The Afar Triangle refers to mathematics, and with mathematics it is possible explain it’s shape. A calculation for the 12th parallel gives the direction N34°W. The simple drawing on a Google map shows:
Looking into the details of the triple junction clearly become easier when accurate calculations of the basic forces shaping the tectonics are possible.
It is fascinating that the main division points of equator are directly above the division points between convection rolls of lower mantle, which are 30° apart! But details also tell a story. Let us look at the subduction points, exactly 180° apart on the equator. This can be easily checked on a Google map:
The subduction zones have the same deviation from north on equator. This alignment of the red marks, exactly on equator, is the first derivation of convection cell alignment along with north-south pressure axis.
For S-America the point above large convection cells is within the trench. The relevant lines are down-welling at the point. At Indonesia the point is 1.5° east of the trench opening.
Just to explain the relevant conditions, The sites are here marked on the convection cell model:
All this is easily understood, once you have seen the basic pattern of convection rolls within the Earth’s mantle.
The Pacific Ocean shows the same features as the Atlantic Ocean. A good example is Juan de Fuca, following the direction of division lines extending from equator, according to the same formula as the Reykjanes Ridge, Kamchatka and countless other distinct linear topographic phenomena. Here is the simplified drawing on a Google map base:
The number of features following the trend of the calculated alignment of convection rolls is just about endless. The secondary calculations then count for a wide range of tectonics otherwise difficult to explain. You might ask: “What are the secondary calculations?” The answer can be simple: “An example of secondary calculation is half the angle of the formula shown here. That is about W37°N or W37°S. Are there any features following that trend?”
Geology of calculations! The line of volcanoes in Kamtchatka follows the same formula as the volcanic zones in Iceland! It is exactly parallel to the Reykjanes Ridge.
The topography of Kamchatka has a very decisive linear form, and of course the volcanism there is well known. The reason for the volcanic activity is in a way opposite to that in Iceland, so it is interesting that the same formula can be applied to get exactly the correct direction following the chain of mountains, the division between mountains and lowlands etc. Here, it is shown how the curvature along the peninsula fits to the swaying form of the convection rolls underneath.
The inserted lines are calculated according to φ = 57° for hemispheric convection cells. The result is N28.6°E, shown with the slightly curved line for the drawing, which fits perfectly to the peninsula. The adjacent Alpha Fracture Zone is perpendicular to the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench and thereby to the tectonic framework and topographical trend of the peninsula. The angle is close to being half the calculated value for the latitude, as shown by a line extending from the continent out to the trench, oriented N58.2°W. The half angle value is added because it repeatedly found under similar circumstances, for Hekla, California, Hawaii, etc.
The location and drift direction of Hawaii can be calculated! It is exactly the same calculation as previously made here for Yellowstone and California.
The formula is:
alignment of convection rolls = arc tan {[(35.342 – (ϕ – 32)2) 0.5 / (ϕ – 32)](1/cos ϕ)}
where ϕ is the latitude. Hawaii is on 19° 23.300’N.
The convection rolls are aligned close to N30°E and N30°W.
The result for topography and tectonic drift is half of that angle:
α = (arc tan {[(35.342 – (ϕ – 32)2) 0.5 / (ϕ – 32)](1/cos ϕ)})/2
This immediately reveals the main directions of the topography, sea bottom features, and of course the tectonic drift.
It is therefore nothing strange about the location of Hawaii. The location can be compared with the convection cells model of the mantle and understood accordingly.
The location can be compared with Iceland’s position within the convection rolls grid of the Earth, as has been done here in a previous post.
The framework around the San Andreas Fault
The tectonic alignment of Yellowstone calculated in the same way as for volcanoes in Iceland
Magic Magma 