Tee - a point of triple articulation of tectonic plates. A tee can be of three types: an oceanic ridge , an oceanic trench, or a transform fault . It is also possible to divide by the type of oceanic plates forming it. Of the many possible tees, only a few can be constant over time.
Tee theory was proposed by W. Jason Morgan, Dan Mackenzie, Tanya Otwater. This term is traditionally used to mean the coincidence of the three boundaries of tectonic plates or diverging ridges. These three guiding borders ideally form 120 ° angles. In the theory of plate tectonics during the destruction of the continent, one of the boundaries of the newest plate will follow the continent (see aulacogen ), the other two follow the ocean. Spreading of the South Atlantic Ocean begins with a tee in the Gulf of Guinea. One of the parts of this tee forms a rift, leaving the Niger Delta and the volcanoes of the Cameroonian line .
A beautiful example is the Afar tee, where the Red Sea Rift, East African Rift and Aden Ridge intersect.
Another interesting example is the active Galapagos tee. It is a mix of the three oceanic plates of Nazca, Coconut and the Pacific Plate. The East Pacific Upland heads north and south of the tee, the Galapagos Upland - east. The highlight of this tee is the Galapagos microplate , which is located southeast of the tee.
Source
- Oreskes, Naomi, ed., 2003, Plate Tectonics: an Insider's History of the Modern Theory of the Earth , Westview Press, ISBN 0-8133-4132-9