html 2 of 9 10 03 2009 13 25 05 Introducing The Main Window Item Name Description Menu Bar This region of the Main Window contains the titles of the menus Tool Palette A collection of tools which are used to interact with the globe and geological features via the mouse pointer Time Controls A collection of user interface controls for precise control of the reconstruction time Animation Controls A collection of tools to manipulate the animation of reconstructions A mouse controlled slider which controls the zoom level of the Globe View camera 6 Task Panel Task specific information and controls which correspond to the currently activated tool Zoom Slider Zoom Control A user interface control for precise manipulation of the Globe View camera zoom Camera Coordinate An information field which indicates the current globe position of the Globe View camera Mouse Coordinate An information field which indicates the current globe position of the mouse pointer Clicked Geometry Table Displays a summary of each geometry or feature touched by the last mouse click
19. continental oceanic crust boundaries plate rotations absolute reference frames and dynamic topography GPlates 1s free software also known as open source software licensed for distribution under the GNU General Public License GPL version 2 4 The Aim of this Manual Last updated 09 Mar 2009 15 53 11 EST file Cl GPlates topology NGU Documentation Introduction Gplates html 3 of 3 10 03 2009 13 25 01 Introducing The Main Window Introducing The Main Window Table of Contents This section describes the Main Window the heart of the GPlates user interface Below we present annotated screenshots of GPlates and label the key areas of the window and provide a brief overview of each 1 The Main Window When you start GPlates the first window you will encounter is the Main Window This contains your view of the globe and is the starting point of all tasks within GPlates It is here that you can control your view of the globe choose your reconstruction time load and unload data and interact with geological features file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation Introducing_The_Main_Window html 1 of 9 10 03 2009 13 25 05 Introducing The Main Window File Edit Reconstruction View Help 3 27077 27 3633 2 50494 29 9176 0 353992 31 8085 3 7404 33 3573 7 18221 36 7387 7 7112 38 7425 9 67728 42 6119 12 4994 44 8553 16 8028 46 3967 Clear Export Feature Create Feature n See Camer
20. d paleo geographic data may be attached to the simulated plates enabling a researcher to trace the motions and interactions of these data through time Geological time instants in GPlates are measured in units of Mega annum Ma in which 1 Ma is equal to one million years in the past For example the allowable range for reconstructions is from 0 to 10 000 Ma i e present day to 10 9 years ago The current age of the earth 4 5 x 10 years 2 Main Window Interface Components file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation Reconstructions html 1 of 8 10 03 2009 13 25 10 Reconstructions File Edit View Reconstruction Help Current Feature Type gpml Fault Name Plate ID 308 Valid time from 750 to future Clicked geometry apml centerLineOf Mouse lat 38 42 lon 28 30 Zoom 12599 2 12599 E 12599 camera lat 42 16 lon 19 11 S clicked Clicked Selected Feature type Plate ID Mame Clicked geometry 2 pm Fault 308 THRUST FAULT BETWEEN DINARDES amp VARDAR je centerLineOf Lem Fault 328 THRUST FAULT BETWEEN DINARDES amp VARDAR legii o file C GPlates topology NGU Documentation Reconstructions html 2 of 8 10 03 2009 13 25 10 Reconstructions 2 1 Slider D J nee ee Interface to interact with reconstruction animations in GPlates discussed in further detail below 2 1 1 Play Starts animation when p
21. e button press SPACE to activate that button The new coordinate line will be added to the table and GPlates will prepare to receive the next line of input e Selecting a property from the table and selecting Delete will delete the property from the feature Feature Properces Valid geometry Append paints Add Property Delete Property file CV GPlates topology NGU Documentation EditGeometries html 5 of 6 10 03 2009 13 25 14 Editing Geometries Last updated 09 Mar 2009 18 53 21 EST file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation EditGeometries html 6 of 6 10 03 2009 13 25 14 Creating New Features Creating New Features Table of Contents This chapter aims to provide the reader with information and instructions for creating digitising new features in GPlates 1 Digitisation GPlates allows the user to create features on the globe from aseismic ridges to volcanoes To create a new feature a user first digitises a new geometry then specifies the additional properties for that feature The geometries which GPlates handles are point polyline a series of lines drawn end to end forming an open polygon and polygon Certain types of features require certain geometries for example a volcano uses a point to represent its position an isochron uses a polyline to represent its center line and a basin uses a polygon to represent its outline 1 1 Digitisation Tools GPlates offers three digitisation to
22. erence plate ID to 000 but GPlates allows any plate ID to be used as the fixed reference plate ID 1 5 The Rotation Hierarchy To create the model of global plate rotations that is used 1n GPlates total reconstruction poles are arranged to form a hierarchy or tree like structure At the top of the hierarchy is the globally fixed reference plate ID Successive plate IDs are further down the chain linked by total reconstruction poles To calculate the absolute rotation of a plate ID relative to the fixed reference at a given time GPlates starts at that point in the hierarchy and works its way up to the top to the root of the tree 2 Specify Fixed Plate The Specify Fixed Plate command on the Reconstruction menu can be used to change which plate ID GPlates uses as the globally fixed reference plate ID Enter a new plate ID in the dialog that pops up and GPlates will automatically rearrange the rotation hierarchy so that the specified plate 1s at the top Specify Fixed Plate X Fixed plate 700 3 Reconstruction Pole Dialog The Total Reconstruction Pole Dialog is accessed from the Reconstruction menu It contains four tables of information relevant to the current reconstruction time and the current globally fixed plate ID 3 1 Relative Rotations This table lists all the total reconstruction poles in terms of the relative motions between plates for the current reconstruction time file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Docume
23. es GPlates requires at least two distinct points to define a polyline If there is only one distinct point remaining the geometry will become a point Note that if a vertex 1 e point is removed from a multi point geometry which contains only two points it will become a point geometry tis invalid to remove a vertex from a single point geometry In order to remove the geometry entirely the feature will have to be deleted 3 In the Feature Properties Dialog The controls for directly editing the coordinates used by geometry appears as a table with Lat Lon and Actions columns Click a row of the table to select it and the following action buttons will appear in Insert a new row above Insert a new row below x Delete row e Double clicking an entry in the table lets you edit a coordinate directly o The Valid Geometry line will indicate if the coordinates in the table can be turned into correct geometry It will indicate an error if there is something invalid about the coordinates such as a lat lon of 500 or similar e The Append Points spin boxes are designed to be a convenient means of data entry if you need to enter some points from a hard copy source o Click in the Lon to start entering new coordinates Type in a lon value press TAB file Cl GPlates topology NGU Documentation EditGeometries html 4 of 6 10 03 2009 13 25 14 Editing Geometries type in a lat value press TAB to move to th
24. es made to the geometry are immediate and there is no need to press an Apply button This tool is useful for correct mistakes in the features geometry 2 2 Insert Vertex Tool If the current geometry is a polyline or polygon when the user clicks on a line a new vertex is inserted at that position on that line This vertex may then be dragged to a new position using the move vertex tool If the current geometry is a multi point a new point will be created at the click position 2 3 Remove Vertex Tool If the current geometry is a polyline or polygon when the user clicks on an existing vertex that vertex will be deleted The vertices on either side of the removed vertex will now be connected directly creating a new polyline or polygon In the case of multi point geometry when the user clicks on an existing point the point will be removed Note that if a vertex 1s removed from a polygon the resulting geometry will still be a closed polygon as long as there are sufficient remaining vertices GPlates requires at least three distinct points to define a polygon If there are only two distinct points remaining the geometry will become a polyline file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation EditGeometries html 3 of 6 10 03 2009 13 25 14 Editing Geometries Note that if a vertex 1s removed from a polyline the resulting geometry will still be a single continuous polyline as long as there are sufficient remaining vertic
25. iew Coordinates Tab This tab contains a listing of the coordinates of the feature geometries in both present day and reconstructed time position For more information on this tab consult Viewing Coordinates below 2 3 5 Feature ID This is a unique label for this particular feature It is a sequence of letters and numbers which is meaningful to GPlates It is not yet of interest to users 2 3 6 Revision ID This is a unique label for this particular version of this feature It is a sequence of letters and numbers which is meaningful to GPlates It is not yet of interest to users 2 4 Editing Feature Properties This sequence of screenshots first shows the initial window that will appear and the following images display the options provided after selecting a property to edit Each type of property has its own editing options Feature Properces Feature Type gpml Fault E Query Properties E Edit Properties i View Coordinates gpml reconstructionPlateld 308 gpml centerLineOf gaml validTime 750 distant future gml name THRUST FAULT BETWEEN DINARDES gpml aldPlatesHeader 34 01 0521 THRUST FAULT BETWEE gpml dipslip Extension gpml subcategory Thrust Add Property Delete Property file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation Interacting_Features html 4 of 8 10 03 2009 13 25 12 Interacting With Features ana E The table in the centre lists all the properties belonging to the currently chosen featu
26. itions of plates at various times in the past which may be inferred from other data Geological geophysical and paleo geographic data may be attached to the simulated plates enabling a researcher to trace the motions and interactions of these data through time 1 2 The Goals of GPlates are e to handle and visualise data in a variety of geometries and formats including raster data e to link plate kinematics to geodynamic models e to serve as an interactive client in a grid computing network e to facilitate the production of high quality paleo geographic maps 2 What can GPlates Do As of GPlates 0 9 4 GPlates functionality includes Loading and Saving Data e loading geological feature data from the following formats o GPML compressed GPML file Cl GPlates topology NGU Documentation Introduction Gplates html 1 of 3 10 03 2009 13 25 01 Introduction to GPlates o Plates4 line format o ESRI Shapefile including the ability to map shape attributes in a Shapefile to feature properties in GPlates on a user specified per Shapefile basis e loading reconstruction poles finite rotations which enable geological features to be reconstructed through geological time from the following formats o GPML compressed GPML o Plates4 rotation format e loading raster images in JPEG format including time sequences of raster images to enable visualisation of gridded geophysical data such as mantle density anomalies mantle co
27. lates Code 2008 trunk a data file with errors pla AA 25 Unrecognized Data Type Code 8 Line 420 25 5 25 Unrecognized Data Type Code in the header B Because the Data Type Code was not known Unclassified Features will be created ld Line 10836 25 5 amp l Line 11186 25 5 l Line 11271 25 5 Line 11306 25 5 l Line 11459 25 5 Line 11550 25 5 Es Ling 13887 23 a 4 3 Saving There are three different ways to save a file in GPlates The Manage Feature Collections dialog contains a table of controls and status information about the feature collections that are loaded in GPlates each row corresponds to a single feature collection and lists file name format and available actions file C GPlates topology NGU Documentation LoadingAndSaving html 7 of 10 10 03 2009 13 25 07 Loading And Saving Item Name Function File Edit the file s configuration Properties Save Save the file using the current name Save As Save the file using a new name Save a copy of the file with a different Save a Copy Hane Refresh Reload the file from disk Eject Unload the file from GPlates m Manage Feature collectors x RleNam _ FileFormat Global EarthByte 2 20071105 GPlat st PLATESA ine ifs zz ERI zz Open File Save All file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation LoadingAndSaving html 8 of 10 10 03 2009
28. lid or malformed data which will result in some data loss o Continue reading from the data source GPlates will discard the smallest possible amount of data and will inform you exactly what was discarded file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation LoadingAndSaving html 5 of 10 10 03 2009 13 25 07 Loading And Saving 4 2 3 Terminating error e A terminating error halts the reading of data in such a way that GPlates is unable to read any more data from the data source e Examples of terminating errors might include o A file system error o A broken network connection e When a terminating error occurs GPlates will retain the data it has already read but will not be able to read any more data from the data source 4 2 4 Failure to begin e A failure to begin has occurred when GPlates is not even able to start reading data from the data source e Examples of failures to begin might include o The file cannot be located on disk or opened for reading o The database cannot be accessed no network connection could be established e Inthe event of a failure to begin GPlates will not be able to load any data from the data source file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation LoadingAndSaving html 6 of 10 10 03 2009 13 25 07 Loading And Saving File Errors x There were 8 warnings Expand All Collapse All 3y Error Warnings 8 E Li a data file with errors pla PLATES line format F homes geo jboyden GP
29. mation exactly on end time Loop Close this dialog when animation starts Last updated 09 Mar 2009 18 53 23 EST file C GPlates topology NGU Documentation Reconstructions html 8 of 8 10 03 2009 13 25 10 Interacting With Features Interacting With Features Table of Contents This chapter of the user manual provides a guide to interacting with the features that you are creating in GPlates 1 Tools for Interacting with Features To interact with features the following tools can be used Item Tool Shortcuts Operation F Choose Click a geometry to choose a feature being sure to be precise Shift click to Feature query immediately Ctrl drag to re orient the globe Cm Move Verex V Drag the vertices of the currently chosen feature Note This tool can only be v activated when a feature has been chosen To review information on all Tools please consult the Introducing the Main Window Chapter 2 Choose Feature Tool 2 1 Clicked Geometry Table You can query a feature by first selecting then click the mouse cursor on what you want to query The information will be displayed in the Clicked Geometry Table Clicked Selected Feature type Plate ID Clicked geometry gpm Fault 706 SOUTH ATLAS SHEAR ZONE TELL ORAN MES gpml centerLineOf The table will list all features that have geometry in proximity to the point that was clicked 2 2 Current Feature Panel file CI
30. nt day or near past and the end time is in the distant future When an animation is set up this way the slider and buttons behave as consistently as possible your start time the present is on the left and your end time the distant past is on the right Using the Step Forwards one Frame button moves the slider to the right into the past and the Step Backwards one Frame button does the opposite as you would expect The default settings for the Slider are a time range of 140Ma to present and a time increment per frame of 1 million years 3 Reconstruction Menu file CI GPlates topology NGU Documentation Reconstructions html 4 of 8 10 03 2009 13 25 10 Reconstructions Ctrl T i k Step Backward One Frame Ctri Shitt bb Step Forward One Frame Ctri Mame THRUST FAULT BETWEEN DI Reset Animation Play Animation Configure Animation Specify Fixed Plate View Total Reconstruction Poles from 750 to future Clicked geometry apml centerLineOf aax Zoaom 125995 Camera lat 42 16 lon 19 11 Mouse lat 46 41 lon 26 53 E Clicked Selected Featretype Plteib Name Clicked geometry gpml Fault 308 THRUST FAULT BETWEEN DINARDES amp VARDAR gpmlicenterLineOf gpml Fault 328 THRUST FAULT BETWEEN DINARDES amp VARDAR gpml centerLineOf PES E file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation Reconstructi
31. ntalFragment apml ContinentalRift gpml Craton gpml CrustalThickness gpml DynamicTopography gpml ExtendedcContinentalCrust gpml Fracture zone goml FractureZoneldentification gpml Geaologicallineation gpml GeaologicalPlane apml GlobalElevation gpml Gravimetry Previous The next step is to assign a geometry to the feature as well as e Plate ID e A beginning time for the feature e An ending time e A name To help you distinguish classify your feature file CI GPlates topology NGU Documentation Creating Features html 3 of 5 10 03 2009 13 25 14 Creating New Features T Create Feature Assign geometry to property Unclassified miscellaneous Which property best indicates the geometry s purpose Basic properties 1 E E In the final step of feature creation the feature 1s assigned to a feature collection AII data files that are currently loaded in GPlates will be listed here as well as the New Feature Collection option Choosing any one of the existing feature collections and clicking Create will add the newly digitised feature to that collection and return the user to the GPlates main window file CI GPlates topology NGU Documentation Creating Features html 4 of 5 10 03 2009 13 25 14 Creating New Features T Create Feature Add feature to collection Choose the feature collection to which the new feature should be added fexport ul jclark gplates data earthbyte Global EarthByte
32. ntation MoreReconstructions html 2 of 6 10 03 2009 13 25 13 More on Reconstructions G Total Reconstruction Poles as Total reconstruction poles generated at Ma with stationary plate ID Relative Rotations Equivalent Rotations rel Stat Plate Reconstruction Tree Plate Circuits to Stat Plate Each rotation describes the motion of a plate relative to some other fixed plate CENEITITIITTITIINEN REN e nm qma pass e 0 ma rater i Indeterminate r E ENN 3 2 Equivalent Rotations Relative To Stationary Plate Similar to the Relative Rotations table this lists rotations for each plate However the data presented here has been converted from individual relative rotations into the equivalent absolute rotation relative to the fixed reference plate ID Again these apply to the current reconstruction time file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation MoreReconstructions html 3 of 6 10 03 2009 13 25 13 More on Reconstructions Gi Total Reconstruction Poles x Total reconstruction poles generated at Ma with stationary plate ID Relative Rotations Reconstruction Tree Plate Circuits to Stat Plate Equivalent Rotations rel Stat Plate Each ERU VIERTE rotation describes the motion of a plate relative to the currently specified stationary plate ma am ume mme Um ram ama mon 18 3817 20 4128 16 4082 22 172 40 5166 13 1416 3 3 Reconstruction Tree Here the reconstruction hierarchy i
33. nvection driven dynamic surface topography and the crustal age or spreading rate of the ocean floor o both global raster images which are assumed to cover the whole globe from 180 to 180 degrees longitude and 90 to 90 latitude o and smaller rasters with a user specified surface extent e saving geological feature data in the following formats o GPML compressed GPML o Plates4 line format o GMT xy format with a variety of options for headers e saving reconstruction poles in the following formats o GPML compressed GPML o Plates4 rotation format 3 GPlates Development GPlates is developed by an international team of scientists and professional software developers and post graduates at e he EarthByte Project part of the AuScope National Collaborative Research Infrastructure strategy NCRIS Program in the School of Geosciences at the University of Sydney under the direction of Prof Dietmar M ller e the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences at CalTech under the direction of Prof Michael Gurnis e he Center for Geodynamics at the Norwegian Geological Survey NGU under the direction of Prof Trond Torsvik file Cl GPlates topology NGU Documentation Introduction Gplates html 2 of 3 10 03 2009 13 25 01 Introduction to GPlates Collaborating scientists at the University of Sydney the Norwegian Geological Survey and CalTech have also been compiling sets of global data for plate boundaries
34. ols in the Tool Palette Polyline Geometry af Point Geometries Polygon Geometry Each tool can be used to create any of the GPlates GPML features however it 1s the user s responsibility to ensure that the correct geometry is digitised for the intended feature type After choosing a geometry tool you can begin adding control points to the globe by clicking on an area these points define the geometry feature you want to create You can still rotate the globe by holding down the Ctrl key After you have plotted the feature the latitude and longitude can be verified in the digitisation panel file CI GPlates topology NGU Documentation Creating Features html 1 of 5 10 03 2009 13 25 14 Creating New Features eature Digitisation Coordinates exterior gml Polygon 23 904 1 7 6923 14 2955 1 2 8029 14 6702 18 8384 19 7459 18 602 13 9271 11 9916 a 223 718 2 30037 Clear Feature Create Feature Once you are satisfied with the new feature location click Create Feature button to select the type of feature you would like to create E g Isochron Fault Mid Ocean Ridge etc file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation Creating_Features html 2 of 5 10 03 2009 13 25 14 Creating New Features create Feature Feature type gpml AseismicRidge gpml BasicRackLlnit gpml Basin goml Bathymetry gpml ClosedContinentalBoundary gpml ClosedPlateBoundary gpml Coastline gpml Contine
35. on time backward that you are viewing in small steps 3 4 Specify Fixed Plate This item is used to choose the fixed plate of the plate hierarchy It will be described in the chapter More On Reconstructions 3 5 View Total Reconstruction Poles file CI GPlates topology NGU Documentation Reconstructions html 6 of 8 10 03 2009 13 25 10 Reconstructions When this item is activated the Total Reconstruction Poles dialog will appear enabling the user to view a variety of information about the reconstruction poles and the plate hierarchy at the current reconstruction time This dialog will be described in the chapter More On Reconstructions 4 Animations The animation operation found in the Reconstruction menu allows you to automate a reconstruction backwards or forwards through time The user can set the start and end times by either entering the age or using the current time displayed in the main window Frames per second can be set and there is also the option to loop the animation 4 1 Animation Dialog file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation Reconstructions html 7 of 8 10 03 2009 13 25 10 Reconstructions Animate Playback range Animate fram 140 00 Ma Use Main Window to Ma Use Main Window with an increment of 1 00 M per frama Reverse the Animation by swapping the start and end times Playback controls Current time 111 00 I Ma Playback options Frames per second 10 00 I X Finish ani
36. ons html 5 of 8 10 03 2009 13 25 10 Reconstructions The Reconstruction Menu provides access to the following tools Menu Item Shortcut Operation Reconstruct to Time Ctrl T Show a reconstruction for the user specified time Step Forward One Frame Ctrl I Step forward one frame in the animation Ctrl Shift Step Backward One Frame 4I Step backward one frame in the animation Pop up the Animate dialog to control the Animate animation Specify Fixed Plate Specify the fixed plate in the plate hierarchy View Total Reconstruction Poles Pop up the Total Reconstruction Poles dialog 3 1 Reconstruct to Time When this menu item is invoked it will activate the Time field in the Main Window which is used to specify the current reconstruction time The user can type a new reconstruction time or increase or decrease the value using the Up and Down arrow keys or the mouse scroll wheel before pressing the Enter key to execute the reconstruction The current frame of the animation always corresponds to the reconstruction time Changing the reconstruction time will simultaneously change the current frame of the animation If the specified time is outside the current range of the animation the range will be extended 3 2 Step Forward One Frame This button is used to change the current reconstruction time forward that you are viewing in small steps 3 3 Step Backward One Frame This button is used to change the current reconstructi
37. ptions file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation Controlling_View html 1 of 6 10 03 2009 13 25 08 Controlling The View ST a a GPlates allele Colour Geometries By Show Raster Set Raster Surface Extent M EN set Camera Viewpoint Move Camera Up Plate ID valid time i Clicked geometry Move Camera Down Move Camera Left Move Camera Right Rotate Camera Clockwise Rotate Camera Anti clockwise Reset Camera Orientation Set Zoom Zoom In amp Zoom Out Reset Zoom Level amp ei Export Geometry Snapshot at 43 17 lon 89 05 Feature type Plate ID Name Clicked geometry Begin End Pre file C GPlates topology NGU Documentation Controlling View html 2 of 6 10 03 2009 13 25 08 Controlling The View 2 Reconstruction View mne 38 00 BL Mouse lat 32 84 lon 0 98 Zoom 14196 S Camera lat 22 88 lon 13 29 Name Description Time Controls A collection of user interface controls for precise control of the reconstruction time A collection of user interface controls for precise control of the Globe View camera Zoom Zoom Controls Zoom Slider A mouse controlled slider which controls the zoom level of the Globe View camera Camera An information field which indicates the current globe position of the Globe View Coordinate
38. re The left hand column lists property names and the right hand column lists property values The name of a property is a way to associate meaning with the feature data for instance this feature has a plate ID associated with it That plate id is 308 It is stored in the gpml reconstructionPlateId property indicating that GPlates should use that plate ID to reconstruct the feature Clicking a row of the table will expand the bottom half of the dialog with new controls specific to the property that was clicked 2 5 Editing Geometry The controls for directly editing the coordinates used by geometry appears as a table with Lat Lon and Actions columns Click a row of the table to select it and the following action buttons will appear A Insert a new row above Insert a new row below x Delete row e Double clicking an entry in the table lets you edit a coordinate directly o The Valid Geometry line will indicate if the coordinates in the table can be turned into correct geometry It will indicate an error if there is something invalid about the coordinates such as a lat lon of 500 or similar e The Append Points spin boxes are designed to be a convenient means of data entry if you need to enter some points from a hard copy source o Click in the Lon to start entering new coordinates Type in a lon value press TAB type in alat value press TAB to move to the button press SPACE to activate that button The new coordinate
39. ressed it changes to the pause button 2 1 2 til Pause Halts animation when pressed it changes to play button 2 1 3 KH Reset Returns animation to the start time 2 1 4 pp Fast Forward Step forwards one frame in the animation 2 1 5 Rewind Step backwards one frame in the animation 2 2 Step Forwards One Frame Step Backwards One Frame Fast Forward and Rewind These buttons are used to change the current reconstruction time that you are viewing in small steps Pressing the buttons once or using their shortcut keys Ctrl I goes forwards Ctrl Shift I goes backwards will adjust the reconstruction time by one frame The time interval between frames can be adjusted in the Animate Dialog or the Specify Time Increment menu operation Both of these can be accessed via the Reconstruction menu file CI GPlates topology NGU Documentation Reconstructions html 3 of 8 10 03 2009 13 25 10 Reconstructions The Step Forwards one Frame Step Backwards one Frame buttons can be held down to move through time rapidly The forwards and backwards buttons apply relative to the current animation Normally the present day 0 Ma is at the right hand side of the animation slider and the distant past 1s on the left hand side Using the forwards and backwards buttons move the slider in the way you would expect One important thing to note is that GPlates makes it possible for you to set a reverse animation where the start time 1s the prese
40. s presented in a more natural tree like form Relative rotations are listed but individual nodes of the tree plate IDs can be expanded or collapsed to explore the branches of the plate rotation model file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation MoreReconstructions html 4 of 6 10 03 2009 13 25 13 More on Reconstructions Gi Total Reconstruction Poles x Total reconstruction poles generated at Ma with stationary plate ID jo B 291 B 225 z 294 indeterminate pole lat 22 17 lon 40 52 lat 63 74 lon 33 52 indeterminate pole indeterminate pole lat 1 52 lon 62 24 indeterminate pole indeterminate pole lat 46 00 lon 15 22 lat 30 90 lon 17 50 indeterminate pole 3 4 Plate Circuits To Stationary Plate This tab of the Total Reconstruction Poles dialog can be used to trace a series of total reconstruction poles from any given plate ID back to the top of the hierachy the fixed reference plate ID It is useful to quickly identify the other plate IDs that a chosen plate ID depends on file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation MoreReconstructions html 5 of 6 10 03 2009 13 25 13 0 00 indeterminate pole 13 14 lat 22 17 lon 40 52 24 60 lat 78 65 lon 69 54 More on Reconstructions G Total Reconstruction Poles al Total reconstruction poles generated at 65 Ma with stationary plate ID Relative Rotations Equivalent Rotations rel Stat Plate Recon
41. sample data src Global EarthByte Rotation 20071105 rot File name Global EarthByte Coastline 20071221 dat GJ Open Files of type All loadable files dat pla rot shp gpml gpml gz 2 1 How do load a raster image in GPlates A global raster image is loaded using the operation Open Global Raster in the GPlates File Menu This will show a dialog requesting the user file C GPlates topology NGU Documentation LoadingAndSaving html 2 of 10 10 03 2009 13 25 07 Loading And Saving to choose the raster image file to be loaded When a raster image is loaded it will replace the current raster image if any Whether or not a currently loaded raster is displayed can be controlled using the operation Enable Raster Display in the GPlates View Menu 3 The Manage Feature Collections Dialog This dialog window enables you to load new files and save reconfigure and unload currently loaded files This is where you will find any file specific operations How to show The Manage Feature Collections Dialog 1 Go to the File Menu in the menu bar 2 Click on Manage Feature Collections menu item Ph Manage Feature collections inia the feature collections which are loaded in the gcc Global EarthByte 20071105 GPlat PLATESA line EET DL Pe ee ee HEP a ee a EM E A E EarthByte Coastlines 20071221 g Compressed GPML SSS EarthByte Global Rotations 20071 A Se
42. se that when a new raster image or time dependent raster set 1s loaded it will replace the current raster image or time dependent raster set if any Furthermore whether or not a currently loaded time dependent raster set is displayed is also controlled by the operation Enable Raster Display in the GPlates View Menu Links to existing time dependent raster sets may be found on the Downloads page of the GPlates website http www gplates org downloads html 3 3 How can I create my own time dependent raster set As already described a time dependent raster set is actually a sequence of raster image files contained within a single folder The name of the folder is unimportant but the raster image files must adhere to three rules 1 Each raster image file must be in a raster image format which GPlates is able to handle currently only JPEG is supported 2 Each raster image file must have a file name of the form name time jpg or name time jpeg where time is an integer value representing a number of millions of years before the present day this is the instant of geological time to which that raster image corresponds 3 All raster image files in the folder must have the same name component followed by a hyphen before the integer This name component can contain further hyphens and numbers if desired For example the files e topography 0 jpg file C GPlates topology NGU Documentation DataFileTypes html 2 of 3 10
43. struction Tree Plate Circuits to Stat Plate Each branch can be expanded to list the circuit of relative rotations from a plate to the stationary plate Plate ID Circuit Fixed Plate ID Rotation rel fixed parent plate Equivalent rotation rel stationary pla E 286 B 287 H 288 m indeterminate pole angle 0 00 lat 78 65 lon 69 54 e indeterminate pole angle 0 00 lat 78 65 lon 68 54 deam lat 63 74 lon 33 52 angle 24 60 lat 78 65 lon 68 54 A e indeterminate pole angle 0 00 indeterminate pole EE 251 Fl 293 i 294 ind 299 dl mk o X oc la Expand All Collapse All Close Last updated 09 Mar 2009 19 09 12 EST file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation MoreReconstructions html 6 of 6 10 03 2009 13 25 13 Editing Geometries Editing Geometries Table of Contents 1 Geometries in GPlates The geometries which GPlates handles are point multi point polyline and polygon Certain types of features contain different geometries for example a volcano uses a point to represent its position a multi point is used to represent a field of points which all have the same properties an Isochron uses a polyline to represent its centre line and a basin uses a polygon to represent its outline 1 1 Point A point is the most basic form of geometry in GPlates and the basis of all other geometries A 1 2 Multi point A collection of points tha
44. t move as one A a P file Cl GPlates topology NGU Documentation EditGeometries html 1 of 6 10 03 2009 13 25 14 Editing Geometries 1 3 Polyline A series of lines drawn end to end forming an open polygon It is assumed that the lines are non intersecting Sometimes in GPlates the direction of a polyline is important when determining the properties on either side of the line for example one side of a subduction zone represents the subducting slab while the other represents the overriding plate The direction of a polyline is determined from the start of the polyline the first point digitised to the end of the polyline 1 4 Polygon A series of lines drawn end to end forming a closed shape It is assumed that the lines are non intersecting 2 Geometry Editing Tools The geometry editing tools are Canvas Tools and can be found in the Tool Palette To begin editing geometries it is first necessary to select the feature using the Choose Feature Tool file Cl GPlates topology NGU Documentation EditGeometries html 2 of 6 10 03 2009 13 25 14 Editing Geometries The Geometry Editing Tools can only be used on the currently chosen feature T E 2 1 es Move Vertex Tool Once you have selected a feature its properties will appear in the Current Feature Panel Little dots will appear on the chosen feature geometry representing the vertices and can be positioned to a new location The chang
45. ter e Set Raster Surface Extent e Set Camera Viewpoint file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation Introducing_The_Main_Window html 8 of 9 10 03 2009 13 25 05 Introducing The Main Window Move Camera Up Move Camera Down Move Camera Left Move Camera Right Rotate Camera Clockwise Rotate Camera Anti clockwise Reset Camera Orientation Set Zoom Zoom In Zoom Out Reset Zoom Level Export Geometry Snapshot 5 5 Utilities Total Reconstruction Poles 5 6 Help About Last updated 09 Mar 2009 18 53 22 EST file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation Introducing_The_Main_Window html 9 of 9 10 03 2009 13 25 05 Data File Types Data File Types Table of Contents 1 Introduction This chapter endeavours to give the user an understanding of visualisation techniques within GPlates which image formats are able to be loaded into GPlates and how to go about doing this 2 Rasters in GPlates GPlates has the facility to display raster images on the globe 2 1 What are raster images A raster image is one formed by a 2 dimensional rectangular grid coloured points A single point of colour in the raster image is known as a pixel Each pixel is positioned at one of the grid points and every grid point has a pixel positioned on it The ability to display raster images on the globe enables the user to superimpose any kind of imagery or gridded data such as satellite imagery topography bathymetry etc on the surface
46. the past dictate plate motions J Boyden 2006 FIXME that last sentence was hueg In fact I think this whole paragraph needs to be shot in the head 1 1 Plate IDs As discussed earlier in this documentation GPlates uses the concept of a Plate ID to ascribe tectonic motion to a feature All features using the same plate ID move in unison when reconstructed back through time A plate ID is a non negative whole number Assigning specific meanings to specific plate IDs such as making plate ID 714 correspond to northwest Africa is up to the creator of the rotation file Plate IDs do not correspond to a physical tectonic plate although they may represent the motion of features which are on that physical plate Plate IDs can also be assigned to represent the motion of things on the same physical plate relative to one another for example the motion of an island arc caused by back arc spreading A subduction zone can be assigned one plate ID and its associated island arc can be assigned another plate ID The motion of both of these plate IDs can be anchored to a third plate ID representing the global motion of the physical plate underneath the subduction zone and island arc 1 2 Finite Rotations Euler s Displacement Theorem tells us that any displacement on the surface of the globe can be modelled as a rotation about some axis This combination of axis and angle is called a finite rotation Finite rotations are used by GPlates as the elementary
47. ting of the properties of the current feature Feature Properces Feature Type gpml Fault Query Properties V View Coordinates Feature ID GPlataes 8c489a7 7 55bb 4141 aa58 1cO0b4265852f Revision ID GPlates 006b8576 0be4 4ee2 8648 fabe83e690da Name Value gpml reconstructionPlateld gpml centerLineOf gmi baseCurve gml posList gmi validTime qaml begin 750 gml end 245 gaminame NORTHWEST AFRICA N W BOUND gpml oldPlatesHeader gpml regionNumber 99 gpml referenceNumber 97 gpml stringNumber 366 ama m amem aura see oma mm a be i am mom mania Ria Agr cT STI Pade 5 RI SAF Mal TRIS This geometry was reconstructed using the equivalent rotation Euler pole 46 19 87 86 lat lon Angle 0 576 degrees Plate ID 714 relative to the root plate ID 0 at time 3 Ma 2 3 1 Feature Type This is the type of feature e g fault mid ocean ridge subduction zone 2 3 2 Query Properties Tab This tab contains a complete listing of the properties of the current feature presented in a concise structured form which is easy to read but does not allow editing of values file CI GPlates topology NGU Documentation Interacting Features html 3 of 8 10 03 2009 13 25 12 Interacting With Features 2 3 3 Edit Properties Tab This tab contains a table of properties which enable editing of values For more information on this tab consult Editing Feature Properties below 2 3 4 V
48. ty to display time dependent global raster images that is global raster images whose pixels change according to the reconstruction time In reality what GPlates 1s displaying is a time sequence of raster images each image in the sequence corresponding to a particular instant in geological time The user can instruct GPlates to load a sequence of raster image files contained within a single folder and GPlates will display the appropriate image for the reconstruction time As the user changes the reconstruction time the raster image on the globe will update accordingly 3 2 How do load an existing time dependent raster set file C GPlates topology NGU Documentation DataFileTypes html 1 of 3 10 03 2009 13 25 06 Data File Types A time dependent raster set is loaded using the operation Open Time Dependent Global Raster Set in the GPlates File Menu This will show a dialog requesting the user to choose the folder containing the time dependent rasters Opern tiles Look in ia fhomes geo jbayden GPlates Code 2008 trunk Computer autom4te cache Eg jboyden lE config li doc lg msvc8 lS msvc71 sample data mH SIC Global EarthByte Rotation 20071105 rot File name Global EarthByte Coastline 20071221 dat lE Open Files of type All loadable files dat pla rot shp gpml gpml qgz amp Cancel A time dependent raster set is treated the same as a regular raster image by GPlates in the sen
49. works on a logarithmic scale AS well as the scroll feature on the computer mouse The position of the camera and mouse pointer are provided on the bottom left and right of the reconstruction view respectively file Cl GPlates_topology_NGU Documentation Introducing_The_Main_Window html 4 of 9 10 03 2009 13 25 05 Introducing The Main Window Zoom 141 E Camera lat 22 88 lon 13 29 Mouse lat 32 84 lon 0 98 3 The Main Window with View Menu Open Each item in a menu is an operation Related operations are grouped into menus with the menu title indicating the common theme For example the View Menu in the image below contains operations which manipulate the user s view of the globe Within a menu similar operations are grouped visually by horizontal lines or within sub menus In the View Menu below the camera motion controls are grouped into sub menus and the Colour Geometry By operations are accessed in their own sub menu In the View Menu and Colour Geometry By sub menu check boxes are displayed to switch or choose operations For example Show Rasters and Colour Geometry By will be activated by a small cross or tick that will be displayed in the box in the menu when selected file CI GPlates topology NGU Documentation Introducing The Main Window html 5 of 9 10 03 2009 13 25 05 Introducing The Main Window Se GPlates walka File Edit Reconstruction View Help Colour Geometries By
50. y the data 1n order to rectify the situation Examples of problems which might result in warnings include o Data which are being imported into GPlates which do not possess quite enough information for the needs of GPlates such as total reconstruction poles in PLATES4 rotation format files which have been commented out by changing their moving plate ID to 999 o An attribute field whose value is obviously incorrect but which is easy for GPlates to repair for instance when the Number Of Points field in a PLATES4 line format polyline header does not match the actual number of points in the polyline A warning will not have resulted in any data loss but you may wish to investigate the problem in order to verify that GPlates has corrected the errors in the data in the way you would expect and to be aware of incorrect data which other programs may handle differently Recoverable error A recoverable error is an error generally an error in the data from which GPlates is able to recover although some amount of data had to be discarded because it was invalid or malformed in such a way that GPlates was unable to repair it Examples of recoverable errors might include o When the wrong type of data encountered in a fixed width attribute field for instance text encountered where an integer was expected When a recoverable error occurs GPlates will do the following o Retain the data it has already successfully read o Discard the inva
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