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I'm trying to find someone (s) with enough geology knowledge to help me figure out some of the specifics of the world I'm building. (Earth-like in age, distance from star, size, tilt) I'm doing my best to reproduce what I can see on earth in roughly equal proportions. But I'm wondering if there's more accurate ways to do this. I'd love anyone who has the right knowledge to tear into this and tell me what could never happen, or what I haven't done enough, etc.) so I can make changes. Thanks! :)

Blue lines are divergent, Red are subduction, Yellow are transform. The arrows do not denote plate speed yet, they are just there to help me keep direction consistent on a sphere.

For the record, I've been following Artifexian's videos on this, but there's nothing about vetting the actual shapes in there.

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  • $\begingroup$ Hi Josh, welcome to Worldbuilding! I’m having a little trouble understanding your question - are you asking for general advice about the feasibility of your current tectonic plate breakdown, with special attention given to the rate of plate movement (as denoted by the length of the arrows drawn at each plate boundary)? Or are you looking for a mathematical model of how quickly each plate should move? If my experience on this planet has taught me anything, it’s that the Earth has a finite surface area and the rate plate production should indeed be equal to the rate of plate destruction. $\endgroup$
    – Dubukay
    Commented Jun 22, 2019 at 2:34
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    $\begingroup$ Welcome to Worldbuilding! We're glad you could join us! When you have a moment, please click here to learn more about our culture and take our tour. (a) Please explain your map. Tell us what the red/blue colors mean, what the arrows mean, and what the yellow lines mean. (b) Please confirm that you're looking for a "reality check" of your tectonic plate design (you might want to add the reality-check tag, but please read the tag wiki first). $\endgroup$
    – JBH
    Commented Jun 22, 2019 at 3:29
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    $\begingroup$ draw the Hadley convection cells that are driving this plate movement , preferably on a sphere, $\endgroup$
    – Jasen
    Commented Jun 22, 2019 at 3:54
  • $\begingroup$ @Jasen What do Hadley cell have to do with plate tectonics? Aren't they a purely atmospheric phenomena? $\endgroup$
    – TheDyingOfLight
    Commented Jun 22, 2019 at 16:44
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    $\begingroup$ you get the same thing in the manlte (and in a pot of soup...) I used the wrong term above, they are convection cells, there may not be a special name in this context. $\endgroup$
    – Jasen
    Commented Jun 22, 2019 at 19:26

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Two oddities jump to my eye:

  • the central plaque E is expanding on 270 degrees and subsiding on 90 degrees. Somehow this seems odd, considering the surface area.

  • left from that, you have on the same direction first a diverging margin (B-H, G-H), then a converging one (C-I). This is really odd, as it would mean an abrupt discontinuity in the mantle flow.

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    $\begingroup$ This is exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping for so thank you! I just added letters to denote specific continents for more clear feedback. (It was pretty stupid of me not to do that before.) Is your first comment regarding Plate E? I was trying to do what Africa has going on, which also seems very strange to me. Now that there are letters on there, can you be more specific about the area your second comment was referring to? $\endgroup$
    – Josh Foreman
    Commented Jun 23, 2019 at 3:51
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    $\begingroup$ @JoshForeman, added in my edit $\endgroup$
    – L.Dutch ♦
    Commented Jun 23, 2019 at 3:58

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