[GPlates-discuss] Estimating uncertainty in plate positions and motion paths

[Mike Darin]

Hello,

I'm using GPlates to reconstruct the Arabia-Eurasia collision zone and to make a plot showing Total Arabia-Eurasia Relative Motion vs. Time. To do this, I fixed the Eurasia plate and then created a set of motion paths for points on Arabia. This worked great, as I was then able to export a text file containing the coordinates of each reference point at different time steps, which allowed me to calculate the distance that Arabia had traveled between each time step.

However, there must be some uncertainty in the rotation model that is not currently reflected in the generated motion paths. I am wondering if and how I could generate error ellipses in map view for the motion paths, which would allow me to add error bars to each point on the plots that reflect the uncertainties in the locations of each reference point through time? This doesn't seem straightforward to me, so I am reaching out to the discussion list for suggestions. ?

Thank you,
Mike

Michael H. Darin, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Department of Earth Sciences
University of Oregon
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