The Pplates Virtual Earth Project - ancient virtual worlds
This partially clad virtual world was prepared by Bonnardot using Pplates,
for the Earth at the Miocene-Pliocene boundary, five million years in the past.
Pplates can be used to build several
such virtual worlds, each
constructed for a
particular time in Earth's history.
Click on the image above to download the movie.
Virtual worlds describe the coordinate transformations involved in moving from the material world (defined by the present-day Virtual Earth) to ancient configurations of our planet. Pplates will eventually be able to load a GPlates "virtual world" and superimpose deformable plate reconstructions, here illustrated by imposing deformation of the over-riding Indonesian orogen (which behaves more like a fluid than a plate). These motions in turn will be fed into Underworld, enabling more dynamic scenarios to be explored. Open source viewers such a GeomView will allow visualization of the evolving geometry of individual "virtual worlds".
The Pplates desktop tectonic reconstruction software is designed to allow structural geology and tectonics research involving small-scale to large-scale heterogeneous movements, including movements on faults and shear zones, at regional, continental, or planetary scales. Pplates flexibly accomplishes this diversity by implementing a different reconstruction paradigm, involving deformable, tearable meshes. Properties such as an Euler pole and rotation become derivative properties, not the primary input data. Step-by-step, region by region, this software can be utilized to build individual "virtual worlds". Information (based in a GIS system for example) can then be mapped from the real or material world to these ancient configurations of our planet.
To provide an example as to how to utilize the AuScope software machine, the AuScope modelling and simulation community intends to illustrate a 4D geodynamics workflow, using GPlates, Pplates and Underworld. The demonstrator initially targets subduction zone models, demonstrating interoperability between Underworld, GPlates and Pplates for 4D dynamic modelling. The example focuses initially on the evolution of the Sunda-Java subduction zone: Gplates will provide surface velocity grids to Underworld, for specified time steps. This begins definition of a sequence of AuScope "virtual worlds" (all of which will eventually be grid-enabled).
If you are interested in becoming a user of the NCRIS AuScope software machine, the links provided above allow direct access to the scientists building the individual components. To access and utilize Pplates, go to the software repository. If you want us to give you a hand, develop the specifications for a use case, and let us know.
Pplates is designed and built by Dr Joe Kurtz and Professor Gordon Lister.