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Rapid Continental Reorganization Through Hydraulic Collapse: A Solution to the Heat Problem in Catastrophic Plate Tectonics

Authors: Longmire, James (JD);

Rapid Continental Reorganization Through Hydraulic Collapse: A Solution to the Heat Problem in Catastrophic Plate Tectonics

Abstract

This paper proposes a hydraulic collapse mechanism for rapid, global-scale tectonic reorganization that solves the heat dissipation problem plaguing conventional catastrophic plate tectonic models. Rather than accelerating mantle convection, the mechanism invokes sudden failure of hydraulic seals in a fluid-rich pre-flood lithosphere, enabling continental and oceanic blocks to hydroplane on thin water films along shallow detachment horizons. Energy dissipation occurs primarily in water rather than through viscous shear in mantle rock, reducing heat generation by orders of magnitude while maintaining rapid surface motion. The model operates within Earth's fixed water budget, invoking redistribution from distributed crustal storage to concentrated ocean basins and mantle transition zone reservoirs. It produces structured deposition during catastrophic conditions through hydraulic sorting, ecological zonation preservation, and basin-scale processes, and transitions naturally into the mantle-convection-driven plate tectonic regime observed today. The framework generates testable predictions distinguishing it from both uniformitarian processes and geothermally driven catastrophic models, including signatures of rapid slip along large-scale detachments, chaotic megabreccias at basin boundaries, pressure and thermal anomalies indicating rapid burial, and geochemical signatures of massive fluid flow. This preprint presents the core mechanics, energy budget analysis, and observational predictions. Supplementary appendices with detailed mathematical models and energy calculations are in preparation.

Keywords

catastrophic plate tectonics, hydraulic collapse, flood geology, heat dissipation, hydroplaning, effective stress, mantle transition zone, water budget, rapid continental drift, hydrotectonic regime, detachment horizons, overpressure, taphonomy, megasequences, biblical flood

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
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