Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

Giancarlo Scalera

Publications and source records attributed to Giancarlo Scalera.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

Sea Level Enigmatic Rising - New Perspectives from an Expanding Globe

In the expanding Earth framework it is possible to find additional phenomena that could contribute in a proper way to the water balance and general tectonic eustatism involved in the sea lever rising. Recent compilations seems to leave unexplained up to 12 cm/century of sea rising, and possible solutions invoking a polar ice shells melting near to the upper limit of the error bars reveal in conflict with the consequent expected decreasing of the Earth angular velocity. It is shown that taking into account possible effects of an expanding Earth, the problem can be initiated towards an appropriate solution, at least as regards the just orders of magnitude. Major effects on sea-level could come from ongoing relaxation of curvature variations that are peculiar for an expanding globe.

physics.geo-ph↗

Cause of East-West Earth Asymmetry

The different slope of the Wadati-Benioff zones oriented towards east and west is considered a main asymmetry of the Earth's globe. Under the Americas they have angles of about 30o, while under the Pacific east coasts (Asia, Japan) the angles are steeper. In the framework of plate tectonics geodynamics the cause of this difference can be identified in the tidal drag that would cause a global shift of the lithosphere towards west. But this solution has been many times criticized on the basis of the irrelevance of the tidal forces with respect to viscous friction. Instead, it is possible to show that in a different framework, in which sudden extrusions of mantle materials occur by local phase change toward a more unpacked lattice, the value of the Coriolis fictitious force can rise of several magnitude orders, becoming the main cause of the east-west asymmetry of the Wadati-Benioff zones, which might be ascribed entirely to internal causes of the planet (its rotation and geodynamics) and not to external causes (influence of other celestial bodies). Some astrogeodetic clues supporting the new geodynamic scenario are scrutinized.

physics.geo-ph↗