Palaeopoles on an Expanding Earth: A Comparison Between Synthetic and Real Data Sets
Giancarlo Scalera
Using an ad absurdum reasoning applied to synthetic plates and associated palaeopoles it is possible to prove that if the Earth's radius during the Early Cambrian had been half its present size, palaeopoles of the continents, or of their particular sub-sets, should show typical patterns. These effects, due to the variable curvature of the Earth's surface, suggest possible tests on the real situation using the available palaeomagnetic data. If such effects could be detected on the real Earth they could constitute a new clue favouring the hypothesis of an expanding Earth. The results of applying palaeopoles and ocean-floor magnetic anomaly boundary conditions to palaeogeographical reconstructions for a variable-radius Earth are presented, taking into consideration the real continental shapes.
